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Dear Ones of Christ Church,
This weekend we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. Together, we will hear the story of how the Holy Spirit rushes into and upon the disciples as wind and fire. If you have red clothing, I invite you to wear it to services, as red is the color of the Holy Spirit.
I was on a silent retreat about ten years ago when I saw the icon of Pentecost for the first time. I was startled and moved to see Mary, Jesus’s mother, at the center of the apostles, the Spirit descending directly onto her. In all the earliest versions of this icon, Mary stands or sits on a throne at the center of the icon, with her hands in either a traditional teaching pose, or in orans position, the priestly open-handed gesture of receptive prayer. This is Mary, teacher and prophet who sang the Magnificat, Mary the God-bearer, mother of Jesus, mother of Mother Church.
This weekend we will not hear the verses from Acts that describe the presence of Mary and the women disciples:
“All [the apostles] with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers . . . When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. (Acts 1:14; 2:1).”
In later versions of the icon, Mary and the women were erased, and a blank space was left amid the male disciples. This history and the Pentecost icon are reminders that despite our human efforts to control or exclude certain people or certain groups, the Holy Spirit is wild and cannot be controlled—the Holy Spirit comes to and moves through and speaks through all of us.
I love Kelly Latimore’s contemporary version of the Pentecost icon, below. How do these images of Pentecost speak to you?
May you be blessed and encouraged by the Holy Spirit this Pentecost and always!
Yours in Christ,
Melissa+
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