Pentecost

Endowing the Apostolic Church 

with a Full Measure of the Spirit

Pentecost fresco at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor
Photo 97915360 | Pentecost © Viscorp | Dreamstime.com individual license

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1‒4 KJV).

Fifty days after Easter Sunday, many Christian traditions celebrate the feast of Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the the Twelve, who were gathered perhaps in the upper room where, in the previous chapter of Acts, they had united in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus, the half brothers of Jesus, and the women who had followed Jesus in his mortal ministry to pray for a replacement for Judas Iscariot. While some have maintained that the Holy Ghost had for some reason not operated during Jesus' ministry, presumably the witness of the Father and the Son had borne convictions of truth to the first believers, and on that first Easter evening, Jesus had breathed on ten of the apostles (perhaps reminiscent of the Lord putting the "breath of life" into Adam to bring him to life (cf. Gen 2:7) and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). However, the apostles had received the promise from the Risen Lord that they would shortly "receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8), and on Pentecost this special, unique endowment of the spirit was visibly manifest as "tongues of fire."

Pentecost: The Holy Spirit Descending as Tongues of Fire
Photo 277216403 | © Omer Sahin | Dreamstime.com individual license

Pentecost, which in Greek literally means "fiftieth," was the translation used to represent the Jewish pilgrimage festival of Weeks (Heb., šāḇù`ōt) that was celebrated fifty days after Passover. Because Jews from over much of the known world had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival, the first gift of the spirit that the empowered apostles received was the ability to proclaim the gospel message in the languages that many of these visiting pilgrims spoke as their first languages at home. This is one of the particular ways that the gift of tongues is manifested (xenoglossia, or "speaking in foreign tongues," as opposed to glossolalia, or speaking in ecstatic, unknown tongues).

Accordingly, for those who mark Pentecost, it is an opportunity to remember not only the miracle of that first Pentecost but also to celebrate the gifts of the spirit today. One of those places where is is marked with particular devotion is at the Abbey Church of the Dormition on Mount Zion south of the Old City of Jerusalem. This nineteenth century German church is built over much of the footprint of an earlier, larger Byzantine Church called Holy Sion, that covered not only the place where many believe the early church first gathered and where the original Pentecost experience took place but also the nearby site where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, now occupied by a Crusader-era sanctuary called the Cenacle (from the Latin cenaculum, meaning "the dinner place).

Large apse mosaic at the Abbey of the Dormition, a Benedictine community abbey in Mount Zion,
just outside the walls of the Old City near the Zion Gate.
Photo 219712216 | Pentecost © Mltz | Dreamstime.com individual license

Another site that claims to be the place of both the Last Supper and Pentecost, is the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Mark, located in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. 

Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Mark in Jerusalem

In many Christian churches with strong liturgical practices, the traditional color for Pentecost is red: priests, pastors, or other celebrants where red vestments, and altars are often covered with red cloths, all the recall the fire of the first Pentecost.

In some churches in Rome, at the climax of the Pentecost service, red rose petals are dropped from the ceiling to symbolize the fire of the spirit falling upon the congregation. The most famous occurs in the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple later converted into a Christian church.

Music for Pentecost has also helped celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit upon Christians as the body of Christ. One of these is the Medieval hymn Veni Creator Spirtus, which translates as "Come, Creator Spirit."

Come O Holy Spirit | Hymn | Pentecost Sequence Trilogy Part 2 | Beethoven/Alstott 

Martin Luther wrote a hymn, Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, which Johann Sebastian Bach set to music.

Johann Sebastian Bach | Bach: Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (Choral, Kantate BWV 59,3) / Come Holy Spirit, God the Lord (Chorale, Cantata BWV 59.3) 

Charles Wesley wrote a much-loved Methodist hymn, "Spirit of Faith, Come Down."

 

Spirit of Faith, Come Down | Washington Choral Arts Society | 

Lift Up Your Voice: Hymns of Charles Wesley (1746)

In the Latter-day Saint tradition, an obvious choice for Pentecost is "The Spirit of God" (Hymn no. 2)

The Spirit of God | The Tabernacle Choir | William W. Phelps, arr. Mack Wilberg

My personal favorite is "Thy Spirit, Lord, Has Stirred Our Souls" (Hymn no. 157), especially because of the first lines of the second verse: "Did not our hearts within us burn? We know the Spirit's fire is here."

