PASTOR'S MESSAGE - MAY 2001

VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS

„Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire and lighten with celestial fire;
Thou the anointing Spirit art who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart ”

SBH 117:1

“Komm, o komm, du Geist des Lebens, wahrer Gott von Ewigkeit,
deine Kraft sei nicht vergebens, sie erfüll uns jederzeit;
so wird Geist und Licht und Schein in dem dunklen Herzen sein.“

EG 134,1

“O, Pastor, this is a difficult festival”, one of my parishioners back in Germany once sighed, when we discussed the meaning of Pentecost. Indeed, it is harder to grasp than Christmas with the child in the manger, than Good Friday with the cross, and even Easter with the empty tomb seems to be easier to understand than the festival of the Holy Spirit. “The wind (spirit) blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes.”(John 3:8 RSV).

The spirit is not at our disposal, that’s why almost all the hymns which are sung at this festival do not so much describe and praise what happened when the disciples received the spirit in the upper room (cf. Acts 2). They are rather prayers, asking for the coming of the Spirit and the gifts that come with it, and “Come!” is the word most used in them.

Pentecost and its message have a diverse fellowship: There are Christian groups who profile themselves by stressing the need to receive the Spirit. The Lutheran tradition, on the other hand, has always been sort of reluctant and skeptic about “enthusiasts”, emphasizing the need that every spiritual experience has to be grounded in the Gospel as set forth in Holy Scripture.

Recent liturgical development has restored the essential link between Easter and Pentecost: Pentecost, literally the fiftieth (day), is a follow-up to Easter. It brings our season of celebration to a closure. But at the same time it is a starter: Pentecost is the birthday of the church. The seed of the Gospel was cast to the entire world that day, so that all people can “hear them telling in our tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11).

Pentecost is very intimate and yet very public at the same time. It is a day to pray again for the Holy Spirit to rekindle within the heart of each one of us the fire of divine love, yet also to reaffirm the diversity and comprehensiveness of our church.

It is a perfect day for a bilingual, even multilingual worship, and that’s what we will be celebrating on June 3 after the congregational meeting.

It is my impression that in a congregation like ours with its richness of traditions we need to be anointed with the Spirit in order to fully understand how our diversity is a blessing. WE are able to tell in our own tongues the mighty works of God – isn’t that something? The seven gifts have traditionally been described as: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. They are not enthusiastic extras, but essentials for a fruitful cooperation within the body of Christ. Let’s renew our commitment to that this year on Pentecost!

Have a blessed Pentecost! / Ein gesegnetes Pfingstfest wünscht Ihnen

Pastor Dr Holger Roggelin

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Zion Church in  Pfingsten  decoration, c. 1930

“Schmückt das Fest mit Maien bis an die Hörner des Altars!“
“Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar” Psalm 118,27  

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