This past Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. I may have mentioned it in previous posts, but I'll mention it here again -- there are 7 holy days a year: two during the spring, Pentecost, then 4 in the fall. They are outlined throughout the old testament, but especially in Deuteronomy & Leviticus, and they were kept throughout the new testament.
Pentecost might sound familiar to most because it's kind of a huge day in Christian history. Christ had come, died, and had been resurrected, but the Holy Spirit hadn't been given to the people who had been calling themselves Christians, i.e. followers of Jesus. Until this day. Acts 2: read it. It was a very dramatic, miraculous event.
It's called Pentecost because it's 50 days from the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
The Sabbath has really incredible implications, one of the greatest being that it's a day of rest. And it happens on the 7th day of the week, as God established it at creation, every week, forever. Every single week you are to complete your work, tie up loose ends, make time for peace, and get together with people you love. It's incredible. Pentecost is seven times seven, Sabbath times Sabbath, 49, plus one. The Sabbath is the starting point, it represents obedience, in the same way the spring holy days represent the about-face commitment to living the Way God intended life to be lived. Pentecost represents going above and beyond repentance and obedience.
This weekend, like Pentecost weekend each year, we had a double Sabbath. That means we had three sermons -- one on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday), then two on the holy day of Pentecost (Sunday). The theme that ran through all of them that Pentecost is about human relationships. What holds us up when things get rough? Who loves me unconditionally, even when I am a complete spaz? Family. What are we supposed to do when people don't make sense and get all crazy on us? Paul says it in just about every single one of his epistles -- bear with one another. Longsuffering is one of the fruits of the spirit. Loving each other despite our faults, and building each other up is key to growing as a Christian.
The impact family has on an individual is tremendous. I think it can be assumed that most families aren't perfect. But the building up of individuals and the whole of a family makes for strong society. It's what God originally intended for the house of Israel -- a family dynamic, that, despite their glaring faults, could be made strong. God wanted to prove that if they'd live His Way, they'd trump human error. The house of Israel proved that humans not only need the Way, they also need the Spirit, that Helper.
Christ fulfilled the first two holy days during the Passover season, then the Holy Spirit being given fulfilled Pentecost. The focus of the spring holy days is on the church and on our temporal time here. The fall holy days will be fulfilled upon Christ's return. The fall holy days are so incredible, because they focus on the hope of all mankind.
Being a Christian means that I've committed my life to His Way and that I depend on His strength to bond me to people in His church. Tapping into and magnifying that strength, navigating what can be a blur of human relationships, is what the day of Pentecost is all about. If I get to be a part of building someone up or helping someone find their peace, that relationship is drawing me, and hopefully others, closer to God.
It is a tall order to commit to a life of continual self-examination, to constantly admit that, alone, I am inadequate. But the power God gives us, by living His Way and committing to relationships that He says matter, gives not only me but this whole wide world hope. Pentecost is just another stepping stone in the huge Plan. It's full of hope and it reminds me how special my physical but especially my spiritual family is.
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