[Worship] PENTECOST WORSHIP RESOURCES--Part 2

["Charity" <choirangel@excite.com>]

GREETINGS TO THE GODLY LISTSERVERS--

As music and worship leaders, we often find that we become educators as well--we teach clergy, congregation and choirs the meaning of what we do, and WHY we do it. Christians are commanded to serve God will all our hearts, minds and bodies--our intellect, volition, emotions and physical strength are together, our "instrument" to serve Yahweh, the true and Living God while we live and "have our being." 

In order to more fully appreciate the miracle of Pentecost, it is essential to know the biblical background of this colorful festival. Knowing all the "WHYS" of the festival helps us to choose music and design worship that reflects our biblical heritage and Judeo-Christian understanding of the interdependence of Old and New Testament texts.

We will also be able to explain to our musicians WHY we're celebrating a festival that has become largely "forgotten" and neglected by so much of Christendom, and has only begun to make a "comeback" within the last 25 years or so. Here's a marvelous treasure just waiting for us to pull it out of the "mothballs of history", so to speak--our own Festival of Pentecost, the third great feast of the Christian Year, and our God-sent birthday celebration!Let's delve into the "First Hymnal", the Bible, to more fully understand the roots of Pentecost--


BIBLICAL BACKGROUND OF SHAVUOT/CHAG HABIKKURIM/PENTECOST

I. Scriptural references

1.Exodus 23:16
2.Exodus 34:22-26
3.Leviticus 23:6-22
4.Numbers 28:26-29
5.Deuteronomy 16:9-12
6.The Book of Ruth--this entire story is set during the wheat and barley harvest (the time Christians call "The Great 50 Days.") For this reason, the scroll of Ruth is always read in the synagogue on Shavuot.
7.I Corinthians 15:20--Paul's wonderful chapter on resurrection frequently alludes to the Festival of Firstfruits, and Jesus as the fulfillment of this celebration.

II. Agricultural background of the festival

The Festival of Firstfruits actually "begins" on the second or third day of Passover/Pesach, in the DAY of the Firstfruits, known as the "Yom HaBikkurim." In ancient Israel, the Jewish farmers tied a red cord around the very first sheaf of barley and wheat, and around the very first fruit-bearing branch of the orchard trees. This first bundle of wheat or barley was called the "omer"--pronounced "o-mayr" (stress on the last syllable). This was brought up to the tabernacle, and later, the Jerusalem Temple, during Passover. It was waved before Yahweh by the priests in a ceremony. This wave-offering grain was then given to the priests to be made into bread for the Levitical families.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE YOM HABIKKURIM

The YOM HABIKKURIM always occured during Passover, and represented the promise that God would provide food for His people--the full harvest of wheat, barley and late-spring fruits would occur 50 days later on the CHAG HaBIKKURIM, the Festival of Firstfruits. Having that first sheaf of barley and wheat was a "foretaste" of what was to come after the latter rains*--the rain that fell between March and May. (In ancient Israel, as today, there were only two periods of rainfall--the former rains occured October--December; these produced the omer sheaves. The latter rains* were essential to the production of the late spring harvest.) Waving that omer sheaf during Passover was an act of thanksgiving, the demonstration of gratefulness to God for not only liberating the Hebrews from slavery, but also revelling in the abundant goodness of Him Who "opens His hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing." (Psalm 145:16)

*MUSIC TIP--now you know the origin of all those "latter rain" songs and hymns in our hymnals! The "latter rain" is also symbolic of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God outpoured on the nations during "the latter days", the time of the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. The "latter rain" is often used metaphorically in anthems and hymns, alluding to the spring rains as a symbol of God's renewal and refreshment of human souls.

III. The Festival Celebration

Seven full weeks occur between Passover and Pentecost, and during this time, all the wheat and barley were harvested, in addition to the fruits growing on trees or from the ground. The Hebrews were commanded to bake two wave loaves of the finest wheat flour, and this bread, unlike Passover matzah, had to have yeast added! These wave loaves, and all late-spring fruits, were take to the Temple by pilgrims in baskets wearing colorful clothes. The Israelites would arrive on the 6th of Sivan, the month corresponding to our late May/early June. By the time of Solomon, the Festival of Firstfruits was also being celebrated as the "Zeman Mattan Torahtenu", the "time of the giving of our Law", since it had taken the Hebrews the same amount of time to reach Mt. Sinai after the deliverance from Egypt.

The biblical account of the giving of the Torah to Moses informs us that Yahweh's descent on Mt. Sinai was accompanied by a loud trumpet blast, seismic activity and fire, an awesome spectacle and theophany of the living God.

MUSIC TIP #2 

The pilgrims would sing Psalms 113--118, called "The Great Hallel", and Psalms 120--134, known as the "Psalms of Ascent." These psalms were also sung by the Levitical choirs on the steps of the Temple, and we know they were accompanied by flutes, lyres, harps and various percussion instruments, including tamborines, sistrums and small drums. Lively folk dances also accompanied all festival celebration in Israel. The Hebrew word for festival, "chag", is a dance term, denoting processing/dancing in a circle--the Jewish conception of festival is "dance", although it was understood that there would plenty of eating! As in most traditional cultures, dance permeated everyday life and accompanied all family and national celebrations--this is true, to a lesser extent, in many African-American folk and worship customs. (Dance is a salient characteristic of black Pentecostal worship, for example.)Music and dance were at the heart of all Hebrew festival worship, and the Levitical choirs
  and orchestras were a big part of the pageantry. 

