The Season of Pentecost
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
Pentecost is a day, a season, and a cycle. It was observed, first, as a day, one of the major festivals that was observed early in the history of the church and, quickly, found a place in the church year. It was the natural conclusion for the Great Fifty Days of Easter and, in due time, became the beginning of a season and a cycle of the church year that took its name. Pentecost marks the end of the first half of the year and the beginning of the second - non-festival - portion of the church year. Pentecost gives its name to both season and cycle. This was not always so.
As the third cycle of the church year, Pentecost is roughly one half of the year, and is often called "The Half Year of the Church," or (as in the LBW) "The Time of the Church." In some ways, cycle and season seem to be indistinguishable from each other; they cover the same period of time within the church year. However, the cycle is the framework of the season; it extends from the festival of the Holy Trinity to Christ the King Sunday. The season is composed of the Sundays between these two biblical and liturgical poles. Actually, Pentecost is a one-season cycle; it may have as many as twenty-eight Sundays "after Pentecost" in the years when Easter is celebrated early in April or late in March.
The Sundays after Pentecost
Pentecost is a season of Sundays. Sunday comes into its own in Pentecost (or Ordinary Time, as the Roman Church calls it). Sunday is the Lord's Day; at least, that's what the church has called it since the primitive age of Christianity. Sunday is always a "Little Easter," a day set aside each week to celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death; it is not the equivalent of Easter, the singular and special day of resurrection. Sunday, as the Lord's Day, is set aside to remember and celebrate Easter and acknowledge the presence of the living Lord as the church awaits his return at the end of the age. It is not the equivalent of the Jewish Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day; Sunday is the eighth day, the ogdoad, the day of new creation, when all things were made new and found a new beginning in the resurrection of the Lord. Sunday is the day when, conscious that humanity has been given a second chance by God to live responsibly in the world, prays for power to live the new life in Christ. Sunday is the day when the church gives thanks - especially in the eucharist - for all that God has done, and is doing, for us in Christ Jesus.
From a practical point of view, the season after Pentecost really has two parts, a "summer section," from the end of Easter to the mid-point of Pentecost (the end of August, usually), and a "fall portion," from Labor Day to Christ the King Sunday. Churches in North America experience a drop in attendance and activities during the summer months; they often reduce the number of worship services on Sunday, sometimes adding weekday services to attract persons who may not be able to worship on Sunday. September marks the start of "new life" in the annual life of many congregations, as people return from summer vacations or some sort of "spiritual hibernation." Attendance improves, Sunday church school begins a new year, special adult and youth programs are promoted, and soon the annual steward-ship drive is shaped and put into action. All of this means that the worship, and, especially, the preaching, during these two unofficial "seasons" within Pentecost, will differ radically.
The Church Year and Lectionary during Pentecost
The church year loses much of its "influence" over the themes and theology of Sunday in Pentecost, when compared to the other two cycles of the church year, but it continues to throw its theological framework around the season and its Sundays. The theological clues and themes for the several Sundays of Pentecost come primarily from the Gospel for the Day, rather than from the theological content of the church year, as in the Christmas and Easter cycles. The Gospels focus the attention of pastors and people upon the work of Christ in the world, but not in the same manner as the Sundays in the first half of the year spell out the kerygmatic theology of the saving events in the life of Christ. The lectionary functions differently in Pentecost than it does in the Christmas and Easter Cycles of the church year.
It is through the semi-continuous reading of the Gospel (Matthew, in this year) that Sunday themes are established. This means that the integrity of Scripture and purity of the Word are preserved, because the readings are not forced into "thematic molds" for worship and/or preaching; the Gospels establish the theme, or themes, for the Sundays. Incidentally, the semi-continuous (semi-lectio continua) readings begin in Pentecost approximately where they left off in Epiphany. The Old Testament lessons continue to be chosen to harmonize with, and support, the Gospel for the Day. They do not follow any "series" pattern, except for the Common Lectionary, and may come from any book of the Old Testament.
The second readings reveal a radical change from their arrangement in the other two cycles; they are appointed in a short series of semi-continuous readings, (this year, the book of Romans is assigned to sixteen Sundays after Pentecost), which generally make no connection with the first reading or the Gospel for the Day. The second readings float freely and function on their own. This, of course, creates some problems - thematic and otherwise - for worship and, particularly, for preaching. It doesn't seem to make much sense to read the second lessons, if they create "thematic confusion" for worship and never become preaching texts by themselves. What should be done about this odd phenomenon in the lectionary?
Preaching during Pentecost
Sunday preaching during Pentecost takes its thematic and theological clues primarily from the Gospel for the Year, Matthew. Sermon themes - and their development - must be from the specific Gospels (and/or the other readings). More often than not, the Gospel for the Day - in consideration of pastoral exegesis - will determine the type and the actual shape of the sermon. The texts themselves will suggest the "what" and the "how" of the preaching. Such preaching will attempt to tell the story so as to open up the Gospel in support of the faith and life of the people of God. It should encourage and undergird their "new life" in Christ.
