I went to both of my churches today, mostly because it’s Mother’s Day and Mom goes to the Episcopal Church. In both places it was mentioned that the Day of Pentecost is “the birthday of the Church.” St. M’s even did it up big with red, orange, and yellow balloons on the end of every pew and a birthday cake during coffee hour. I’ve heard this my whole life without really questioning it: Pentecost is the birthday of the church. Today, though, I noticed that the readings don’t exactly say, “and from that moment on this rag-tag bunch of Jesus’ followers were known as the Church.” So where is the birthday image?
It seems to me that what both Acts and John’s gospel speak to is the ability of the Spirit to bring new birth continually into our lives. Not only the new birth that’s celebrated with balloons and flowers, but the new birth that’s like birth itself–messy, risky, and totally transformative in an everything-will-be-completely- different-after-this-moment kind of way. The one being reborn is transformed in the rebirth of the Spirit and the world is forever different too.
Pentecost and Mother’s Day now seem like a very appropriate convergence. All of our Mom’s risked their lives and gave up their bodies for a time to birth us into this life. Perhaps Pentecost is also the Mother’s Day of the Church as the Spirit births new life into God’s people over and over again through Mother Church.
