To the church we say, “Happy Birthday!” And to Mothers we say, “Happy Mother’s Day.”

Usually Pentecost Sunday falls in early June. Because Easter was so early this year, so does Pentecost Sunday, observed as the birthday of the church, 50 days after Easter.

Sometimes when two special days coincide, they shed light on each other to help us see what we may not have seen before. I’ve found this to be true for this Sunday.

In the calendar of Jewish feast days was a day very similar to our American Thanksgiving Day. It was a harvest festival that fell 50 days after Passover. People gathered from all over the world in Jerusalem. While in John’s account, Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit on Easter evening, in Luke’s gospel the Holy Spirit descends upon the believe…