While the second lessons, through their lack of agieement and harmony with first reading and Gospel, pose a practical problem for the preacher, nonetheless, they do present homiletical opportunities. First, there is the opportunity to acquaint people with difficult, but extremely important, books of the Bible; the second lessons suggest a teaching emphasis in one's homiletical program. Second, these readings suggest preaching series of sermons, which might have special relevance for a congregation today; many of the spiritual and practical problems that Paul addressed in Rome and Corinth and other parts of the Christian community of his time find expression in contemporary congregations and need to be addressed from the biblical - Gospel - point of view. Third, there may be some occasions when the second lessons cry out to be preached in place of the traditional Gospel on a given Sunday. These readings often speak to contemporary concerns and causes in the week-to-week life of a congregation.
The bottom line in all of this, as far as one's preaching ministry is concerned, is that one has to plan one's preaching program differently in Pentecost than in the other half of the church year. Sermons will be different, especially if the preacher has developed multi-text sermons in the festival part of the year; three-text sermons are exegetically impossible on most Sundays, but two-text sermons are always a possibility. Sermon themes emerge after exegetical study of the texts; they are not established by the content of the Sundays (except for the obvious festivals - The Holy Trinity, Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day, and Christ the King Sunday). A "Sermon series" on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew is really the "homiletical order" for the cycle and Season of Pentecost. That's the direction the remainder of this study will attempt to go.
Exegetical study of the three readings for any Sunday should not preclude working with the Prayer of the Day, the Psalmody, which changes to harmonize with Old Testament and the Gospel in Cycles A, B, and C, the Psalm Prayer, and other portions of the appointed propers. But these should be studied along with the readings to enrich one's understanding and proclamation of the Word, rather than to help determine the theme and/or the theology of a given Sunday. A study of the propers supplies an added dimension to the preparation of Sunday sermons.
The Day of Pentecost
Roman Catholic
Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
Episcopal
Acts 2:1-11 or Ezekiel 11:17-20
1 Corinthians 12:4-13 or Acts 2:1-11
John 20:19-23
Lutheran
Joel 2:28-29
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
Common
Isaiah 44:1-8
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
The church year theological clue
The Day of Pentecost is the Fiftieth Day of Easter; it brings the Paschal Season to its conclusion and, at the same time, signals the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and to the church. Pentecost is not simply a festival of the Holy Spirit, rather, it is the time for acknowledging - ten days after the Ascension of Our Lord - the powerful gift of the Holy Spirit that Christ had promised to his followers. Like Easter, it has a vigil (not observed to the same degree as the Easter vigil in either Protestant or Roman Churches) that really begins the day's celebration. For details about the Vigil of Pentecost, see: Adrian Nocent, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, the Book ofComrnon Prayer, The Lutheran Book of Worship (Minister's Desk Edition), etc. The Roman Church treats the vigil much as it does the Easter Vigil, appointing six readings (four Old Testament, one Second Lesson, and a Gospel) for the Vigil of Pentecost. The Episcopal Church employs the same texts but puts them in the setting of an "early" service or a "vigil" for Pentecost. The Lutheran Church (LBW) has four readings, of which the first two are connected by an "or," so that there are really only three readings for a vigil. Pentecost, it should be remembered, was also a Hebrew feast that preceded the Christian Pentecost, but was later altered (by A.D. 250) into a festival that celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai, apparently to offset the giving of the Spirit on Pentecost, as the church celebrated the occasion. The coming of the Spirit marks the reversal of the confusion and disunity that sin had brought into the world; the church is unified in the Holy Spirit and, thereby, equipped for its mission in the world. Pentecost actually celebrates, too, the unity of the death, resurrection, and Second Coming of Jesus, along with the power and hope that the gift of the Holy Spirit, who has been operative in the world since it was created by God, gives to the people who belong to the body of Christ, the chutch.
The Prayer of the Day - Two prayers are provided in the LBW, both more theologically oriented to the themes of Pentecost than the classic Pentecost prayer. The first prayer bears some resemblance to the classic collect for Pentecost in that it mentions "our hearts" over against the "hearts of thy faithful people" in the older prayer, but the tense of the two prayers is different. The classic collect recalls the activity of God in the work of "sending to them (God's faithful people) the light of the Holy Spirit" as their teacher, while the modern prayer recalls the "promised gift of the Holy Spirit" and asks God to "look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the spirit." The culmination of this prayer revives memories of the Easter Vigil, as well as the Day of Pentecost, when it says, "Kindle in us the fire of your love," asking God thereby to "strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom." The theological concept of the coming of the Holy Spirit as a gift to the church is affirmed as central to the theme of the day and the meaning of Pentecost.
