Pentecost: Rejoice in the Lord!

Acts 2:1–21 NRSV

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. 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.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Since September, we’ve been journeying through the Narrative arc of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. There are many cyclical ways to read and preach through the scriptures and this year, I’ve chosen to take us through what is called the Narrative Lectionary, developed by the Working Preacher program at Luther Seminary. The idea is to take churches through many of the major stories in the scriptures to chart a historical and narrative trajectory through the Bible.

Back in September, we embarked on this journey with the premise that all stories and narratives have mythologies and structures that are employed to help make meaning and flesh out an understanding of the world. We describe this as a Mythos — a collection of ideas and teachings and beings and concepts that, intertwined, tell a story. In a sense, the Narrative Lectionary is our Sacred Mythos, the overaching themes and stories that knit together a picture of God’s Holy Creation.

What began with the story of Creation, then journeyed with the Hebrew people through their wandering and identity seeking, so now comes to it’s culmination in the story of Pentecost. From one people, with its patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we now expand to a community of many peoples and nations, all under the authority of Jesus, the Christ. Christ has ministered to these apostles, now they go on to tell the story.

Pentecost is not the last story of the Scriptures. We will get to that later this year, when we look at the Revelation of John. Pentecost is the pivot moment, where we move from fledgling Jewish sect to global and multiethnic Christianity. God’s expansive Creation, told through the story of the Hebrews, is catapulted into the broader world. Remember the list of homelands from the gathered crowd. The apostles, gathering some 50 days after the resurrection of Christ, receives their advocate, the paraclete, the Holy Spirit.

There are a few important things we could discuss when we look at this passage.

For one, this story is a vital part in our understanding of pneumatology, our theology of the Holy Spirit. It is from this moment, where the mighty wind blows through the gathering of the apostles, that we really begin to get an understanding for the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Spirit.

Is this a new construct, something evolving in the narrative? Perhaps. But we can of course see many examples of Spirit-breathed, holy encounters through the backstory of the Old Testament and the ministry of Jesus.

The spirit of God hovers over the waters of the deep, the chaos, before creation.

The spirit speaks to Elijah in the cave, that still small voice.

The spirit overtakes and empowers the prophets, speaking through them the words of God.

The spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness to be initiated and tempted.

From these and many other stories, we begin to develop our understanding that God is Creator, Christ AND Spirit.

Another key piece of this text is the gift of tongues, a gift of both speaking and hearing languages that either are not ours or are somehow heard by an untrained listener to be intelligible speech and proclamation. When theologians look at this, they see how the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, brings unity from diversity, bridges gaps of language and ethnicity, brings together the disparate members of God’s body here on earth.

Some Christian traditions put a lot of emphasis on this ability to speak in tongues. It can be seen as a marker of true faith and sanctification — if you speak in tongues, you are showing the world the true marks of faith.

Presbyterians, and the mainline reformed tradition in general, sees the work of the Holy Spirit as the great unifier, where language is both integrated and transcended. We think of the Spirit as the one who leads us to understanding, the Spirit is deeply connected to revelation and to wisdom. To be in the Spirit is to be swept up into a different plane of consciousness, in some terms. Spirit-filled Christians are those who live and act like Christ in the world, speaking truth to power, advocating for unity and peace, listening for the prophetic word that must be spoken. While we may not emphasize it as much as some other denominations, we also believe in the gifts of the spirit which include speaking in tongues and prophecy. We may be a little more skeptical, but we still believe God can speak through us in miraculous ways.

I often experience the work of the Holy Spirit by the way God will speak through my words or actions in ways I did not intend or did not even exactly say. Sometimes I preach a sermon and someone will come up and say, “oh pastor, that time you said such and such really got me today.” I nod, smile, affirm the sentiment, trusting in the work God is doing in that person. And inside, I think, “I never said that…but God must be speaking to this person.”

So what happens to the apostles after this mighty wind blows through their gathering?

We turn to Peter, of course. Cephas. The Rock. The one who Jesus has already prophesied over and given the keys to his church. The one who would carry on the apostolic procession — the first pope, the first head of the church in Jerusalem. Peter is not the new Christ, but he is the one who Jesus entrusted with the position of authority.

So we turn to Peter and Peter then does what becomes an incredibly common marker of early Christian evangelism — he tells, once again, the story of God.