The Great Hallel and Psalms of Ascent were sung at all three Pilgrim Festivals--Passover/Pesach, Shavuot-Pentecost and Sukkot-Tabernacles. The Christian Church later incorporated many of these psalms into our festival<br>liturgies. Psalm 118, for example, is commonly sung/read for Easter Day. Psalm 118:25,26 is the basis for the "Hosanna in excelsis," the hymn sung to Jesus on Palm/Passion Sunday and forms part of the basis of the "Great Thanksgiving", the hymn sung for Holy Communion in many traditions.

Once the pilgrims entered the Temple, they presented their wave loaves and spring produce offerings to the priests. Each male pilgrim had to recite a speech which began "My father was a wandering Syrian, about to perish...and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which You, O Yahweh, have given me"(Deuteronomy 26:5-10). At this point, all the firstfruit offerings were waved before the Lord--the full harvest that God had promised on the DAY of Firstfruits, was now completely realized seven weeks later, on the FESTIVAL of  Firstfruits. This is the origin of the phrase "when the days of Pentecost were fully completed" in Acts 2. 

Like the Yom Habikkurim, the Chag haBikkurim lasted only one day, in contradistinction to Passover and Sukkot, which lasted 7 days with an additional day of assembly. This is the origin of that liturgical expression "a feast with an octave"--a full 8 days. By the time of Jesus, Shavuot/Chag haBikkurim was also known as "Pentecoste" by Greek-speaking Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism, and the celebration lasted for two days. This was due to the fact that Jewish communities in the diaspora added an additional day to the beginning of all days, to compensate for the time lag between the festival moons, and the time it took for couriers to get the word out to outlying communities beyond Jerusalem.

IV. New Testament Significance of Shavout-Pentecost 

Jesus' resurrection occured on the Day of the Firstfruits, on the second or third day of Passover--the same day the omer sheaf--that first sheaf of wheat or barley--was waved before Yahweh in the Jerusalem Temple. Matthew's gospel records that when Jesus died, "the graves were opened" during an earthquake. After His resurrection, "the bodies of the saints who slept arose, and left the graves after His resurrection, and went into the Holy City and appeared to many." (Matthew 27:52-53)This incident portrays Jesus the Messiah as literally "the firstfruits of those who sleep" (I Corinthians 15:20)--and now we more fully understand G.F. Handel's setting of the aria "I know that my Redeemer liveth." This scripture is also the origin of "the harrowing of hell" paintings and icons that portray the resurrection, and the basis for the Eastern Orthodox chant "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"

Paul's chapter on resurrection in I Corinthians 15 uses the imagery and customs of the Festival of Firstfruits to more fully illuminate the Messiah as the grain of wheat that had to first die, before producing a harvest of wheat. Jesus Christ was resurrected on the Day of Firstfruits, and others were resurrected with him. This was a foretaste and promise of what would occur on the Festival of Firstfruits, 50 days later, with a harvest of 3000 human souls! The Festival of Pentecost, occuring seven weeks after the Day of  Firstfruits, would usher in the latter days, fulfill the prophecy of Joel and inaugurate the era of gospel expansion, which would ultimately reach all nations and bring in the harvest of billions of souls--the "human wheat"--into the Kingdom of God. All those thousands of pilgrims depicted in Acts 2 were there to celebrate the Shavuot festival, but they had no idea they were going to have a Holy Ghost encounter and a "double Pentecost"!

MUSIC TIP #3

When selecting songs, hymns and anthems for Pentecost, you may wish to balance the selection with themes of the spring harvest, the giving of the Torah, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The "Spring Carol" by Benjamin Britten is a great example of combining thanksgiving with a spring harvest theme. You can also try the AME Church Decalogue custom--the Ten Commandments are commonly read in all African Methodist Episcopal Churches on most Sundays, but also on feast days and Communion Sundays, typically the first Sunday of the month. There is a short introductory section, followed by  reading the first commandment--then the congregation chants back in 3 or 4-part harmony--"Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law!" (Chanting in black Methodist churches is full-bodied, powerful and always done in harmony.) In some churches, it is customary to sing a short hymn after the fifth commandment--"My soul be on thy guard..."then the reading and chanting continue
  all the way through the tenth commandment. After Commandment 10, the congregation chants "Lord, have mercy upon us, and write these laws upon our hearts!"--a reference to God's promise to the Hebrew prophets.

Part 3 will contain more Music Resources for Pentecost.

Charity Dell
JubilateDeo@ureach.com
"Jubilate Deo omnis terra!" (Psalm 100:1)

_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!

**************************************************
       Looking for praise and worship music resources?
                      Visit our list sponsor at:
                  http://www.worshipmusic.com

      Any questions about your subscription or the list? 
                Contact worship-help@praise.net
**************************************************