DAY OF PENTECOST Year B May 20, 2018
Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14 •
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b • Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21 • John
15:26-27; 16:4b-15
I’m inspired
by the readings of Pentecost. Into the
humdrum of life emerges an explosive event.
Romans
8:22-23 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until
now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of
the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our
bodies.”
Ah… there it is right there… You see, life is HARD. Here on planet Earth there is a struggle –
and it is not just a struggle for some random person, but also for those who
have the first fruits of the Spirit. The
struggle is real! Things on this planet
are not the way the creator intended, and all of creation groans as if in
labour pains as we long for a life that we sub-consciously, deep in our souls,
know is meant to be something different and better.
There may be some Christians who will tell you that life is a breeze
since they become a Christian. Well God
bless them and their little cotton socks, but for most of us who live in the
real world, even though we’ve been given a vision and promise, we still
struggle because things really are not how they could and should be…. Why do we
think that Jesus gave us the “Our Father” as our prayer which states, “your
kingdom come on Earth, as it is in Heaven” ?
Obviously, because how things are meant to be, as yet, are not.
On this day of Pentecost that prayer was answered in part.
The followers of Christ were a frightened but hopeful bunch, gathered
together and united in prayer and purpose.
Surprisingly, their meeting took an interesting and dramatic turn. Partly, Heaven did come on Earth.
There was the sound of a rushing wind and what appeared as tongues of
fire settled above them and they began speaking in other languages…. It must
have been quite a commotion because the visitors to the area heard them
proclaiming and praising God in their native languages.
Now there have been many a person to explain this event with varied and
disagreeing views, however it is clear that something totally miraculous
happened. A scared group of people
became courageous and somehow, not only did the listeners hear these people in
their own language, but about 3000 of them were converted and joined them,
confirming their conversion by baptism.
Truly this is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezekiel 37:4 - 5 “Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones,
and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD
to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.””
The followers of Christ must have been worn out. They had hope in Christ, but they had seen
what the authorities do to those sent from God….. they crucified them. The hope of Heaven on Earth was a very dry
hope… but on that day those dry bones
truly lived, and hope was not just renewed, it was realized.
Much more I could say about all this, but here, I think, is the most
important one for me today – the Kingdom of Heaven came and God’s will was done
on Earth! NOW, that Kingdom is still
here. It was brought about on that day
by the Holy Spirit which was given to the believers.
The Holy Spirit is still given to believers. Therefore the Kingdom of God is with the
believers. It is our job to nourish and
not quench that Kingdom. We pray that
His Kingdom come, but more often than not, and our own will be done…. We control and neaten everything up. We decide who is able to be “in” and who is “out”. We make judgements and we hurt each other.
The Holy Spirit came on that day of Pentecost and didn’t hold a course or
have interviews. 3000 people were
converted and joined! It must have been
chaos, and we need to remember that the Holy Spirit/ God is in charge. Can we step back from our need to get all our
theology correct and the same as each other, and just rejoice in the differences
and colourful people that God calls into His family? Because that is what Pentecost is about.
Acts
2:17-18 “'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.”
Let go and let God take over.