The second collect concentrates on another - and major - theme of Pentecost, unity through the power of the holy spirit. It stems from the Acts 2 reading with its emphasis on "many languages" and "all nations" who hear the Gospel in "one heavenly speech." The petition asks that we might be made "messengers of the good news" so that all people on earth might "unite in one song of praise." The two prayers point toward the theology of Pentecost in terms of the Holy Spirit as a gift from God to his own people and the unity that the Holy Spirit offers to the church.
The Psalm of the Day - Psalm 104:25-34 - A psalm that looks to the God who is the maker and creator of all things, and who is responsible for all of the good that happens on earth. God's works mirror his image in the world and fill his people with "good things." When God hides his face, the people are filled with fear, because their "breath" is taken away and they die and "return to their dust." This phrase reminds the church of Ash Wednesday and its declaration, "You are dust and unto dust you shall return;" it completes the Easter - death/resurrection - cycle that began thirteen weeks ago. And the psalm goes on to mention the work of the life-giving Spirit of God, which is why the psalm is appointed for Pentecost, of course. God sends forth his Spirit and "they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth." The same Spirit that God set to work in the world at the beginning of creation was released by God on Pentecost to accomplish a new work of creation - resurrection - in the form of the church and the preparation of the faithful for their mission on earth. So the psalmist can declare:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in all his works.... I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise God while I have my being.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
God of all light, life, and love, through the visible things of this world you raise our
thoughts to things unseen, and you show us your power and your love. From your dwelling-place refresh our hearts and renew the face of the earth with the life-giving water of your Word, until the new heaven and new earth resound with the song of resurrection in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Joel 2:28-29
This reading is one of the lessons appointed for the Vigil of Pentecost in the Roman and Episcopal lectionaries; the Lutheran Church uses it only on the Day of Pentecost. As Joel envisioned in his prophecy, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit by God upon "all flesh," he was undoubtedly thinking only in terms of Israel. He believed that the gift of the Spirit would be given to ordinary people, as well as the ordained leaders of the godly community. Peter includes this reference in his Pentecost sermon, quoting the entire prophecy (verses 28-32), rather than just the first two verses of the text which are read in the Lutheran setting to emphasize the nature of the gift God gives in the Holy Spirit, which is offered to all faithful and receptive people by the Father.
Acts 2:1-21
The Common and Lutheran lectionaries include the story of what happened on the day of Pentecost, plus the reaction of the crowd, which concluded that the Spirit-filled disciples were drunk. The Roman and Episcopal lectionaries employ this part of the story as the First Lesson for the Day, probably because it comes as a fulfillment of the Joel prophecy, read in the Pentecost vigil. I suspect that the committee that put together the Luthern Lectionary knew that there was little chance that the Pentecost vigil, whose propers were not even included in the first edition of this lectionary, would "catch on" in the liturgical revisions of the parishes. (Oddly enough, propers for the Vigil of Pentecost were printed in the pew edition of the LBW, but the Vigil of Easter, which was already being celebrated in many Lutheran congregations was omitted from the pew edition. Propers for both the Vigil of Easter and the Vigil of Pentecost were printed in the Minister's Desk Edition of the LBW.) The Lutheran church reads the longer text on Pentecost so that the prophecy and fulfillment will be heard on the Day of Pentecost as God's gift to the Christian community to prepare and empower it for its task in the world.
Again, it should be noted that by using Joel as the first reading and Acts 2 as the second reading, the impression is given that Easter ends on the Seventh Sunday of Easter instead of on Pentecost. The Gospel sounds the note of the resurrection and Pentecost and corrects any such misconceptions that people might have.
John 20:19-23
This reading is, of course, the first part of the Gospel that was proclaimed on the Second Sunday of Easter, in which the Lord appeared in the upper room, greeted the disciples with "Peace be with you," showed them his hands and his side, declared "peace" a second time, outlined their mission ("as the Father has sent me, even so I send you"), and breathed on them, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit." He also gave them the power to forgive - or retam - sins, which is a reference to baptism, because one's sins are forgiven in baptism. Despite the fact that John seems to stir up a controversy as to when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples - whether on Easter Eve or fifty days after the resurrection - the Gospel for the Day makes it clear that Pentecost is the conclusion of Easter; the resurrection of the Lord requires the ascension and Pentecost to make it complete. The Holy Spirit is a gift of the resurrection of Christ to the church to shape, empower, and send it into the world on its mission for the Lord.
A sermon on the Gospel, John 20:19-23 - "A New Act of Creation."