Thy Spirit, Lord, Has Stirred Our Souls | April 2022 General Conference

I also like to read about the gifts of the spirit, both in 1 Cor 12:1-11 and also in D&C 46:10-16:

And again, verily I say unto you, I would that ye should always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that are given unto the church. For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby. 

To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful. And again, to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men.  And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal.

Glen S. Hopkinson, "Like a Fire Is Burning"

Latter-day Saints may also be interested in reading about the spiritual events that accompanied the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836, which is often described as "The Kirtland Pentecost." Here are some articles you might find interesting:

• Steven Harper, "'A Pentecost and Endowment Indeed': Six Eyewitness Accounts of the Kirtland Temple Experience."  https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-chapters/a-pentecost-and-endowment-indeed-six-eyewitness-accounts-of-the-kirtland-temple-experience/ 
• Steven Harper, "Pentecost Continued: A Contemporaneous Account of the Kirtland Temple Dedication" https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/pentecost-continued-a-contemporaneous-account-of-the-kirtland-temple-dedication/
• Scripture Central: "Why Is the 'Pentecostal' Season in Kirtland Believable?" https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-is-the-pentecostal-season-in-kirtland-believable
  
  

Regardless of which branch of the Christian family you are in, Pentecost is a lovely time to celebrate the gifts of the Spirit that God wants to pour out on all his children.

The Sun’s Rays Stream Through Stained Glass Windows Of The Cathedral, Blessing The Church With A Heavenly Light. They Remind Us Of God s Love And Grace. Cinematic Concept. AI generated 
Photo 317681328 | Pentecost © Andrei Dzemidzenka | Dreamstime.com individual license

Ascension Day

. . . Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)

Benjamin West, The Ascension

The fortieth day after Easter commemorates the ascension into heaven of the Risen Lord.  The evangelist Luke provides us with two different accounts: a brief summary at the end of his gospel (Luke 24:50–53) and a slight longer narrative at the end of the Forty Day Ministry in his history of the apostolic church that includes Jesus' final instructions to his apostles, a description of Jesus' ascension, and the angelic promise of his return (Acts 1:6–11).

Harry Anderson, The Ascension

 In many Christian traditions, Ascension Day is celebrated as a minor but important holiday, either with services on the day itself or on the following Sunday.  As with most liturgical holidays, the LDS community has never established any formal observances for the ascension.  Nevertheless, reading not only the biblical accounts of Jesus' ascension together with scriptures describing his return, including passages from Restoration scripture, is a powerful way for us to conclude the Easter season not only by reaffirming that Christ lives but also by pointing our minds forward to the Second Coming.

Episodes for Personal Study

• The Ascension (Luke 24:50–53; [Mark 16:19]; Acts 1:6–11)
• The Second Coming (Zechariah 14:4, 9; Mark 13:24–27 [par Matthew 24:27–31; Luke 17:22–37]; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 1:7; D&C 45:36–59; D&C 88:89–98)

Suggested Listening: Bach, Ascension Oratorio (German, Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, “Praise God in His Kingdoms”)

Ideas for Families

• Read Acts 1:6–11 and talk about how the disciples might have felt when Jesus left them.  Why is it important to know that after the resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven with his body?
• Read one of the prophecies of the Second Coming, such 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, D&C 45:39–59, or D&C 88:89–98.
• Read 2 Peter 3:10, that descibes how Jesus will come "as a thief in the night," and discuss how we do not know exactly when Jesus will come again.  Then discuss the parable of the fig tree from Mark 13:28–31 and D&C 45:37–38.  While we should not obsess about exactly when Jesus will return, how can we prepare every day?
• Sing "I Wonder When He Comes Again" (Children's Song Book, 82–83)

The Russian Tower of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives plays an important role in both the Ascension of Jesus and the Second Coming.  Here Jesus had taken his disciples at the conclusion of his Jerusalem ministry to prepare them for his imminent death by sharing with them an importantprophecy of the end of the world and his promised return.  On the night before his crucifixion, it was here that he prayed in the Garden and began the saving work of hisatonement.  He ascended from here, and, according to Zechariah, this is one of the first places to which he will return.

Christ ascending into heaven in the dome of the Russian church

At the Mosque of the Ascension in May of 2012

From early on, Christians came to the summit of the Mount of Olives to commemorate Jesus’ ascension.  The Byzantines built a large church here, which was unusual: instead of a dome, it was left open to the sky so that worshipers could imagine how Jesus returned to heaven.  This church was later rebuilt by the Crusaders, but when Saladin reconquered Jerusalem, it was converted into a mosque (Muslims do not believe that Isa, or Jesus, died on the cross, but they do believe that he ascended into heaven and will return from there).

