A fruitful Whitsunday

Sermon for Whitsunday

Would it surprise you to know

that Pentecost is not a festival

exclusive to Christianity?

The fact of the matter

is that Pentecost is very much

a Jewish festival,

something that the disciples

have carried with them

throughout their lives.

Notice how they gather together

of one accord

to celebrate the feast of Pentecost.

So what is the Jewish feast of Pentecost,

and why is it now so very Christian?

[PAUSE]

Pentecost is Greek for fifty

and so fifty days after the Passover

would be the day of Pentecost

the Festival of Weeks as it is called.

Originally, Pentecost

was supposed to be a harvest festival

of the first fruits,

that is, the first produce

that comes in the year.

Pentecost is the feast

of giving thanks to God

for his generosity

and to offer those first fruits to Him

as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

This practice really continues

until the destruction of the temple

puts an end to all the sacrifices

and all the feasts.

Since then,

the feast of Pentecost

has been associated

with the memorial of

the giving of the Torah

to the Israelites by Moses

which occurs around

the same time of year.

This is surely very significant

because we have the association

of the first fruits of God's creation

with God giving us the first law

which we as Christians still need

to take to heart.

There is something very deep

about why our Lord chooses

to send the Holy Ghost at this time.

For the disciples,

the temple is not yet destroyed

though it will be.

So for them,

Pentecost is more about

the first fruits of God's creation.

[PAUSE]

And now we realise,

on this the birthday of the Church,

that the Church herself

is to be identified with

the first fruits of creation.

These first fruits

are always set apart for God.

In sending the Holy Ghost

on the day of Pentecost,

the Lord is clear in his intention

that the Church should be a holy body

set apart for the worship of God.

This is precisely what the Torah is for

to show people what being holy looks like

and how God intends us

to be set apart from Him.

This is why the first fruits

and the Old Testament

are inextricably linked.

Remember,

Our Lord comes,

not to destroy the Law of the Torah

but to fulfil it!

All through His earthly ministry,

Our Lord has been talking about

the Kingdom of God

in terms of the sowing of seed

and the reaping of wheat.

The good wheat,

the ears that carry a hundredfold of grain,

are the ones that are dedicated to God

and are His fruit.

You see this so much

in the disciples,

in particular in how they behave

when the Holy Ghost descends upon them.

At this moment,

the fact that they are set apart by God

becomes apparent

and unquestionable.

We know that

they were set apart by God

from the moment of their calling

when they chose to follow Jesus

leaving behind their fishing nets

and their tax collecting.

Now it becomes apparent

these disciples are the first fruits

of the Church,

set apart for his service,

beginning the Church of Christ

which will last to these days

and beyond.

We are the chosen generation,

 we are the royal priesthood,

we are the holy nation.

This is what the day of Pentecost means.

It is not something new

but rather it is something renewed

so that the glory of God may be seen.

We, too, ought to be first fruits.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself

is the first fruits of those who sleep,

the first to rise from the dead

in order that the dead themselves

might be raised to life,

separated out by the Holy Ghost.

This is why Easter Day

and Pentecost are linked by God Himself,

first by the resurrection

of Our Lord from the dead,

and then by His separating

the Church out of the world

as the first fruits of His ministry.

The dead are raised

and the faithful

are raised to glory

through the action

of the Holy Ghost Who dwells

in them in order that

they might be righteous

in the eyes of God.

[PAUSE]

For the Christian,

every day is the day of Pentecost

because we can commune

with the Holy Ghost

at any time and

our separation from this world,

our separation from sin,

our separation from death,

comes as a process

of justification,

of sanctification,

and of glorification.

In asking for the presence

of the Holy Ghost in our lives,

we are asking for Pentecost

and asking to be fruitful

in the service of God.

This is why the sacrament

of Confirmation is so important.

We are baptised with the Holy Ghost

at our Baptism with water

in the name of the Trinity.

But, if we truly wish

to sanctify our work

as Christians in the world,

then we approach the bishop

to lay his hands upon us

and confirm us with the Holy Ghost.

This is when we are fit for service

and can live lives actively dedicated

to the service of God.

[PAUSE]

At our Baptism,

we receive the seeds

of our justification

which grow throughout our lives

so that with our Confirmation,

we can bear the first fruits of labour

for the love of God.

At our Confirmation,

we receive grace

whereby we are strengthened

for service.

And then we, too,

must sleep in death

only to be raised with Christ

and become the first fruits

of those who sleep in Him,

awake to the Eternal sunshine

od His Divine Glory.