Rest upon us

Becoming the Church for Pentecost

A blessed Pentecost, friends!

At the Ascension, Jesus gave us, his followers, a great task—to go to all the world, proclaiming with our lives and words the Gospel to all people, everywhere. At Pentecost, He empowered us with His own Spirit to accomplish this task. At Pentecost, we get to embody in our everyday lives what the Holy Family embodied at Epiphany: the good news that the gift of Christ is for all people. All the longing, doubt, grief, and the sins of the world we held up in the dark nights of Advent and Lent, all the bright hope and relief that resurrected to life with the Risen Christ, are channeled into this great movement of the Spirit and the Church at Pentecost.

The movement of Pentecost is lit for outward projection; the great current of Spirit moves us toward all people, in every nation, everywhere. Some of us send, some of us go, and all of us move toward the peoples of all nations. This is our one task, our one job until we are reunited with Christ.

Today’s letter is available to everyone and includes:

• Community practices and prayers for Pentecost Sunday

• Today’s art and music pairing

• Contemplative prompts to help you respond to today’s art

• An Introduction to my six-day Substack series, Becoming the Church — Pentecost Reflections on the Rise of Christianity in the Restful Way of Jesus

Now, let’s begin our meditation for Pentecost Sunday

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Communion

Read today’s lectionary passages from the Book of Common Prayer (Year C)

Genesis 11:1-9; Psalm 104:24-35; Acts 2:1-21 ; John 14:8-17

Pray out loud the Collect for Pentecost Sunday from the Book of Common Prayer.

Almighty God, on this day, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation: Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Contemplation

Begin with a simple breath prayer from today’s lectionary:

Inhale: Spirit of Light, rest upon us

Exhale: and renew the face of the earth

Repeat gently until you sense you are ready to move forward.

Prayerfully contemplate and respond to today’s art and music pairing.

Plate XI: Chemistry of Combustion and Illumination, “Structure of Flame,” Part of The Chemistry of Familiar Objects, 1856, Edward Livingston Youmans - Source

This Little Light of Mine (Live), Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Spotify | YouTube | Listen to my Pentecost playlist

Take a couple of deep breaths and relax any inner striving into a gentle openness to the Holy Spirit.

After gently reflecting on the image, consider one or more of the following questions to help guide your contemplative prayer:

• What are my first impressions?

• What questions arise?

• What is my sense of God with me?

Close this time by sitting quietly, allowing all that has stirred in response to the image to quiet as you return to your prayer time. Then, read the Scripture or a portion of it again slowly.

Return to the art later in the day as a visual reminder.

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SERIES INTRODUCTION: Becoming the Church in the Restful Way of Jesus

“Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems.” — Rodney Stark

This series began with a question embedded in the subtitle of one of my assigned books this semester—a question that has steadily followed me through graduate study, congregational life, and a long pursuit of an honest, faithful account of the Church’s history—one that refuses to idealize, yet doesn’t give in to despair: How did Christianity grow from a marginalized movement into the faith that reshaped the world? Rodney Stark’s sociological account in The Rise of Christianity provided me with a surprising framework for that question, and, unexpectedly, it gave me hope.

Instead of dramatic episodes of mass conversion or top-down imperial favor, Stark presents a story of growth rooted in relationships, community, and persistent acts of love. The Church didn’t erupt overnight. It spread person to person, household to household, in cities full of suffering and complexity. And it grew because ordinary Christians—many of them poor, vulnerable, or overlooked—embodied the radical mercy and justice of Jesus in everyday life.

Each reflection in this series (one a day between now and next Sunday) explores one facet of that growth, tracing not only what the Church believed, but how it lived. My hope is that this Pentecost, we might recover a sense of wonder not just at the fire of the Spirit, but at the faithful, restful way that fire spread—quietly, steadily, through lives given in love.

🕊️ Reflection Question: As you enter this series, what longings or assumptions about the Church are surfacing for you? What are you hoping might shift?

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🔥 Let’s keep going. If this series speaks to you, consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive each reflection directly in your inbox. You can also become a sustaining member to receive the full series in one convenient ebook—a companion for your continued reflection and study.