Pentecost is right around the corner (June 8). The festival, which falls 50 days after Easter, was a Jewish feast also known as Shavuot or the Festival of Weeks, intended both to honor the first wheat harvest of the year and to commemorate the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Shavuot was one of the three festivals in which it was expected for faithful Jews to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, bringing the first fruits of their harvest as an offering to God. It was during this festival, Luke tells us, that the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles, emboldening them to preach the good news about Jesus to a city full of people. By the power of the Holy Spirit, each person heard in their own language, and about 3000 of them became followers of Jesus.
As Christians, we primarily think of Pentecost as Luke describes it; a day to honor the activity of the Holy Spirit. But perhaps there is something important about those other meanings tied to the day. Because, just as Shavuot remembered God giving the Law to the people through Moses, so on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit empowered Peter and the others to share the Gospel with a crowd gathered from all over the Roman world. And while the Festival of Weeks was a time to bring the first fruits of the harvest to honor God, Pentecost is also the time that we remember another sort of harvest, as those who were baptized into Christ began to share not just their first fruits, but all the had with one another. Pentecost is a day for remembering the importance of Spirit, of Scripture, and of Stewardship.
The Spirit is still moving today, Beloved. Sometimes she moves in powerful ways, like the rush of wind on that first Pentecost. Other times, she moves quietly, as gentle as the breath that Jesus breathed upon his disciples in the upper room. But the Spirit is always moving, either stirring us up to action or calming us down from the chaos in our lives. Even now, as you read these words, the Spirit is at work in you. Because Pentecost, while a celebration, is also a way of life.
That Spirit-filled Pentecost way of life is one marked by Scripture and Stewardship. Like the rhythm of breathing, we take in the Word of God and we send forth our blessings for the sake of the world. We breathe in the Spirit as we study what God has done in the story of scripture. We breathe out the Spirit as we continue that Kin-dom work through the sharing of our time, talents, treasures, and testimonies. We inhale the calming voice of the Spirit, reminding us not to be afraid because God is with us. We exhale the powerful voice of the Spirit, speaking out against all those things that do not honor the image of God in our neighbors or the hopes God has for the world God so loves.
May every day be Pentecost for you, dear Church. May you be intentional about the Spirit-filled way of life that is guided by Scripture and expressed through Stewardship. And may you see God working in, with, and through you in powerful ways for the sake of the world.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Will Starkweather
Last modified: May 25, 2025