What's the origin of our celebration of Pentecost?
Well, a feast of Pentecost (50 days) was very much in place long before the day when the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of fire and rested upon Jesus's friends - 50 days after Easter.
Consider these words from the first reading for Pentecost Sunday (emphasis added):
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
It's easy for Christians to misunderstand what's meant here by "the time for Pentecost being fulfilled." The disciples of Jesus were in Jerusalem where they had gone at Jesus' instruction (Acts 1:4-5) to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jerusalem was mobbed at the time because faithful Jews had come there to celebrate Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, which falls - 50 days after Passover!
What is Shavuot? The helpful site Judaism 101 tells us:
Shavu'ot, the Festival of (Seven) Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple. Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah (the Law, the 10 Commandments) at Mount Sinai.
The period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, 49 days, 7 full weeks or a "week of weeks," hence the name of the festival. The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. Shavu'ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day...
The date for Shavuot is determined by the date of Passover each year, just as the date of Pentecost is determined by the date of Easter each year. In 2024, Passover began on April 22 and Jews will celebrate Shavuot 50 days later beginning on June 11. This year, Christians celebrated Easter on March 31 and will celebrate Pentecost on May 19.
To sum up:
for Jews,
Shavuot commemorates the Giving of the Torah,
while for Christians,
Pentecost commemorates the Giving of the Holy Spirit.
The first Christians gathered on the Jewish feast of Shavuot or Pentecost and on that day received the gift of the Holy Spirit - a day we name and still celebrate as Pentecost Sunday.
Thank you I enjoy learning 🩵😇🩵
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