Pentecost Eve
The Lord be with you
Those who come from the “free church” tradition often view those of us who come from a “liturgical” tradition askance. They can see things like liturgy, traditional church calendars, and the like, as relics of the past which bind those who use them to irrelevant and petrified practices. For those of us that use the historic traditions of the Church, nothing could be further from reality. A good example of this is Pentecost (which is one of the three historic primary Feasts, the other two being Christmas and Easter).
In the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s first English hymnal (Evangelical Lutheran Hymn – Book) our liturgical calendar recognized “Whitsunday.” Whitsunday is an old English name used for Pentecost and probably comes from combining the words “white” and “Sunday.” (There are other ideas.) When we adopted The Lutheran Hymnal the calendar was expanded. The name Whitsunday was retained as the primary name but the option was given for the Feast of Pentecost. “Pentecost” is the name more commonly used around the world and throughout time. Added were “propers” for Monday and Tuesday of Whitsunday Week. “Propers” are the changeable things in a worship service while “ordinaries” are the things that are fixed. So, for example, the Invocation is an ordinary but the Introit is a proper. With the introduction of Lutheran Worship we dropped the name Whitsunday and were given propers for Pentecost Eve, the Day of Pentecost and Pentecost Evening (which could be celebrated after sunset on Pentecost evening or on Monday). It is easy to see that our Church calendar is anything but petrified.
We now use the Lutheran Service Book. With the introduction of this hymnal our calendar has again been modified. Now we have propers for Pentecost Eve, Pentecost, Monday and Tuesday of Pentecost Week. As you can see, this new calendar includes all the Pentecost days recognized in all our previous hymnals and added a Tuesday. The name Whitsunday, though, has not made a reappearance. While these days may seem like an innovation, in reality the worship tradition of the Universal Church, which spans 2,000 years, has them all (and more). When developing a liturgical calendar, the question really isn’t so much “What to add?” but “What to leave out?” If we added nothing (and in honesty most all new liturgical calendars do add days that have never been recognized before because history constantly gives us people and events well worth remembering) but included all that has, at one time or another, been on a liturgical calendar, then each day would have at least three different events or people remembered and most would have four, five, six or more.
At Our Redeemer we only have a worship service on Pentecost Day. A series of posts on our blog will recognize the other days. Now I could use these posts to provide a short devotional Bible study on what was happening on these days, and maybe I’ll do that in years to come, but this year I will be satisfied by simply posting the propers for these days. Therefore what follows are the propers for Pentecost Eve.
Introit (Ps. 68:32-35; antiphon Ps 68:19)
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord,
to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Collect of the Day [A “collect” is a short prayer that expresses the main theme of the day.]
Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Gradual (Acts 2:17b; Rom. 10:10)
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
With the heart on believes and is justified,
and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Verse (Liturgical Text)
Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.
Readings
Exodus 19:1-9a [The “a” after 9 indicates that the verse actually goes on. We read the first part of the verse.]
1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD. 9And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
Psalm 113 (antiphon: v. 3) [In a worship service, antiphons are spoken at the beginning and end of the reading. Before the final reading of the antiphon, traditionally, the Gloria Patri is spoken. The antiphon captures a key thought in the reading. Most frequently the antiphon is taken from the reading, but may be taken from somewhere else in the Bible or be a “liturgical” verse that captures a biblical thought from the Psalm. Here the antiphon is not presented at the beginning and end and the Gloria Patri is not present. If we were having a worship service, they would be present.]
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
4 The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
Romans 8:12-17 (22-27) [A congregation may read only verses 12–17 or may read 12–27]
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
John 14:8-21
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Rickert