"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.…"
Although an understanding of "The Spirit" is fundamental to Quakers, instead of celebrating Christian festivals such Pentecost, we adhere to our ancient testimony of "times and seasons" in which every day is to be considered holy. It seemed particularly significant to me that none of the ministry at our Quaker Meeting this morning mentioned it was Pentecost Sunday.
To anyone visiting it might have seemed Friends had forgotten this Christian festival entirely. This could have seemed surprising. At times our emphasis upon the Spirit, and the manner in which we have traditionally reacted to it, has led to comparisons between Quakers and the Pentecostals. There are striking parallels between Quaker silent worship and the practice of glossolalia [modern Pentecostalism]. Our silent worship also involves a kind of letting go, a lack of strain or effortful attention, a willingness to "flow" with the leading of the Spirit and with the larger movement of the entire meeting. ... As in the case of glossolalia, the process of speaking out of the silence and of listening in the silence involves a resting of the analytical mind, a refusal to let deliberative, objective thinking dominate the meeting. The early Quakers received their name because they literally "quaked" through the power of the Spirit.
Typically George Fox wrote to Friends in the Ministry
" So the ministers of the spirit must minister to the spirit that has been in captivity in every one, so that with the spirit of Christ people may be led out of captivity up to God, the Father of Spirits, and do service to him, and have unity with him, with the Scriptures, and with one another."
Advices and Queries Number 9 describes how
" In worship we enter with reverence into communion with God and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit."
These days, among ecumenical gathering where Quakers may seem quite different from other Christians, there could well be an audible sign of relief whenever "The Spirit" is mentioned.
For that first Pentecost, disciples gathered together in an upper room. During the past few days they had suffered the brutal crucifixion of their leader, a huge sense of loss, and guilt because they had either chosen to disassociate from Jesus or else run away. Now, despite considerable danger of arrest, these same disciples chose to celebrate the ancient Jewish festival of Shavu'ot. This coming together showed how despite the recent past, their own grief and all that was going on around them, they wished to recognise how God had given them a law through the prophet Moses. From that ocean of darkness and despair, the disciples had a sudden realisation of God's power. Through honouring Jewish law, they saw the connection between Moses and the leader they had lost. Instead of hiding away in the past, the disciples decided to put things right. Without having any more protection than a sense of mission, they went out into a huge crowd to proclaim Jesus as God's Messiah. This first Pentecost came about through loyalty to the truth, a commitment to put things right, and love for all the people who just happened to be in Jerusalem at this time.
Among Quaker meetings, we may also have those times of darkness and despair. Through gathering together as Friends we also recognise the importance of loyalty to our best understanding of the truth. Through turning towards the Light, we see our mistakes, how to put things right and experience the power of repentance. God works in many ways according to our condition. From meeting together and experiencing God's transforming love, we also go out into our communities, with a mission to work for God's Kingdom.
It would seem to me that the apostles realised the importance of making the effort to reach people rather make assumptions about their own charisma and importance. That ability to speak in many tongues happens all the time.The skills we use these days may be very different from the apostles. In whichever way we choose to serve humanity, it is still love speaking.
It would seem to me that Quakers do not celebrate festivals such as Christmas, Lent, Easter and Pentecost because we do not see them as being historic events. Through honestly about ourselves, loyalty to the truth and by coming together in worship, we recognise God's transforming power happening all the time. Each moment of our lives there is an opportunity to recognise the leadership provided through the teaching of Jesus, put aside our own pride for this new law, and work for God's Kingdom
