Pentecost – Gralefrit Theology

“When the Day of Pentecost arrived…”

Pentecost….from the Gk meaning 50th. 50th what?

50th day after Passover.

In the OT it is called The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot).

A national holiday of rest, offering and celebration of the harvest (Lev. 23).

Now that’s interesting.

On the day of rest and offering and celebration:

On the one hand liberation and exodus from tyranny in Egypt.

On the other, the first fruits of the harvest in field and herd in the land.

The disciples were all together, 50 days after Jesus’ death and resurrection;

Just a few days after Jesus had ascended to the Father (Acts 1).

With final instructions to bear witness to Jesus, here, there and everywhere (Acts 1:8).

OK, Ok, but first they needed to replace Judas; and Mathias became an apostle.

What did Jesus mean when he said we would be clothed with power?

Anyway, until then….

Continue reading “A Pentecost Sermon: Uniting Some Biblical Strands” →

Here is my script for the BBC Radio Devon Sunday Morning Service that will go out on Pentecost Sunday (sadly the iPlayer begins after my hilarious reference to G. K. Chesterton and dead dogs)!:

Pentecost is a most wonderful and vital part of the history and life of the Church.

In fact, the Church comes into existence only by receiving the creative life of the Holy Spirit of God.

We remember it as a past event, and without its continued present reality, the Church would cease to exist.

Although G. K. Chesterton humorously observed that, “At least five times [Christianity] has to all appearances gone to the dogs. In each of these five cases, it was the dog that died.”

Continue reading “Pentecost Ponderings” →