Inside the Mosque of the Ascension

The supposed footprint of Jesus in the Mosque of the Ascension

Studying passages that prophesy of Jesus’ return reaffirm the reality of both the resurrection and the ascension, helping us focus that Jesus’ work is not yet done.  He will return to vanquish evil and wickedness, restore peace and happiness, and eventually complete his conquest of death by bringing about the resurrection for each person who has ever lived.

Jesus ascending into heaven from dome of the Russian church

Harry Anderson, The Second Coming

I wonder, when he comes again,

Will herald angels sing?

Will earth be white with drifted snow,

Or will the world know spring?

I wonder if one star will shine

Far brighter than the rest;

Will daylight stay the whole night through?

Will songbirds leave their nests?

I'm sure he'll call his little ones

Together 'round his knee,

Because he said in days gone by,

"Suffer them to come to me."

I wonder, when he comes again,

Will I be ready there

To look upon his loving face

And join with him in prayer?

Each day I'll try to do his will

And let my light so shine

That others seeing me may seek

For greater light divine.

Then, when that blessed day is here,

He'll love me and he'll say,

"You've served me well, my little child;

Come unto my arms to stay." (Children's Songbook, 82–83)

The Presentation

Andrea Celesti, Presentación de Jesús en el Templo (Wikimedia Commons)

Although our family commemorates the events of Luke 2:21-40 shortly after Christmas, usually on the Sunday following it, traditionally they are recognized in the liturgies of many Christian churches 40 days after the Feast of the Nativity.  This is because the Presentation of Jesus in the temple is associated in the Lucan narrative with Mary's purification, which came forty day's after Jesus' birth.  In the Anglican tradition (and formerly in the Catholic), the Presentation is celebrated as "Candlemas," partially as a recollection of the lamps of the temple, when candles for the coming year are brought to the church and blessed.  In the Eastern Orthodox churches, the feast is often called Hypapante, Greek for "meeting," which recollects how the prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna met the Messiah in the temple.


Sections of the Presentation Episode (Luke 2:21–40)

• Circumcision and Naming of Jesus (Luke 2:21)
• Mary’s Purification (Luke 2:22–24)
• Simeon’s Testimony (Luke 2:25–35)
• Canticle: Nunc Demittis (Luke 2:29–32, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace”)
• Anna’s Testimony (Luke 2:36–40)

Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple (see Good Tidings of Great Joy, 88-90) 

Leviticus 12:1–8 mandated that when a woman gave birth, she must be purified of ritual uncleanliness after a period of forty days. As diligent keepers of the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took advantage of their proximity to Jerusalem to make the appropriate offering at the temple in connection with her purification. Although the designated offering was a yearling lamb along with a dove, they took advantage of the alternative that the Law allowed those who were poor to substitute a pair of doves. References to Mary’s purification (Luke 2:22a, 24) frame a second ceremony, the redemption of the firstborn (Luke 2:22b–23). After the Lord delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, he had claimed the firstborn of every family in return for having spared them the night of the first Passover, requiring them to be consecrated to his service (see Exodus 13:2, 12–15). Although the Lord later accepted the service of the entire tribe of Levi in place of the firstborn of all Israel, the Lord still required that the firstborn be redeemed by the price of five shekels (Numbers 18:15–16).

The redemption of the firstborn did not need to take place in the temple, but the presence of the holy family in the sanctuary for Mary’s purification provided Luke with the opportunity for some important symbolism. While we can assume that Joseph and Mary paid the required five shekels required by the law, by not mentioning the actual payment, Luke implies that Jesus continued in the service of the God rather than being redeemed from it. In this the story of the Old Testament prophet Samuel had served as an anticipation: after he had been weaned, Elkanah and Hannah had brought the boy Samuel to the sanctuary at Shiloh, where he was presented and left for a lifetime of service to God (1 Samuel 1:24–28). Recalling how Hannah’s song had served as a model for Mary’s own Magnificat strengthens the connection, suggesting that Mary too was willingly presenting her son to God. While Jesus does not remain in the temple, during his later boyhood visit, he makes it clear that he belongs there and that his mission is to be about his Father’s business (Luke 2:46–49).

