I feel a song coming on . . .
Happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Church, Happy Birthday to you!
I wanted to attach an audio file of me singing that song, but for some reason the computer kept crashing every time I tried . . .
Nevertheless, I do want to wish the Church a happy birthday, with wishes for many more to come. And which church is that? Is it my church, St. Peter’s in Elk Grove, California, which incorporated 97 years ago this month? No. How about the other St. Peter’s, that one in Rome built in 1506 and serving as the cathedral for the Pope and his homies? No. Or how about the oldest church building in the world, the Dura-Europos Church in Aleppo, Syria, dating from AD 241? Still no. It’s not any particular congregation or worship space I am wishing Happy Birthday to, but to the Church (with a capital C), the great body of believers spread throughout the world, whose unity we confess every week in the Apostles’ Creed as the “holy catholic Church” or “holy Christian Church,” or the Nicene Creed as the “one holy catholic and apostolic Church.” Yep, that Church!
So, why that Church? Do we know when it was born, that our celebration right now would be timely? The New Testament uses the Greek word, ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, ek-klay-see’-ah)*, those who are called out from the world to follow God, to refer to the Church.
In one sense, the Church has existed wherever and whenever people have responded to God’s call. That would include the Old Testament patriarchs and saints, the gatherings of the Israelites in the Tabernacle and Temple, and the congregations of the local synagogues. And, in another sense, you could call the gathering of Christ’s disciples a church, in that they, too, were “called out” to gather together and follow God. Using these understandings of church, we can’t really pick a day when the Church began.
However, there is a day that Christians throughout the centuries have marked as the birthday of the Church, and that is the Day of Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the earliest followers of Christ, and fulfilled Christ’s own promise, recorded in John and Luke:
John 16:7-8 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Luke 24:49 “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 2 contains the record of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring upon the first believers. The event was accompanied by outward signs which gave evidence of the spiritual reality:
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
These visible and audible phenomena were, well, phenomenal. But the greatest miracle of all that day took place after Peter explained what was happening, along with the Gospel, to a skeptical crowd, and three thousand believed and were baptized. The Birthday of the Church, indeed!
Today is Pentecost. What had just been a Jewish holiday celebrating the first harvest and the giving of the Law by Moses, is now also a Christian holy day celebration. So how do we celebrate this special birthday? We do it in many ways like any birthday: with cake and ice cream! Okay, that’s my idea, but before you reject my recommendation, consider the ways that Pentecost celebrations are already just like birthday parties:
- We get together. Okay, so this year is different for most of us; we usually gather to celebrate Pentecost. This great day took place on a Sunday (the first day of the week) on the fiftieth day (seven weeks) after the resurrection of Christ. Likewise, it is still celebrated on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when Christians gather for weekly worship.
- We dress up festively. Many Christians wear red to church (remember when we used to go to church?). Red ties, shirts, dresses, sweaters, socks – you name it. Just as congregations use red paraments on the altar and red stoles on their pastors, congregants wear red to symbolize the coming of the Holy Spirit and the flames which rested on the disciples. Red is also fitting as a sign of fire as a purifying (Malachi 3:2) and judging agent (Matthew 3:11).
- We sing songs. Besides “Happy Birthday” we also sing songs like, “Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling,” and “O Day Full of Grace.“
- We get gifts. Just as the “birthday girl” or “birthday boy” gets gifts, so does the Church, whose birthday it is. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to the Church, both individually and corporately (1 Corinthians 12). These spiritual gifts equip the Church and its members to carry out the ministry to which Christ has entrusted it: the proclamation of the Gospel to the world and the making of disciples through the Word and the Sacraments. Matthew 28 quotes Jesus’ charge to his followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The Spirit’s gifts help us to do just that, as well as strengthen our faith and comfort us in our difficulties. The Scriptures list some of those gifts, noting that we don’t all get the same cookie-cutter present. One size does not fit all. Instead, each is given with a special purpose matched to who we are and what we need most, unlike that one gift you got back in junior high you had to accept with a forced smile and a “Thanks so much, Uncle Mort and Aunt Gerty, I’ve always wanted one of these.” But whatever wonderful gift the Holy Spirit gives you, the best of his presents is his presence.
- We have flames! Some might call them candles, but whatever they are, most birthday parties have lit candles, one for each year of age, that the birthday child has to blow out. People my age must apply for permits from the local fire district to follow that tradition; unfortunately, my birthday falls during California’s fire season, so I have been told, “don’t bother.” On the original Pentecost tongues “as of fire” rested on the believers, and though we don’t see those flames appear visibly today, we do have Paul’s instructions in 2 Timothy 1:6, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God.” We are not to put out (quench) the Spirit, but use the gifts he has given. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.”
- We send thank-you notes. Our prayers of thanksgiving, our offerings, our service given to others, are all responses to the gifts which God has given us, the greatest being forgiveness and eternal life. Pentecost is a Sunday, which like every other Sunday, is a miniature Easter, a day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and the giving of the Holy Spirit. For these things we are truly grateful, which calls for our response. We do this in worship, but also in all relationships, loving God and our neighbor at Christ wants us to do. We don’t keep silent when someone gives us something wonderful; nor do we say thanks and throw away the gift. Likewise, when God gives us gifts through his Spirit, we say thank you and show our appreciation by putting the gift to use.
- We eat ice cream and cake. Okay, I tried to sneak this one in again. But, don’t you agree it’s a great idea?
Today (May 31, 2020) is Pentecost. So celebrate it well, even if we are kept from gathering and celebrating this significant event as we would rather do. And just as the same God who created the Church holds us in his hand, let us hold his great creation in our hearts, and celebrate his wonderful gift.
Happy Birthday, Church!
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be grateful to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Acts 2, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12.
* You can see this Greek word living today in the words various Romance languages use for church: la chiesa (Italian), la iglesia (Spanish), and l’eglise (French). Our English word come from Germanic roots: die Kirche. All have feminine grammatical gender, which fits since the Church is the Bride of Christ!