One of the major feasts of the church is Pentecost, a feast celebrated fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus. In the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke places the gift of the Holy Spirit fifty days after the Resurrection and ten days after the Ascension of Our Lord into heaven (Acts 2:1-4). He chooses this fiftieth day feast to associate the feast with its Old Testament roots. The harvest took place fifty days after the planting; thus Pentecost (based on the Greek word for fifty) was originally a harvest feast.

Later it was remembered also as the giving of the Law of Moses on Mount Sinai as the “harvest” of the Old Covenant. So, for St. Luke, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of the work of Jesus; the work of Salvation. We no longer have a law written on tablets of stone, but on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the gift of the Risen Lord and the seal of our belonging to Christ through faith and baptism.

The giving of the Holy Spirit inaugurates the new age of the revelation of the Holy Trinity. The

pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon humanity is the fulfillment of the work of salvation. “When the designated time had come, God sent forth his Son…to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it, so that we might receive our status as adopted sons. The proof that you are sons is the fact that God has sent forth into our hearts the spirit of his Son which cries out ‘Abba!’ (‘Father!) You are no longer a slave but a son…by God’s design (Gal 4:4-7), God’s New Covenant in Jesus Christ is effected in us by the giving of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit inaugurates the age and mission of the church. The Holy Spirit is the basis of Christian unity within a diversity of nations, languages and cultures. “The Holy Spirit provides every gift. Heinspires prophecy, perfects the priesthood, grants wisdom to the illiterate, makes simple fishermen to become wise theologians, and establishes perfect order in the organization of the church. Wherefore, 0 Comforter, equal in nature and majesty with the Father and the Son, glory to You! (Vespers for the Feast)

The icon of Pentecost is in marked contrast with the biblical description of the Descent of the Holy Spirit described in the Acts of the Apostles where there is a great deal of activity and confusion. In the icon of the feast we see the effects of the Holy Spirit characterized by serenity and composure. The gift of the Holy Spirit is always peace, a peace that leads to holiness and wholeness. In our church we always celebrate the Sunday of All Saints immediately after Pentecost because the work of the Holy Spirit is to constantly bring holiness to the People of God.

Reprinted with permission from Awakening Our Treasures; published at the Sower, Stamford, Ct.