PENTECOST DAY
(Whitsunday)
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Acts 2:9-11: “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
John 14:26-27a: Jesus said, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit… will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.”
Reflection
I’m sure my church isn’t the only one that reads the story of Pentecost simultaneously in multiple languages. But I have to admit I’d never heard of this custom until I started attending an Episcopal church. During the reading from the Book of Acts, members of the congregation who speak another language will stand up and read the same passage aloud in that language. The result is a whirlwind of words that somehow manages to retain a semblance of order—and, of course, that’s the point. The intent is to echo that first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ followers, giving them the ability to speak God’s message in languages they didn’t speak. (You can hear how my church does it by clicking here.)
For the past three years or so, I’ve stood up and read the narrative in Danish, which I’ve been studying for a number of years now. My biggest challenge comes when it’s time to read the names of the nations, which we know as “Parthians, Medes, Elamites,” etc. I always second-guess myself: “Am I pronouncing them correctly in Danish?” I mean, think of the ambiguities even in English: is it “EH-luh-mights” or “EE-luh-mights”? Does it matter? Can you choose, like how some people rhyme “Nevada” with “gotta”, and others with “had a”, and still sound right?
But this year, as I was preparing myself again to read in Danish, I realized that I don’t even know who most of these people were. They sound vaguely familiar from history class, but what am I missing by not knowing more of their story—who they were, where they were? So I spent one afternoon researching what I could find out about them on Wikipedia, and here’s what I found—the abridged version:
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites were ancient Iranian peoples, many of whom occupied an area that stretched from modern-day southeastern Turkey to northwestern Iran, where the Achaemenid Empire once flourished 500 years ago. Classical historians believed the biblical Magi were Medes, possibly followers of the Zoroastrian religion. Mesopotamia (the land “between the rivers”) is considered to be the “cradle of civilization”, the “Fertile Crescent”, spawning various empires such as the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian, later conquered by the Greeks, under Alexander the Great, and even later by the Parthians. Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia were all located on what is now eastern Turkey, stretching from north to south, where the Hittites had once ruled about 800 years prior. And lastly, Judea, Egypt, Libya, Rome, Crete, and Arabia are regions whose locations (hopefully) we’re all still familiar with!
In short, this litany of nations represents the bulk of the then-known world, about 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) wide, almost 2/3 the width of the United States. So what’s most striking about our Pentecost story is that, despite such large distances, diverse backgrounds, warring rivalries, and even different religions, God’s message is—literally—universal, for all the peoples. No one is left out; everyone hears “the mighty works of God” in his or her own mother tongue. And I think it’s fitting that the reading ends with the question: “What does this mean?” The disciples were only beginning to answer that question. And as for us, we who live in a world of instant and global communication; who are surrounded by countless cultures from around the world; who can speak into a smartphone and have our words read back in a foreign language, what does this mean for us?
The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, is still trying to teach us that answer. But may we always remember that we’ll never learn the lesson unless we start with God’s mighty and universal works of love, which are ever grounded in the peace that God freely leaves with us.
Prayer of the Day
God,
on this day you taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit.
Grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgment in all things,
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Savior,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the same Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
—Collect for Whitsunday (Pentecost) from the Book of Common Prayer, 1662
Almighty God,
on this day you opened the way of eternal life
to every race and nation
by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit.
Shed abroad this gift throughout the world
by the preaching of the Gospel,
that it may reach to the ends of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
—Collect for “the Day of Pentecost: Whitsunday” from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979
Hymn: “Alleluia! sing to Jesus!”
(Words: William Chatterton Dix, 1837-1898
Tune: ‘Hyfrydol’, by Rowland Hugh Prichard, 1811-1887)
Alleluia! sing to Jesus!
His the scepter, his the throne.
Alleluia! his the triumph,
His the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion
Thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus, out of every nation,
Has redeemed us by his blood.
Alleluia! not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now.
Alleluia! he is near us;
Faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received him,
When the forty days were o’er,
Shall our hearts forget his promise:
“I am with you evermore”?
Alleluia! Bread of Heaven,
You on earth our food, our stay!
Alleluia! here the sinful
Flee to you from day to day.
Intercessor, friend of sinners,
Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless
Sweep across the crystal sea.
Alleluia! King eternal,
You the Lord of lords we own.
Alleluia! born of Mary,
Earth your footstool, heav’n your throne.
You within the veil have entered,
Robed in flesh, our great High Priest;
You, on earth both Priest and Victim
In the eucharistic feast.
Alleluia! sing to Jesus!
His the scepter, his the throne.
Alleluia! his the triumph,
His the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of holy Zion
Thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus, out of every nation,
Has redeemed us by his blood.
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