This Gospel takes us back beyond Easter Sunday, all the way to Ash Wednesday with its reference to the retention of sin and the inevitability of death; Ash Wednesday's first word was, "You are dust, and unto dust you shall return." The Easter greeting of the risen Lord to his church, "Peace be with you," assures the faithful that all is well, because our sins have been forgiven and we have been given new life in Christ. This is the last Sunday of Easter, but that doesn't mean that we put away the festival for another year; every Sunday has the cross and empty tomb indelibly marked upon it. This Gospel also reminds us of baptism with its "Receive the Holy Spirit.... If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven," because it is, indeed, in baptism that sin is forgiven and the new life in Christ, the life of the Spirit, begins, because Christ "breathes on us" when the Word is spoken and the Water is poured upon us. So we celebrate, today, not only the birthday of the church of Christ, but the gift of the Holy Spirit, which the Lord God bestows upon the Christian church in the same manner he gave the Spirit to the Israelites in the past. Pentecost, therefore, marks the beginning of a new era in human history, that of the Holy Spirit, who will implement Christ's work on earth "until he comes again."
1. The word of the resurrected Christ to his church and to the world, too, is "Peace be with you." The Lord, crucified on Good Friday, is alive again, and he will live forever, the "first-fruits" of the resurrection. That is why we remember and celebrate Easter at least every Sunday; Jesus, himself, speaks the good news to us in our worship, "Peace be with you."
2. The wounds of Jesus, his body and blood in the Sunday Eucharist, are evidence that his death on the cross was real enough. And we know that it was for us - and for new life - that he hung and suffered there. Jesus died so that our sins might be forgiven and we would be reconciled to God once and for all. If Martin Scorsese had really wanted to damage Christianity when he made the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, he picked the wrong novel and novelist in Kazantzakis; he should have chosen one of the novels about finding the bones of Jesus, such as the former evangelist, Chuck Templeton, wrote over a decade ago. That would have attacked the central doctrine of the faith, Jesus' death and resurrection. Scorsese denies any intention to discredit the Christian faith.
3. The wind on Pentecost Day takes us back to the Garden of Eden, when God breathed on a handful of dust and created the human race. Jesus "breathed on them," the disciples gathered in the locked room, and thereby engaged in a new act of creation, one that is repeated again and again in Holy Baptism as the Spirit moves over the waters and changes the dead into living creatures again.
4. The witness of the faithful is spelled out on Pentecost, "See what the Lord has done for us! He has made us his own people. He can do the same for you." So the church has to go about preaching, "Repent, believe that Jesus is the living Lord, and be baptized in his holy name - and you will become a new creature, a child of God who will live forever."
A sermon on the First Lesson, Joel 2:28-29 - "God Keeps A Promise."
This text might best be incorporated into a sermon on the Second Lesson. If it isn't, it has to be preached in the context of that lesson.
1. God promised - long ago - to pour out, lavishly and generously, with no limits on his action, his Holy Spirit on "all flesh." The Spirit would be given to any and all who would receive this precious gift.
2. God declared - long ago - that a day like Pentecost would occur, when the young people would dream dreams and the elderly would see visions of his kingdom and his reign.
3. God acted - long ago - and really did "pour out his Spirit" on "all flesh." The really good news is that he continues to give the gift to the church and the faithful today. Be acts to give us faith through Christ. He acts to make us new creatures in baptism. He acts and renews us at the Table of the Lord and whenever we call upon him in repentance and true faith.
A sermon on the Second Lesson, Acts 2:1-21 - "Pentecost: Then and Now."
One of the stories my paternal grandfather used to tell me when I was a little boy, was about a mid-summer storm that left him and my grandmother more startled than afraid. It wasn't the storm itself that disturbed them; they had experienced many severe storms with thunder and lightning in northeastern Pennsylvania. They lived in a "land of lightning rods" - and they had lightning rods on their home. But on this occasion, just as the storm was breaking, a strange phenomenon occurred; a "fireball," as they called it, came down the fireplace in their sitting room, which was almost in the middle of the home, moved across the room out into the hallway, past two other open doors, and went right out the front (screen) door. It scorched the screen, so that it had to be replaced. I have since wondered why my grandfather didn't keep it. It would have been a marvelous memento, perhaps a religious relic! The fireball didn't touch or hurt them, but my grandparents never forgot the experience. Deeply religious people that they were, I never learned whether they made any connections to the wind and the fire on the Day of Pentecost, but I suspect that they better understood what happened on that day after Christ's ascension to heaven. The fireball might have made Pentecost mean more to them than it ever had before.
1. Pentecost - what happened? - Through the "mighty wind" God breathed on the people in the upper room and through "the tongues as of fire" he baptized them with the Holy Spirit, just as John had prophesied about the work of Christ.
2. Pentecost - what purpose? - Through the gift of the Holy Spirit God perfected the faith of his disciples so that they would become new persons and be prepared for their mission in the world. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, they immediately began to tell the good news to the world.
