The Pentecost explosion
26th May 2023
We have a long reading today – but it’s a good one!
When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia, from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia—yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!” Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?”
But others made fun of the believers, saying, “These people are drunk!”
Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o’clock in the morning. Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:
‘This is what I will do in the last days, God says:
From Acts 2
I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.
Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message;
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will have dreams.
Yes, even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will proclaim my message.
For Jewish believers Pentecost was a celebration of the giving of the law that came fifty days after Passover. That’s why there were people from so many places in Jerusalem that day – they were there for this special feast day. But for the followers of Jesus this day is about something else. It is the day the church begins. On Sunday we celebrate the church’s birthday.
Last week in the Communion at Park we were remembering the Ascension of Jesus. Jesus leaves the disciples, but tells them to wait for the gift which would come to them. Although the picture that is used is Jesus going up, and power coming down, we can also think of it as the movement from Jesus being out there – with the disciples but separate, and just in one place – to Jesus being in here – living in us, always there, wherever we are.
So our reading today describes this giving of the Holy Spirit. The followers of Jesus hear a sound like a rushing wind, and they are filled by something powerful and life giving – the breath of God. In the original language of the New Testament the words breath and Spirit are the same. You can think of it as God breathing his life – the life of Jesus – into the disciples. Jesus is now not out there, but in here.
But that isn’t the end of the movement. The disciples are lit up in some way. And they are fired up – filled with the desire to share all the great things that God has done. Now the life of God in here sends them out there. After weeks of meeting in closed rooms, they rush out onto the street, praising God. And somehow, Luke tells us, all those people from so many different countries find that they can understand.
Luke wrote about this event some years later – and he sees it as a prediction of what will happen. Over the next years he will see the gospel spread to all the countries mentioned – to Egypt, Arabia, Crete, what is now Turkey, and to Rome itself. In his book, the Acts of the Apostles, he goes on to describe this amazing explosion of this new community of faith.
Now there are Christians in countries all over the world. Suki, our African Chaplain, was telling me that in his church on Pentecost Sunday they have the service in all different languages – English, Welsh, Yoruba, Igbo, and others. This story tells us that the gift of God’s life to us is not just for us. It is a gift to be shared widely.
It’s a gift that changes people – look at Peter, the one who denied that he knew Jesus, now standing in front of the crowd and speaking boldly. Peter explains what is happening using the words of one of the Jewish prophets. This is what Joel said would happen – God would pour out his Spirit not just on a few people but on everyone, and they would all be called to share God’s message.
Joel also said ‘young men would see visions and old men would dream dreams’. The Spirit can help people imagine a new way of living – living in the kingdom of God which Jesus talked so much about. The Spirit comes not just to change individuals, but to bring change to the world – to communities and society and the way we live.
I’m old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. For many years it seemed that nothing would break the hold of the USSR. But people began gathering in churches, praying. And they found the courage to bring their protests onto the street. And in the end the numbers were too great, and the authorities gave way, and the wall fell. That is one way that the Holy Spirit has brought transformation.
As we remember the first day of Pentecost we are invited to open ourselves more fully to the Holy Spirit. To allow the Spirit to flow out more and more into our lives. To become part of this great movement – the transforming life of Jesus, flowing out into the world.
Lord, breathe your Spirit into us… Fill us with your life, your energy, your courage, your passion, and your transforming love.
We think of those ways in which we are called to live, and speak, and act … Lord, may your love flow out through our lives.
Lord, we long to see your Spirit bring renewal to the whole world. We think of those places especially on our hearts… May your Spirit bring freedom and justice and peace and new hope.