Pentecost

Preparation

    Please begin by reading Acts 2:1-21 in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of this reflection.

Reflection--Fire From Heaven  

   This week we celebrate “Pentecost,” a name based on the Greek word for “fiftieth.” One of three great Jewish pilgrimage festivals, “the Feast of Weeks,” took place fifty days after the first day of Passover. The festival had its origins in the agricultural roots of the people. An early reference to it speaks of “the feast of harvest.” (Exodus 23:16.)  It was a time when the people were expected to show gratitude to God for the harvest by bringing a portion of it to the temple in Jerusalem as an offering. Eventually, the festival was transformed from an agricultural festival to a celebration of God’s gift of the Torah to the people.

    Pentecost takes its significance in Christian history from what happened at the time of the first Pentecost celebration after Jesus’ death and resurrection, a story told in today’s passage from the book of Acts. The disciples, who were gathered in Jerusalem, experienced a sudden and powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit and began speaking in languages other than their own. The result was that people from all over the world who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks were able to hear and understand the story of “God’s deeds of power.”

    Peter, taking the opportunity to preach to the crowd, pointed to Old Testament prophecy about the coming day when God would pour out the Holy Spirit on all people, a prophecy that he saw fulfilled that day. Later in Acts 2, we find that all these events led to about 3,000 people deciding to become followers of Christ. All of this means that Pentecost is the birthday of God’s church.

    The events also fulfilled a prophecy of Jesus. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." It is Jesus’ prophecy that holds the key to the meaning of all these events for today's Christians. While an experience of the Holy Spirit can fill us with the greatest joy, that gift is a gift of empowerment to move forward in service. As one commentator says, the disciples “are transformed from being mere eyewitness to being genuine ministers of the word.”

    The task God sets before us can be daunting; to bring the good news of God’s love to a hurting world. The good news for us is that we have One who is able to empower us for the task. God’s Spirit will provide what we need, when we need it, for building God’s reign.

revclay

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Acts 2:1-21

    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." [NRSV]