3. Pentecost - what meaning? - Through his Spirit the Lord unifies the faithful in Christ and his church. The Holy Spirit testifies that the Lord is indeed alive - now and forever. "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
As the third cycle of the church year, Pentecost is roughly one half of the year, and is often called "The Half Year of the Church," or (as in the LBW) "The Time of the Church." In some ways, cycle and season seem to be indistinguishable from each other; they cover the same period of time within the church year. However, the cycle is the framework of the season; it extends from the festival of the Holy Trinity to Christ the King Sunday. The season is composed of the Sundays between these two biblical and liturgical poles. Actually, Pentecost is a one-season cycle; it may have as many as twenty-eight Sundays "after Pentecost" in the years when Easter is celebrated early in April or late in March.
The Sundays after Pentecost
Pentecost is a season of Sundays. Sunday comes into its own in Pentecost (or Ordinary Time, as the Roman Church calls it). Sunday is the Lord's Day; at least, that's what the church has called it since the primitive age of Christianity. Sunday is always a "Little Easter," a day set aside each week to celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death; it is not the equivalent of Easter, the singular and special day of resurrection. Sunday, as the Lord's Day, is set aside to remember and celebrate Easter and acknowledge the presence of the living Lord as the church awaits his return at the end of the age. It is not the equivalent of the Jewish Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day; Sunday is the eighth day, the ogdoad, the day of new creation, when all things were made new and found a new beginning in the resurrection of the Lord. Sunday is the day when, conscious that humanity has been given a second chance by God to live responsibly in the world, prays for power to live the new life in Christ. Sunday is the day when the church gives thanks - especially in the eucharist - for all that God has done, and is doing, for us in Christ Jesus.
From a practical point of view, the season after Pentecost really has two parts, a "summer section," from the end of Easter to the mid-point of Pentecost (the end of August, usually), and a "fall portion," from Labor Day to Christ the King Sunday. Churches in North America experience a drop in attendance and activities during the summer months; they often reduce the number of worship services on Sunday, sometimes adding weekday services to attract persons who may not be able to worship on Sunday. September marks the start of "new life" in the annual life of many congregations, as people return from summer vacations or some sort of "spiritual hibernation." Attendance improves, Sunday church school begins a new year, special adult and youth programs are promoted, and soon the annual steward-ship drive is shaped and put into action. All of this means that the worship, and, especially, the preaching, during these two unofficial "seasons" within Pentecost, will differ radically.
The Church Year and Lectionary during Pentecost
The church year loses much of its "influence" over the themes and theology of Sunday in Pentecost, when compared to the other two cycles of the church year, but it continues to throw its theological framework around the season and its Sundays. The theological clues and themes for the several Sundays of Pentecost come primarily from the Gospel for the Day, rather than from the theological content of the church year, as in the Christmas and Easter cycles. The Gospels focus the attention of pastors and people upon the work of Christ in the world, but not in the same manner as the Sundays in the first half of the year spell out the kerygmatic theology of the saving events in the life of Christ. The lectionary functions differently in Pentecost than it does in the Christmas and Easter Cycles of the church year.
It is through the semi-continuous reading of the Gospel (Matthew, in this year) that Sunday themes are established. This means that the integrity of Scripture and purity of the Word are preserved, because the readings are not forced into "thematic molds" for worship and/or preaching; the Gospels establish the theme, or themes, for the Sundays. Incidentally, the semi-continuous (semi-lectio continua) readings begin in Pentecost approximately where they left off in Epiphany. The Old Testament lessons continue to be chosen to harmonize with, and support, the Gospel for the Day. They do not follow any "series" pattern, except for the Common Lectionary, and may come from any book of the Old Testament.
The second readings reveal a radical change from their arrangement in the other two cycles; they are appointed in a short series of semi-continuous readings, (this year, the book of Romans is assigned to sixteen Sundays after Pentecost), which generally make no connection with the first reading or the Gospel for the Day. The second readings float freely and function on their own. This, of course, creates some problems - thematic and otherwise - for worship and, particularly, for preaching. It doesn't seem to make much sense to read the second lessons, if they create "thematic confusion" for worship and never become preaching texts by themselves. What should be done about this odd phenomenon in the lectionary?
Preaching during Pentecost
Sunday preaching during Pentecost takes its thematic and theological clues primarily from the Gospel for the Year, Matthew. Sermon themes - and their development - must be from the specific Gospels (and/or the other readings). More often than not, the Gospel for the Day - in consideration of pastoral exegesis - will determine the type and the actual shape of the sermon. The texts themselves will suggest the "what" and the "how" of the preaching. Such preaching will attempt to tell the story so as to open up the Gospel in support of the faith and life of the people of God. It should encourage and undergird their "new life" in Christ.