Simeon's Testimony (see Good Tidings of Great Joy, 91-92)

Greg Olsen, Simeon Reverencing the Christ Child

The name Hebrew Šimʿon (Greek Symeōn and hence Symeon or Simeon) may mean both “[YHWH] had heard” and “one who hears and obeys.” While numerous early Christian legends grew up about Simeon, Luke simply introduces him by describing Simeon as “just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him” (Luke 2:25, emphases added). The term translated “consolation” is the Greek paraklēsin; in addition to meaning help, comfort, or relief, in origin it means “summons” or “encouragement” and has the same root as “Comforter” (paraklētos; see John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).

This good man, assumed to be elderly and approaching death because of his subsequent words, had received a promise by the Holy Ghost “that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). Accordingly, the Spirit brought him to the temple at just the right time to encounter the holy family, whereupon he takes the child in his arms and blesses him (Luke 2:28). This Simeon at the beginning of the story of Jesus thus finds a certain parallel with Joseph of Arimathaea at its end: that Joseph is also just, waits for the kingdom of God, and, in taking Jesus down from the cross and burying him, likewise takes him in his arms (see Luke 23:50–53).

At that moment Simeon blesses God and utters an inspired song, the fourth and final canticle in Luke’s Infancy Narrative (Luke 2:29–32). By tradition it is known as the Nunc Demittis, from the Latin for the first line: “Now you are sending away your servant in peace” (KJV, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word”). Having at last seen the promised Savior, Simeon feels that he can die comforted and reassured “for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” He then continues by describing this salvation in terms rich with Old Testament allusions (see Psalm 98:3; Isaiah 40:5, 42:6, 49:6, 52:9–10). However, whereas Zacharias had also sung of salvation in the Benedictus, his prophecy had centered on the deliverance that would come to Israel. Simeon, by contrasts, speaks of how Christ has been prepared for all people, and he balances both Gentiles and Israel in the final line, calling him “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:32).

Concluding the canticle, Simeon turns to Mary and speaks a final prophecy, telling her, “this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” (Luke 2:34), prophesying that while Jesus was the glory of Israel, many of his own people would reject him and he would cause divisions even within families (see Luke 12:51–53). Finally, Simeon alludes to the Passion and death of Jesus that Mary would witness so poignantly, telling her that her own soul would be pierced but that in the end judgment would come through her son’s sacrifice (Luke 2:35; see John 19:25, 33–34).

Simeon and Believers Today

The image of the aged Simeon in the temple, meeting at last his promised Savior, is one that resonates with many believers today. It is also one that has come to have special, personal meaning to me. In 2010, just four days before Christmas, my grandfather, Cannon Huntsman, died. Two days after Christmas we buried him. Funerals at Christmastime are always poignant, even when they are held for good men and women who die at an old age. The sense of loss and sadness can weigh heavily on and even dampen the Christmas spirit.

But it was the story of Simeon that gave me great comfort the day after Christmas. I read it that night to Elaine and the children, and I decided to use it in my remarks at the funeral the next day. As long as health permitted, Grandpa spent as much time as he could in the temple. And like Simeon, he had a powerful faith in his Savior and Redeemer. While he did not hold the Baby Jesus in his arms nor see the Risen Lord in the flesh, Grandpa had seen the hand of the Lord all his life and rejoiced in his testimony of Jesus.

While modern revelation tells us “thou shalt live together in love insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die,” it also reassures us that “those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them” (D&C 42:45–46). I have come to believe that men and women of Christ, like Grandpa, can share the sentiment of Simeon when their time comes, crying out in their hearts, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace” (Luke 2:29).

 
Anna's Testimony (see Good Tidings of Great Joy, 92)

James Tissot, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple 
(Wikimedia Commons)

Luke’s narrative provides a second witness in the temple in the person of Anna, an elderly widow who spent every day in the temple in prayer and fasting (Luke 2:36–37). Significantly, she is described as a prophetess, connecting her with Deborah, Huldah, the wife of Isaiah, and perhaps Samuel’s mother, Hannah. Indeed, Anna is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Ḥannah, providing another connection with the story of Jesus’ birth and that of the prophet Samuel. At a time when most Jews were from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, Luke notes that Anna was from the tribe of Asher, perhaps suggesting that the lost tribes of Israel too await the coming of Christ. Having married young, perhaps between 10 and 14, she had lost her husband after seven years, and, depending upon how the next verse is read, she was either 84 years old or had lived another 84 years after her husband’s death, making her as old as 103 or 105. While the actual words of this faithful woman are not preserved, like Simeon she first blesses or thanks God and then “spake [Greek, elalei or “kept speaking”] of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

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