The right place and right way

Several Valley churches gathered at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center Sunday to celebrate “One Lord Sunday.” It was a beautiful event. It was beautiful in worship and in the simple fact that we all gathered in one place to worship our Savior.

This is especially true in light of the day we celebrate this coming Sunday. Tucked away in the midst of fishing, camping, hiking and just enjoying the marvel that is spring here in the Mat-Su, the church celebrates the Day of Pentecost. It is, however, sadly a day for which the church has lost appreciation and understanding.

Pentecost began as a great feast of the Jewish calendar. It came 50 days after Passover (hence the name). It commemorated the first harvest of spring and the anticipation of a greater harvest to follow. It came, in Jewish practice, to also serve as a reminder of when the law, including the Ten Commandments, was given. It was one of the most revered feasts of the Jewish year.

For the early church, Pentecost was of enormous significance. St. John Chrysostomos, one of the greatest of the early church fathers, described the day of Pentecost as “the hope of perfection, the end of expectation, the longing for salvation, the fulfillment of prayer and the image of patience.” The early church regarded Pentecost as second only to Passover in importance. To their credit and benefit, many churches still give great attention to this day.

Why was this day so highly regarded by the early church? It was a Jewish holiday relevant to an agrarian society. Why did it carry over so seamlessly into the practice of the early church?

We would do well to remember that, prior to Pentecost, the early believers were hiding out, fearful that the fate that had befallen their Lord would also find them. They were ineffective. There is no record of any evangelism or ministry during the period between the Resurrection and Pentecost.

There was no growth. The church was silent and hidden. All of this changed in a day.

The Book of Acts records the events of that day. There were powerful manifestations of the Spirit of God. There was a powerful and fearless sermon preached by a man who weeks before had denied any knowledge of Jesus, either the man or his ministry.

A spirit of repentance came over the crowd. The church was born. The church began to grow. It still grows. The church we belong to and participate in today is that church.

As important as it is to remember what happened on and after the Day of Pentecost, it is also important to remember just how the church was on that day. While it is true they early believers were afraid and hidden, they were also, as the Book of Acts records, of one accord, and in one place. They were of a certain way, that is, of one accord.

The word used by Luke to describe their condition was omouthemadon. It means simply to be of one, or like passion. It means to be indivisible. They were all of one heart, worshipping, loving and waiting upon their Lord.

In the midst of their very real fears, their passion for the Lord did not waver. It united them. They were in one place.

How important it is for us to see this. The Holy Spirit is, in the theologian’s lexicon, omnipresent. Just means He is everywhere. The events described in Acts 2 could have occurred anywhere or everywhere.

God chose to give birth to His church in one place. So it is a glorious thing when His church again gathers of one passion and in one place. This was our privilege this past Sunday. One Lord, one church, one passion, one place.

Was it a perfect worship service, this One Lord Sunday? Probably not if measured in terms of style or presentation. One cannot bring several churches together for one event and expect the whole thing to go like clockwork (actually it went pretty well).

Did it fit exactly into anyone’s idea of how church should be? Likely no. But this was part of the privilege that was ours, the very act of setting aside what I expect in order to achieve what we all need and desire. This is a great part of worship. This honors our Lord.

So I would like to say thank you to my fellow pastors, members of the Valley Pastors’ Prayer Network, and to their congregations, who chose to set aside their usual Sunday practice, put in the extra work, took a certain financial risk, and sacrificed to make this expression of his church happen. I was honored to participate with you.

John N. Moropoulos is the Pastor of Gateway Christian Fellowship.