DAY OF PENTECOST Year C June 5, 2022
- Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9 • Psalm 104:24-34, 35b • Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21 • John 14:8-17, (25-27)
On the day of Pentecost there was a rushing wind. I have to tell you, I have heard this story
so many times, but it’s excitement never diminishes. And that excited part of me listens each
Pentecost, in anticipation, to hear the rushing wind, praying that we might all
hear it too, and it will fall upon us all.
On the day of Pentecost there was a sound that people heard
with their very natural ears. There was
also, what appeared to be, tongues of fire over their heads, which they saw
with their physical eyes. In the church
we talk about sacraments and we celebrate these significant events. A definition of a sacrament is that it is an
outward physical sign of an inner spiritual reality. We know that something was happening on this
day of Pentecost. There were numerous
outward signs and it was undeniable that God was doing something. An outward sign of an inner and spiritual
reality - it was more than physical -God did something that changed those
followers, and it changed them for life.
The coming of the Holy Spirit was dramatic, yet in the lead
up to this point Jesus constantly speaks of peace alongside his talk about the
Holy Spirit. We’ve been reading, since
Easter, that Jesus breathed on the disciples and urged them to receive the Holy
Spirit. We also discovered that the word
for breath and spirit, in both the Greek and Hebrew language, are the same. In Greek it is Pneuma and in Hebrew it is
Ruach. When Jesus breathed on them, he
also uttered words of peace, and again today, in our Gospel from John we read
that Jesus tells them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do
not give to you as the world gives.”
Peace that the world gives is circumstantial. The Peace that Jesus brings is beyond
circumstances. It is supernatural and it
is necessary if we are to be his followers, because there is much in this life
that will cause us unrest and something will even rock us to our core. The disciples had experienced things to upset
them, but they also lived in a time when lives were fairly easily taken. Jesus had now risen from the dead and now,
even more than ever, Jesus urges them to accept his peace.
On the day of Pentecost, it would seem, that there was
upheaval at all that was happening.
Outwardly, life was dramatic, but inwardly with the peace of God, Peter
no longer denies Christ, but stands and proclaims him as the Messiah.
Peace is to be at ease in all circumstances, but the “Shalom”
that forms the Jewish greeting was about also having peace and a right
relationship with God. We can be very
sure that we have shalom with God through the sacrifice of Jesus. We are certain that we are accepted by God
because Jesus is the willing the lamb of God.
He IS God, but he accomplished this for us. And he says – PEACE I give you. This peace was bought at a high price – we
need to stop thinking that we need to do something to make us acceptable to
God….. There is nothing we can do, other than give thanks and accept his gift.
It is somewhat like this - If we desperately needed a car,
and someone drove one to our driveway, wrapped it up and handed us the keys. We then ignore the car and go on foot to the
bus stop moaning about how we need a car.
This is the same as us not realizing the peace, the love and acceptance
we have with God. But if you find it
hard to comprehend that God has forgiven us and brought us peace, you are not
alone…. Why do we think that Jesus had to say it so often to his disciples?
The disciples were a loyal group of Jesus’ followers who were
praying and waiting for the advocate – the helper, that Jesus had promised to
send. Do you ever wonder what would have
happened to the church if the Holy Spirit had not come? These followers of Jesus had a personal
relationship with Jesus. They had
witnessed miracles and listened to the teachings of Jesus. Then, they had not only seen Jesus die, but
they witnessed him risen from the dead.
What more could they need to be effective witnesses, changing the
world? In the university of the way of
God, what was missing for these followers to be qualified? Surely they had everything!
Yet that point, they did not do any changing of the world. They prayed behind locked doors. Nothing much changed… until that day of
Pentecost.
What does this mean for us today? At this point I bring your attention to the
humble balloon. A balloon that is not
blown up is prepared for service, but not serving its purpose. Are we fulfilling the purpose for which we
have been created?
Are we a vibrant community making a difference and adding
thousands to our numbers each day? If
so, we no longer need a Pentecost experience.
Are we a people who can carry on as bearers of peace and comfort to our
community in the face of disaster? If we
are filled with the Holy Spirit we should be.
Martin Iles from the Australian Christian Lobby had a short
video recently (episode 91) reflecting on covid 19 and noted the covid
experience brought three things; fear, deception and division. My observation is that it not only brought
these things to the community, but sadly fear, deception and division were
experienced by the church also – although we hope, at least to a lesser
degree.
