The Pentecost Season: A Call to Grow in Faith and Action
The church’s calendar begins with Advent and continues through the seasons of Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
Pentecost Sunday is followed by Trinity Sunday, the only Christian observance which focuses on a doctrine, or teaching of the church, instead of a biblical event in the life of Jesus and the church. It celebrates the mystery of God as one eternal being in three persons. Trinity Sunday sums up for us the acts of God from Christmas through Pentecost, beginning with God taking on flesh and becoming one of us, the death and resurrection of Jesus for us, and the coming of the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us.
In fact, the teaching of the Trinity is so significant in the church, that we begin our Christian life by being baptized in the name of our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We affirm our belief and connection to our mysterious and incomprehensible God every time we say the creed in worship; interestingly, in the early church, the believers would say the creed for the first time as part of the baptismal liturgy, and the creed is said as part of every baptismal liturgy even today. The persons of the Trinity are also addressed in our prayers, be they ancient or modern, corporate or personal. The Trinity reminds us of God as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, and God’s work among us in creation, in the new creation we have in Jesus, and in the on-going creative life of the church.
Now, beginning with our observance of Pentecost Sunday in which we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus, the church shifts its emphasis from events in the life of Jesus, to God’s work among us in the life of the church. This second half of the church year is the season of Pentecost and each Sunday is numbered beginning with Pentecost Sunday; it is a time of growth in Christian faith and action. Even the green color of the altar paraments is reminiscent of a season of growth, as we are stirred by God’s Holy Spirit to grow in faith and acts of love, service, and mission in the name of Christ. It is a time to focus on our witness to the world as we live out our baptismal calling to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus to others. It is a time to realize that even when the work looks overwhelming, we are the church, the body of Christ, which is empowered by the Holy Spirit to be active and make a positive difference in our lives and in the lives of others in our families, communities, and the world. It is a season in which faith and action grows and deepens our relationships with God and others.
People of God, it is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and miss the gifts that God has provided to us in our lives and surroundings; to miss the amazing things and circumstances that surround us which witness to the presence of God in our lives. You have been created, redeemed, and called to an extraordinary mission, a mission in which you are empowered by the very presence of God’s Holy Spirit to see the world differently and accomplish more than you can ever imagine. May the Holy Spirit stir up in you a deepening sense of your new life in Christ, giving you the confidence that you do not journey alone, and empowering you to grow in faith, hope, love, and Christian action in the name of Christ.
