Happy Birthday to who…. Happy Birthday to who… Happy Birthday dear…. So, who are we singing Happy Birthday to?? Well, that would be to you and me…and the Episcopal church just a block over. It would be to the UCC Church and First Lutheran, Holy Family Catholic Church, Life Church, all of which are just a stone’s throw away. And we’d also be singing to all the Christian Churches and Faith Communities here in Mitchell, the region, the state, the nation, and all around the globe. Yep, Happy Birthday to US!!
Yes, we’re singing Happy Birthday to the Church because that is what Pentecost Sunday is often referred to as, the birthday of the Church. Why?? Because it was on Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and the followers that were with them in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit, the power of God filled them and sent them out into the world, bringing the Good News of God’s presence and God’s love to all.
You know the Pentecost story as Acts 2:1-4 (CEB) tells us, “When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.”
Isn’t it interesting that at most birthday celebrations we light candles that are atop the cake. It would be interesting to know how that tradition started and what the symbolism is. However, with the birthday of the Church, we don’t light candles, we celebrate people being lit afire with the presence, power, and love of God. Acts 2 tells the story of “flames” coming upon the disciples, and the rest of the book of Acts is about how they took Good News and the power of God out into the world, with that message ultimately even coming to a place like Mitchell, South Dakota. How amazing is that!!??
It is interesting to me as a United Methodist (influenced by John Wesley) that Aldersgate Day – May 24th, the day that John Wesley was empowered by the Holy Spirit and finally felt the love of God, is so close to Pentecost Sunday. Truly, Wesley’s Aldersgate experience was his personal Pentecost. It was after this moment that Wesley truly touched the world with the fire of faith that was burning within him.
This Sunday, May 28, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. As I mentioned last Sunday, the tradition is that people wear red to church on Pentecost Sunday, the red represents flames. So, again, come join us for worship…and wear something red!! Let’s truly celebrate the birthday of the church!!
But my real hope about Pentecost Sunday is that this wouldn’t simply be a time to celebrate and look to the past and the fact that the Church is another year older. No, my real hope is that Pentecost would be a reminder that we are an empowered and a “sent” people – sent into the world with Good News, with God’s love, and with God’s power. Our current day is truly a time in which we need to once again experience and share the power, the joy, the hope, and the love of that first Pentecost.
At birthday celebrations we don’t just celebrate the year that is past, there is also a sense of hoping and dreaming of what will be in the year to come. May this be our focus too, as we celebrate the birthday of the Church. Pentecost isn’t about the year past…it’s about the God’s Spirit at work in the year to come!!! May we make the Holy Spirit be evident in who we are, in how we live, and in how we follow Jesus!! Happy Birthday Church!!!
Pastor Keith