Peter’s first sermon here is more focused that some of the subsequent Acts narratives, for instance like Paul or Stephen. Peter focuses on the prophecy of Joel, which lays out a prophetic hope that the Spirit of God will be poured out upon God’s people. Peter speaks the old prophets words in a fresh way, where they make meaning in this present moment.

This testimony, this restating of the Scriptures, becomes the main rhetorical device used by evangelists through the remainder of the Scriptures and beyond. To welcome diverse members into the body of Christ, they must be told the story.

And Peter’s closing words get to the heart of the matter: “Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Rejoice, people of God. Rejoice in the Lord and call upon his name.

This is a faith that must be lived, spoken, acted. And Peter makes this plain — this is a new, bewildering, revelatory movement of God. All are amazed, perplexed, wondering. And Peter draws it into focus. This is now the time for God’s spirit to pour out and empower God’s people. As Christ promised, so the advocate, the Helper, the Spirit, is passed to the apostles and through them carried into the world. This is the contagion moment — the Spirit is spreading.

Are we people who live in the Spirit? How would we know?

Is it in your ability to speak in tongues? If so, how does what you say bring glory to God?

Is it in your gift of prophecy? If so, how does the Spirit cause you to speak truth to power?

Is it the work of proclamation? If so, how are you being invited to tell this good story to others, to live it with your life, to practice it each day?

Is it the work of power? Then how is the Spirit calling you to use your privilege, position, training, and voice? How might you speak and live in the power of the spirit which overcomes the forces of darkness in our world?

Where are you amazed? What astonishes you?

When you feel any of those kinds of sensations, where do you feel them in your body?

We Western educated folks like to get it all nice and orderly in our minds, our heads, getting understanding for the mechanics of the spirit, the who what where when why and how of the spirit.

But can any of us truly intellectualize this story? Can any of us claim to be able to explain what is happening here?

Or perhaps, is the movement of the Spirit inviting you to slow down, listen, be moved in heart and gut and being, and then respond?

I pray that we can be a people who will humbly seek the movement of the Spirit in ourselves, so that we might speak these words of power and act in mighty ways through the Spirit’s presence in us.

I want to close with a metaphor connection and a practical word.

First, the practical. Is there really a Spirit surrounding us, dwelling in us, moving and speaking?

Yes. We believe there is. That there is somehow the presence of God surrounding us, even now. The are other spirits, aren’t there? The spirit of the age, the spirit of patriotism, the spirit of malice, the spirit of conflict. When we speak of these things, aren’t we speaking of an unseen, yet felt force?

So it is with how we encounter the Spirit — the Spirit overwhelms us, overpowers us, infects and moves through us. We do not often see it, but we feel it and witness it in how God uses the Spirit to speak to us and change our lives.

Yes, we are one, united in God’s spirit. This is what gathers us together, the Spirit of God, moving in and through us. It connects us, inspires us, and calls us to action.

The second, as I say, is a metaphoric or maybe I could say a mytho-poetic way of seeing this power of the Spirit as it moves through the Scriptures.

This Fall, we will spend time in the Book of Revelation. If there is a book filled with mystery and metaphor, spirit and fire, it is Revelation.

Throughout the narrative of Revelation, we see the Spirit poured out upon God’s people and guiding the full community of God in unity and song. It is from the Spirit of God that the praises of God’s faithful rise. It is the Spirit of God which unites tribes and nations from around the earth to bear witness at the throne of God, saying Holy, Holy, Holy!

There is an image at the end of the Scriptures where all God’s people gather in the restored city of God and praise Christ upon the throne. Many nations, ethnicities, generations of peoples gather there. And it is the spirit who from the cacaphony of these many voices at united, song: Rejoice in the Lord! The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Rejoice, for God our Creator has brought restoration and healing. Rejoice, for God reigns!

Friends, I pray that we could be a people united in the Spirit of God. That God would pour out God’s spirit upon us, here and now. That in doing this, we would be unifiers and repairers of the breach. that we would be advocates ourselves, seeking justice, loving mercy, walking humbly.

This is moment where the church takes up it’s charge to spread the good news. So it continues to be our charge — People of the Spirit, go share the good news!

And the Spirit, the fire and smoke, wind and flame, goes with us.

Amen.