While the second lessons, through their lack of agieement and harmony with first reading and Gospel, pose a practical problem for the preacher, nonetheless, they do present homiletical opportunities. First, there is the opportunity to acquaint people with difficult, but extremely important, books of the Bible; the second lessons suggest a teaching emphasis in one's homiletical program. Second, these readings suggest preaching series of sermons, which might have special relevance for a congregation today; many of the spiritual and practical problems that Paul addressed in Rome and Corinth and other parts of the Christian community of his time find expression in contemporary congregations and need to be addressed from the biblical - Gospel - point of view. Third, there may be some occasions when the second lessons cry out to be preached in place of the traditional Gospel on a given Sunday. These readings often speak to contemporary concerns and causes in the week-to-week life of a congregation.
The bottom line in all of this, as far as one's preaching ministry is concerned, is that one has to plan one's preaching program differently in Pentecost than in the other half of the church year. Sermons will be different, especially if the preacher has developed multi-text sermons in the festival part of the year; three-text sermons are exegetically impossible on most Sundays, but two-text sermons are always a possibility. Sermon themes emerge after exegetical study of the texts; they are not established by the content of the Sundays (except for the obvious festivals - The Holy Trinity, Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day, and Christ the King Sunday). A "Sermon series" on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew is really the "homiletical order" for the cycle and Season of Pentecost. That's the direction the remainder of this study will attempt to go.
Exegetical study of the three readings for any Sunday should not preclude working with the Prayer of the Day, the Psalmody, which changes to harmonize with Old Testament and the Gospel in Cycles A, B, and C, the Psalm Prayer, and other portions of the appointed propers. But these should be studied along with the readings to enrich one's understanding and proclamation of the Word, rather than to help determine the theme and/or the theology of a given Sunday. A study of the propers supplies an added dimension to the preparation of Sunday sermons.
The Day of Pentecost
Roman Catholic
Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
Episcopal
Acts 2:1-11 or Ezekiel 11:17-20
1 Corinthians 12:4-13 or Acts 2:1-11
John 20:19-23
Lutheran
Joel 2:28-29
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
Common
Isaiah 44:1-8
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
The church year theological clue
The Day of Pentecost is the Fiftieth Day of Easter; it brings the Paschal Season to its conclusion and, at the same time, signals the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and to the church. Pentecost is not simply a festival of the Holy Spirit, rather, it is the time for acknowledging - ten days after the Ascension of Our Lord - the powerful gift of the Holy Spirit that Christ had promised to his followers. Like Easter, it has a vigil (not observed to the same degree as the Easter vigil in either Protestant or Roman Churches) that really begins the day's celebration. For details about the Vigil of Pentecost, see: Adrian Nocent, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, the Book ofComrnon Prayer, The Lutheran Book of Worship (Minister's Desk Edition), etc. The Roman Church treats the vigil much as it does the Easter Vigil, appointing six readings (four Old Testament, one Second Lesson, and a Gospel) for the Vigil of Pentecost. The Episcopal Church employs the same texts but puts them in the setting of an "early" service or a "vigil" for Pentecost. The Lutheran Church (LBW) has four readings, of which the first two are connected by an "or," so that there are really only three readings for a vigil. Pentecost, it should be remembered, was also a Hebrew feast that preceded the Christian Pentecost, but was later altered (by A.D. 250) into a festival that celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai, apparently to offset the giving of the Spirit on Pentecost, as the church celebrated the occasion. The coming of the Spirit marks the reversal of the confusion and disunity that sin had brought into the world; the church is unified in the Holy Spirit and, thereby, equipped for its mission in the world. Pentecost actually celebrates, too, the unity of the death, resurrection, and Second Coming of Jesus, along with the power and hope that the gift of the Holy Spirit, who has been operative in the world since it was created by God, gives to the people who belong to the body of Christ, the chutch.
The Prayer of the Day - Two prayers are provided in the LBW, both more theologically oriented to the themes of Pentecost than the classic Pentecost prayer. The first prayer bears some resemblance to the classic collect for Pentecost in that it mentions "our hearts" over against the "hearts of thy faithful people" in the older prayer, but the tense of the two prayers is different. The classic collect recalls the activity of God in the work of "sending to them (God's faithful people) the light of the Holy Spirit" as their teacher, while the modern prayer recalls the "promised gift of the Holy Spirit" and asks God to "look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the spirit." The culmination of this prayer revives memories of the Easter Vigil, as well as the Day of Pentecost, when it says, "Kindle in us the fire of your love," asking God thereby to "strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom." The theological concept of the coming of the Holy Spirit as a gift to the church is affirmed as central to the theme of the day and the meaning of Pentecost.
