Pentecost recalls an event familiar to most Christians. Familiar, yes, but still rather unfathomable. The author (Luke) begins the Book of Acts by recounting the days after the resurrection when Jesus “presented himself alive to [his followers].” He then “ordered them not to leave Jerusalem...‘you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” (Acts 1:1-5) Forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven after telling His followers “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-11) Obediently, the disciples returned to Jerusalem to the “room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. [they devoted] themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.” (Acts 1:12-14)
The disciples had experienced a lot of change in the 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. They had swung from the depths of despair at His death, to amazed, confused, joy and wonder at his resurrection. Everything seemed almost normal again. They took comfort from being with Jesus again in the familiar places, like the Sea of Galilee. Then, once again Jesus left them, in a most unexpected way-by ascending into the clouds! Wisely the men and women gathered in prayer to wait and see what was going to happen next. Like them, when we are in the midst of change in our lives, it is good to stop and pray for clarity.
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.”
It must have been pretty amazing, frightening, and certainly transformative for the disciples. While quietly praying, they are assaulted with the sound of a “violent wind” and “tongues, as of fire”. Recently we have seen violent winds changing lives and wreaking havoc. Fires, too, have been in the news, esp. in the southwest where they’ve scorched acres and acres of land and devoured homes in their path. (In fact this photo is of the effects of smoke from a fire in AZ on the air in Albuquerque-a couple hundred miles away.)
People, in the path of wildfires, talk about deciding what is important to them. “I have my quilts and sewing machine. He has his guns,” said one woman interviewed recently about what they would take if they had to evacuate ahead of a fire. Those who survive tornados, earthquakes, and tsunamis cling to loved ones and rejoice when a cherished memento or beloved pet is found safe. The many natural disasters in the news make me stop and consider what would be important enough for me to take if I needed to leave my home.
The result of any major life upheaval, whether caused by your own decision, a natural disaster, unforeseen illness or other cause, is that you are changed forever. The superficial and trivial are swept away. The wind and fire of Pentecost did the same thing for the disciples. No longer were they cowering in the upper room, wondering if they would be arrested and debating whether it would be best to return to the old, familiar fishing trade. Instead, these men and women were emboldened to address the crowd that gathered.
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’” (Acts 2:4-11)
The Holy Spirit is still acting in lives every day. Sometimes we experience a life transforming experience of the Holy Spirit on a renewal weekend like Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, or Kairos. People who have gone through a life changing illness or disaster also know of the preserving and healing power of God’s Holy Spirit. What about the day to day “lives of quiet desperation” Thoreau talks about? The Holy Spirit can transform those lives, too.
How seriously do we take the action of God’s Spirit in our lives? Do people look at us “amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’” (Acts 2:12) Is my life any different because of Pentecost?
The liturgical season of Pentecost stretches from now to the beginning of Advent. It’s a time to examine what it means to live as a ‘Resurrection People’. Maybe it’s a time for you and me to rediscover what it means to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that “others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’”
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be blogging thoughts about how the Holy Spirit changed the ordinary men and women in the Book of Acts. They left behind their old ways and stepped out in faith to preach the Good News. Come along and see if you have thoughts to add.
