Acts 2: 1-21 (Common English Bible)
We have come to the conclusion of our 50 day observance of Easter. With this story about Pentecost, we turn back where it all began when Jesus made his announcement of the Spirit’s empowerment in Luke 4: 18-19 as stated, “The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovering sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” That was the first sermon by Jesus, spoken in a synagogue at Nazareth.
Jesus said his Church would go to the ends of the world once the Spirit was unleashed. Accordingly, the followers of Jesus numbering 120, were gathered in one place, probably first near the Temple in Jerusalem praising Jesus and praying for the outpouring of the Spirit that Jesus promised.
Suddenly a storm breaks as a sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven that filled the entire house where the disciples went to. With the wind came fire, or what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on those disciples within the house. God wanted this initial coming of the Spirit to be a vivid memory for future generations. So God made it a major public event, rather than a private mystical experience.
But the wind and fire was only the prologue as to what was to come. All these early Jesus followers received the fullness of the Holy Spirit for one major purpose, so they could prophesize and be witnesses for Jesus to the ends of the earth.
That was the purpose of the phrase, “and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” These other “tongues” in this event were foreign languages that made it possible for the disciples of Jesus to speak to foreign people without the need for a translator. In the book of Acts this gift of prophecy through speaking in tongues was important because it made possible for the early church to spread the Good News throughout the world.
But the main point of the Pentecost event was not necessarily the wind and fire or even the speaking in tongues. It was the unity of the people there, drawn to Jerusalem to learn more about Jesus and what he offers to humankind. No race of people has preferential treatment from God. All people and nations are equal in God’s sight.
We should ask ourselves today, does the power of Pentecost still welcome diversity to the Body of Christ that churches can still celebrate and copy? What might we learn from listening carefully to a wide range of new ideas? And how do we imagine, envision and enact God’s better vision for the world?
If we were to live a life that reflected the subversive and radical message of love that gives a voice to those who have been silenced either by churches or by governments and a place for those who are displaced, that would be the first step. Combine that with standing up against systematic oppression perpetuated by those in power, we might find ourselves on the wrong end of the established order like Jesus. And that would be a good thing in my opinion. Maybe the time has come to fan the flames of the Holy Spirit with passion, the kind of passion that Jesus had, a passion for true living and justice. That would be a life that is full and maybe even with risks causing good trouble helping those who have been exploited by others. Perhaps the time has come to once again express our faith, not just within a belief system, but with radical acts of love and kindness no matter what the risk.
We struggle with a national crisis regarding the mistreatment of immigrants and refugees, as well as patterns of racial and ethnic profiling, a rise in hate crimes and white supremacist acts of violence. This allows us to recognize the human faces of other people outside our bubble and especially the faces of those of the poor and suffering on earth. The suffering of the Palestinian people should break the hearts of anyone who loves Jesus.
Looking beyond the parameters of any church, we see the Holy Spirit is active in new visions of justice and unity. In the Black Lives Matter movement, the Women’s March on Washington, the Young Peoples’ March to end Gun Violence, marches for environmental protection and more recently marches for justice for those who live in Gaza, we can witness the fierce love the Holy Spirit has for our troubled world.
What lessons does the Holy Spirit tell us today about the future of any church? Perhaps it’s a warning. A church that turns into itself and stops being a missionary faith community is no longer the church of Jesus. It becomes a social club of people with similar backgrounds who simply enjoy each other’s company. Pope Francis, in his first Apostolic Exhortation titled “The Joy of the Gospel,” urges the church to be true to its missionary calling. He wants the church to reach out towards those on the margins and bring healing and hope to the wounded of the world. Pope Francis states, “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and clinging to its own security.” We need, he insists, a church, “that knows how to open her arms and welcome everyone.”
I would say the real message of Pentecost is one of unity that respects diversity. Pentecost reverses the confusion and division mentioned in the symbolic story of the Tower of Babel. On the day of Pentecost people of different languages and cultural backgrounds came together. Pilgrims from Persia, Egypt, Libya, Asia, Rome and other nations gathered to celebrate this major Jewish observance with the ability to understand one another by the power of the Spirit. The miracle of Pentecost was mutual understanding, a restoration of the unity that humankind had lost in the metaphorical story of the Tower of Babel.
Today, we might ask what gift of the Spirit, what language do we need that everyone can understand no matter what their ethnic or language background? The good news is, there is such a gift and language. It is the language of love, a dialect everybody can understand. And it can best be understood when you smile at someone. Love is the language of the Holy Spirit.
In the words of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who in my opinion was one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, said this, “Love is the only force that can make things One without destroying them. It is the only language capable of creating a unity that respects diversity. The kind of unity our divided Church and broken world sorely needs.”
AMEN