The second collect concentrates on another - and major - theme of Pentecost, unity through the power of the holy spirit. It stems from the Acts 2 reading with its emphasis on "many languages" and "all nations" who hear the Gospel in "one heavenly speech." The petition asks that we might be made "messengers of the good news" so that all people on earth might "unite in one song of praise." The two prayers point toward the theology of Pentecost in terms of the Holy Spirit as a gift from God to his own people and the unity that the Holy Spirit offers to the church.
The Psalm of the Day - Psalm 104:25-34 - A psalm that looks to the God who is the maker and creator of all things, and who is responsible for all of the good that happens on earth. God's works mirror his image in the world and fill his people with "good things." When God hides his face, the people are filled with fear, because their "breath" is taken away and they die and "return to their dust." This phrase reminds the church of Ash Wednesday and its declaration, "You are dust and unto dust you shall return;" it completes the Easter - death/resurrection - cycle that began thirteen weeks ago. And the psalm goes on to mention the work of the life-giving Spirit of God, which is why the psalm is appointed for Pentecost, of course. God sends forth his Spirit and "they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth." The same Spirit that God set to work in the world at the beginning of creation was released by God on Pentecost to accomplish a new work of creation - resurrection - in the form of the church and the preparation of the faithful for their mission on earth. So the psalmist can declare:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in all his works.... I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise God while I have my being.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
God of all light, life, and love, through the visible things of this world you raise our
thoughts to things unseen, and you show us your power and your love. From your dwelling-place refresh our hearts and renew the face of the earth with the life-giving water of your Word, until the new heaven and new earth resound with the song of resurrection in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Joel 2:28-29
This reading is one of the lessons appointed for the Vigil of Pentecost in the Roman and Episcopal lectionaries; the Lutheran Church uses it only on the Day of Pentecost. As Joel envisioned in his prophecy, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit by God upon "all flesh," he was undoubtedly thinking only in terms of Israel. He believed that the gift of the Spirit would be given to ordinary people, as well as the ordained leaders of the godly community. Peter includes this reference in his Pentecost sermon, quoting the entire prophecy (verses 28-32), rather than just the first two verses of the text which are read in the Lutheran setting to emphasize the nature of the gift God gives in the Holy Spirit, which is offered to all faithful and receptive people by the Father.
Acts 2:1-21
The Common and Lutheran lectionaries include the story of what happened on the day of Pentecost, plus the reaction of the crowd, which concluded that the Spirit-filled disciples were drunk. The Roman and Episcopal lectionaries employ this part of the story as the First Lesson for the Day, probably because it comes as a fulfillment of the Joel prophecy, read in the Pentecost vigil. I suspect that the committee that put together the Luthern Lectionary knew that there was little chance that the Pentecost vigil, whose propers were not even included in the first edition of this lectionary, would "catch on" in the liturgical revisions of the parishes. (Oddly enough, propers for the Vigil of Pentecost were printed in the pew edition of the LBW, but the Vigil of Easter, which was already being celebrated in many Lutheran congregations was omitted from the pew edition. Propers for both the Vigil of Easter and the Vigil of Pentecost were printed in the Minister's Desk Edition of the LBW.) The Lutheran church reads the longer text on Pentecost so that the prophecy and fulfillment will be heard on the Day of Pentecost as God's gift to the Christian community to prepare and empower it for its task in the world.
Again, it should be noted that by using Joel as the first reading and Acts 2 as the second reading, the impression is given that Easter ends on the Seventh Sunday of Easter instead of on Pentecost. The Gospel sounds the note of the resurrection and Pentecost and corrects any such misconceptions that people might have.
John 20:19-23
This reading is, of course, the first part of the Gospel that was proclaimed on the Second Sunday of Easter, in which the Lord appeared in the upper room, greeted the disciples with "Peace be with you," showed them his hands and his side, declared "peace" a second time, outlined their mission ("as the Father has sent me, even so I send you"), and breathed on them, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit." He also gave them the power to forgive - or retam - sins, which is a reference to baptism, because one's sins are forgiven in baptism. Despite the fact that John seems to stir up a controversy as to when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples - whether on Easter Eve or fifty days after the resurrection - the Gospel for the Day makes it clear that Pentecost is the conclusion of Easter; the resurrection of the Lord requires the ascension and Pentecost to make it complete. The Holy Spirit is a gift of the resurrection of Christ to the church to shape, empower, and send it into the world on its mission for the Lord.
A sermon on the Gospel, John 20:19-23 - "A New Act of Creation."
