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Pentecost
May 19, 2013

Pentecost is one of the Holy Days given by God and to some serves as the anniversary of the church, when the Holy Spirit was first given to many. Unique among the Holy Days as listed in Leviticus 23, Pentecost was introduced to the Children of Israel with the idea of considering the needs of the poor and strangers. All of the Holy Days detail certain things that are to be done or not done and it is this day that references the poor and strangers. Let's start by reading what Leviticus says about the Holy Day that in the New Testament is called Pentecost.

Leviticus 23:15-22
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the LORD. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Today, as Christians, we would accept that the sacrifice of Jesus replaces the sacrifices and offerings mentioned for this day. To fulfill their obligations for the day, the Children of Israel needed to harvest the first fruits of the grain harvest, and with this need is introduced a concept that Jesus expounded on during his earthly ministry. When harvesting the first fruit of the grain, the Children of Israel needed to be careful not to completely harvest the field. They had to make sure the poor and the strangers could glean the edges and corners of the field. Today our faith is similar to that. We have to allow others to have access to our first fruits; we cannot keep our faith to ourselves. We must be willing to share. That's one of the reasons why I like to share my religious thoughts with those who are willing to read while wishing peace and love to all who believe differently. When we are willing to share our faith with others we allow the light of the Holy Spirit to shine brightly through our actions.

Matthew 5:14-16
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Jesus knew that by sharing our faith we would illuminate the world through good works. He knew that it would be important for others to see what we do and have them decide that what we are doing is good, and when we do this, then they are able to give glory to God for what we have done. By being wiling to share our faith, we help others see the glory that is God, including those who may be poor, and those who may be strangers, those newly arrived with no inheritance rights. The poor can include just about anyone, including those who may be known, and just down and out on their luck. That's why James included widows and orphans when writing about pure religion.

James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

God called us to be the first fruits of his spiritual harvest. He wants us to remember those who are poor and strangers and allow our light to shine brightly so that all can see and glorify God, and he reminds us that those who are poor can include the very young without parents and the very old without family. As we allow our light to shine brightly for all to see, we celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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