But where is our peace?
Where is this peace that Jesus gives?
In the video, Martin talks about the early church and their response to
a plague. The plagued community would
throw bodies out into the street, even before they were dead. However, the Christians at that time, were
completely different, and they would care for the sick, sometimes contracting
the disease and dying themselves. The
Christians were calm. They were peaceful,
caring and loving because they had the peace that the world could not give…
they had the peace of Jesus. To care for
others was how Jesus explained, that we were keeping the law. This was the point of his telling the story
of the Good Samaritan.
The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. It just so happened that Pentecost was a
feast of giving first fruits to God, but it was also a feast commemorating the
giving of the law to Moses and the people of Israel. From a little research on the web I found
that there were definite parallels between the time on Mt. Sinai and the coming
on the Holy Spirit. At the time of the
giving of the law there were also dramatic events. A sacred Jewish text says this; “When a
word had issued from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be His Name, in the
form of sparks or thunderbolts or flames like torches of fire … then a flame on
the right and a tongue of fire on the left would fly through the air and return
and hover over the heads of the Israelites, and then return and incise itself
into the tablets.” https://jewsforjesus.org/blog/the-jewish-roots-of-the-feast-of-pentecost
The Old Testament Israelites were afraid and asked Moses to
be the mediator for them. In our New
Testament story the disciples needed no mediator, the Holy Spirit filling them
had an immediate effect and they themselves became those stone tablets declaring
the wonders of God in languages unfamiliar to themselves, but identified by the
many people who witnessed them.
The Holy Spirit indwelling the disciples had the effect that
Jesus told them in today’s Gospel; “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of
all that I have said to you.”
Peter was suddenly filled with understanding and explained
this as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Peter was familiar with scripture and the
sayings of Jesus, but up until this point many things were not clear…. Suddenly
he understood and proclaimed the Good News.
This is the same Peter who was so scared only a month and a half
earlier, that he denied Jesus. Now he
openly, not only professed to know Jesus, but proclaimed His message.
It is obvious to me that we need this same out pouring of the
Holy Spirit today. In different
generations there are revivals… I think we are overdue for one. But how does it start?
When I was in primary school I remember being told, the Holy
Spirit will come when you ask him. We
have free will. We will always have free
will, but prayer is about lining our will up with God the father’s will. God has already given us the Holy Spirit… it
is His promised helper. It is a gift he
gives, but is it like that car in the driveway that we are overlooking… not
using… perhaps never unwrapping? We
plead with God for change in our community, not realizing that he has given us
every gift that we might need. If we
have accepted Jesus in our life, we have everything…. He has already given it
to us…. But are we enjoying that gift… utilizing it, getting to know and
understand it?
Before the Holy Spirit came, Jesus breathed on his followers
and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
There is some debate about whether this was Jesus actually already
giving them the Holy Spirit or simply the command to receive the Holy Spirit
when it came. Certainly, he breathed on
them, indicating the nature of the Holy Spirit.
As breathe is to physical life, the Holy Spirit is to spiritual life. We are spiritually alive because of the
breath of Christ who said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”… and breathed on them…
much perhaps like it might be if I breathed gently into this balloon. It takes shape, it is identified as a
balloon.
When we are baptised we are given the gift of God and all
that he has for us, but as I have already said, we are not necessarily using
that gift. I like to think that the
disciples also had been given all that Jesus had to give them, but on the day
of Pentecost the gift of the Holy Spirit was activated. The disciples were told to wait for the Holy
Spirit. They were together on the day
that commemorated the coming of God’s law with signs and wonders, and suddenly
something similar happened. This time
the law is not written on tablets of stone, but in the minds and hearts of
God’s people.
Waiting for activation means that we have all the goods, but
a final action is needed – for example, a credit card that needs you to sign
it, or an account that needs you to verify your email account by clicking on
the link. In fact what all these things
are waiting for is your “OK” – in Christian speak, we’d say, it is waiting for
your, “Amen” – amen, meaning “Yes, so be it”.
The Holy Spirit is still with us today, but God always waits
for our free will to align with his. Can
we say, “Yes! Come Holy Spirit”? When we
do, we become like the balloon fully filled with air… fulfilling its purpose
and achieving its potential. Come Holy
Spirit be mightily activated in our lives.
Can you hear the rushing
wind? Listen…. Pray… wait…. Receive the
Holy Spirit.
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