This Gospel takes us back beyond Easter Sunday, all the way to Ash Wednesday with its reference to the retention of sin and the inevitability of death; Ash Wednesday's first word was, "You are dust, and unto dust you shall return." The Easter greeting of the risen Lord to his church, "Peace be with you," assures the faithful that all is well, because our sins have been forgiven and we have been given new life in Christ. This is the last Sunday of Easter, but that doesn't mean that we put away the festival for another year; every Sunday has the cross and empty tomb indelibly marked upon it. This Gospel also reminds us of baptism with its "Receive the Holy Spirit.... If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven," because it is, indeed, in baptism that sin is forgiven and the new life in Christ, the life of the Spirit, begins, because Christ "breathes on us" when the Word is spoken and the Water is poured upon us. So we celebrate, today, not only the birthday of the church of Christ, but the gift of the Holy Spirit, which the Lord God bestows upon the Christian church in the same manner he gave the Spirit to the Israelites in the past. Pentecost, therefore, marks the beginning of a new era in human history, that of the Holy Spirit, who will implement Christ's work on earth "until he comes again."
1. The word of the resurrected Christ to his church and to the world, too, is "Peace be with you." The Lord, crucified on Good Friday, is alive again, and he will live forever, the "first-fruits" of the resurrection. That is why we remember and celebrate Easter at least every Sunday; Jesus, himself, speaks the good news to us in our worship, "Peace be with you."
2. The wounds of Jesus, his body and blood in the Sunday Eucharist, are evidence that his death on the cross was real enough. And we know that it was for us - and for new life - that he hung and suffered there. Jesus died so that our sins might be forgiven and we would be reconciled to God once and for all. If Martin Scorsese had really wanted to damage Christianity when he made the movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, he picked the wrong novel and novelist in Kazantzakis; he should have chosen one of the novels about finding the bones of Jesus, such as the former evangelist, Chuck Templeton, wrote over a decade ago. That would have attacked the central doctrine of the faith, Jesus' death and resurrection. Scorsese denies any intention to discredit the Christian faith.
3. The wind on Pentecost Day takes us back to the Garden of Eden, when God breathed on a handful of dust and created the human race. Jesus "breathed on them," the disciples gathered in the locked room, and thereby engaged in a new act of creation, one that is repeated again and again in Holy Baptism as the Spirit moves over the waters and changes the dead into living creatures again.
4. The witness of the faithful is spelled out on Pentecost, "See what the Lord has done for us! He has made us his own people. He can do the same for you." So the church has to go about preaching, "Repent, believe that Jesus is the living Lord, and be baptized in his holy name - and you will become a new creature, a child of God who will live forever."
A sermon on the First Lesson, Joel 2:28-29 - "God Keeps A Promise."
This text might best be incorporated into a sermon on the Second Lesson. If it isn't, it has to be preached in the context of that lesson.
1. God promised - long ago - to pour out, lavishly and generously, with no limits on his action, his Holy Spirit on "all flesh." The Spirit would be given to any and all who would receive this precious gift.
2. God declared - long ago - that a day like Pentecost would occur, when the young people would dream dreams and the elderly would see visions of his kingdom and his reign.
3. God acted - long ago - and really did "pour out his Spirit" on "all flesh." The really good news is that he continues to give the gift to the church and the faithful today. Be acts to give us faith through Christ. He acts to make us new creatures in baptism. He acts and renews us at the Table of the Lord and whenever we call upon him in repentance and true faith.
A sermon on the Second Lesson, Acts 2:1-21 - "Pentecost: Then and Now."
One of the stories my paternal grandfather used to tell me when I was a little boy, was about a mid-summer storm that left him and my grandmother more startled than afraid. It wasn't the storm itself that disturbed them; they had experienced many severe storms with thunder and lightning in northeastern Pennsylvania. They lived in a "land of lightning rods" - and they had lightning rods on their home. But on this occasion, just as the storm was breaking, a strange phenomenon occurred; a "fireball," as they called it, came down the fireplace in their sitting room, which was almost in the middle of the home, moved across the room out into the hallway, past two other open doors, and went right out the front (screen) door. It scorched the screen, so that it had to be replaced. I have since wondered why my grandfather didn't keep it. It would have been a marvelous memento, perhaps a religious relic! The fireball didn't touch or hurt them, but my grandparents never forgot the experience. Deeply religious people that they were, I never learned whether they made any connections to the wind and the fire on the Day of Pentecost, but I suspect that they better understood what happened on that day after Christ's ascension to heaven. The fireball might have made Pentecost mean more to them than it ever had before.
1. Pentecost - what happened? - Through the "mighty wind" God breathed on the people in the upper room and through "the tongues as of fire" he baptized them with the Holy Spirit, just as John had prophesied about the work of Christ.
2. Pentecost - what purpose? - Through the gift of the Holy Spirit God perfected the faith of his disciples so that they would become new persons and be prepared for their mission in the world. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, they immediately began to tell the good news to the world.
3. Pentecost - what meaning? - Through his Spirit the Lord unifies the faithful in Christ and his church. The Holy Spirit testifies that the Lord is indeed alive - now and forever. "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
