Rev.
Katy Halliburton
May 27th,
2012
Pentecost
ACTS 2:1-21 NRSV
1When the day of Pentecost
had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven
there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire
house where they were sitting. 3Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave
them ability.
5Now there were devout Jews
from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the
crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the
native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked,
“Are not all these who are
speaking Galileans? 8And
how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes,
Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both
Jews and proselytes 11Cretans
and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of
power.”
12All were amazed and
perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and
said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14But 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. 15Indeed, these are not
drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was
spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘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.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”
***
The story of Pentecost is a wild one, with a violent
rushing wind, and tongues of fire. The story of Pentecost is a miraculous one,
with a prophecy fulfilled, and a people bewildered. The story Pentecost is a
mysterious one with the illusive Holy Spirit, unseen like wind, yet testified
to in action. Perhaps because Pentecost is wild, miraculous, and mysterious, we
stalwart Presbyterians don’t give it much play.
Yet, I tell you, Pentecost deserves to be the third
Sunday for the Christmas and Easter only crowd. Just as Christ came as a child
and brought God to us, so too in Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes in wind and
fire and brings God to us. It is an amazing story.
I imagine the crazy scene, wind blowing hard,
picking up dust and dirt, people in the whirlwind their clothes flapping
against them, tongues of fire resting upon them, yet instead of running for
shelter they praise the power of God, dozens of languages are spoken, and all
are understood. Peter explains the inhuman, we are not drunkards, but people on
fire for God, the Holy Spirit was poured forth. Can you imagine this? Have you
ever seen anything like it?
Maybe that’s why Pentecost isn’t as popular; it’s
harder to imagine. Maybe we get the Advent wait for a baby, and the Christmas
gift of his birth, better than we understand the birth of the church, and the
gifts of the Spirit. Maybe we know all to well the dying expressed in Lent, and
the hoped for rising remembered in Easter. Maybe tongues of fire are beyond our
grasp. Maybe we have lost hope for our languages to be understood across
countries, classes, and social boundaries. Maybe it is easier to look at the
holidays in which Jesus Christ does the work, than to celebrate the holiday
when we are called to return the favor.
Celebrating Pentecost is like carrying the cross.
Holding onto wind and flame are a little less tangible but the call is the
same. We are to be blown by the Spirit’s wind, and imbued by the Spirit’s fire.
We are to move with, and to radiate the Spirit of God.
Woman we shall prophesy, old men you shall dream
dreams, young men you shall see visions. Slaves will speak prophecy, and sons
and daughters also. Like the people in Jerusalem we are to speak in our own
language, but our words are to cross all languages, classes, and social bounds.
‘How,’ you might ask? And it is a legitimate question as I suppose none of us
have ever seen literal tongues of fire and besides the story seems so long ago.
How do we speak in ways that cross boundaries? In his life Christ taught us a
lot about how to do this, and the ancient Pentecost story also explains.
The Spirit sends the tongue, and the tongue praises
God in its own language, and that language of praising God crosses all
boundaries. When our language praises God it crosses all boundaries, and we
know the Spirit is in us. Praising God is to hope for and testify to the things
unseen. Living as a Pentecost people is to be in the midst of a whirlwind and
instead of running to speak of the power of God.
