Pentecost

All of our preparations and activities this past week and a half culmintated in our Pentecost party.  Sunday marked 50 days after we celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus.  And 50 days after THAT day was when the Holy Spirit came, giving power and boldness.  That was the day that the disciples boldly proclaimed the good news of Jesus and over 3,000 decided to follow Jesus.  The church was born.

The boys helped gather balloons and finish the crowns.  Candles were lit!  

Tongues of fire graced heads.

And a meal was shared.

The highlight for the evening was of course the 'birthday' cake and singing.  The boys also sang one of the two songs they had learned.

We have been talking about how the church is "who" not "where."  This is  difficult because our terminology really can mislead.  We refer to the building as the church or the Sunday morning meeting as church.  But what we need to really understand at a deep level is that those who believe in Jesus are the church.  Sunday morning is simply the gathering of the church. 

To reinforce this, I taught the boys a song that I learned as a child.  I only remembered the chorus and first two verses, but was excited to discover that there was more, including a verse directly relating to Pentecost.

 

Wobbles, courtesy of a certain 2 year old who wanted to 'watch'. 

We Are the Church

Words and Music by Richard K. Avery and Donald S. Marsh, 1972

Chorus:

I am the church, you are the church;

we are the church together.

All who follow Jesus, all around the world.

Yes, we're the church together.

Verses:
The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple,

the church is not a place, but the church is the people.

We're many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces,

all colors and all ages, too, from all times and places.

And when the people gather, there's singing and there's praying,

there's laughing and there's crying sometimes, all of it saying:

At Pentecost some people received the Holy Spirit

and told the Good News through the world to all who would hear it.

I'm excited to explore this again next year.  There are so many different aspects to mediate on - the history of the early church, the Holy Spirit (fruit, gifts, filling, power, comfort), the Jewish feast of Pentecost or First Fruits.  So until next year...