Sunday May 23, 2021

Reflection:  "Pentecost"

Psalm 104:24-34,35b  
 
Acts 2:1-21

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

​Romans 8:22-2

How do you think you’d react if you attended a huge multi-cultural church meeting and you heard a mighty rushing wind and saw tongues of fire descend and land on each of the heads of a bunch of uneducated people, who weren’t even from your city?
And after all this, these people got up started speaking knowledgably and logically about God – and in languages that all the people, from at least 15 different language groups, could understand in their native tongue? 

Well, I don’t know about you, but I think it’d freak me out if I was there. 

When this happened to the disciples of Jesus and about 120 of the believers, it would have been quite a sight. 

That’s what happened at the Harvest Festival (Shavuot), where a number of devout Jews were commemorating the giving, by God, of the 10 Commandments to Moses at Mt Sinai. 

It had occurred 50 days after their exodus from Egypt. 
That same festival is known by Christians today as Pentecost, which literally comes from the Greek for the 50th day.
It’s the 50th day after the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. 

This day is often seen as the “day the church began”, because it’s the first occurrence of baptism by the Holy Spirit and therefore indicates the inauguration of the Christian church.Interestingly, this morning’s reading from Acts 2 doesn’t actually state that a Spirit baptism took place at Pentecost.
It just says that they were “filled” with the Holy Spirit. 

However, Acts 1:5 gives us the anticipation that it will occur (“for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”) and later in Acts 11:15-16 it refers back to it as having occurred on that day. 

The Christian church, therefore, came into existence on that day and the believers were baptized into one body – that which we now call “the church”. 
​We join the story where the disciples now seem to have re-found their courage and speak boldly.

Only 7 weeks earlier, they’d scattered and hid, fearful for their lives.
Even after Jesus had re-appeared to them a number of times following his resurrection, they were still reluctant to speak in public. 

It must have been a very confusing time for them.  
On the one hand, they were sad because their teacher had been killed and taken away from them and, therefore, that part of their life was over, but it must also have been a great experience and adventure for them.
They would have been filled with joy as they were about to take the message of the gospel to the rest of the world. 

The disciples had been with Jesus for 3 years before experiencing his death & resurrection and the 40 days of learning before his ascension, but now they seem to be on their own.We remember that earlier, Jesus had promised that he wouldn’t leave them alone, but he would send a comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with them forever. 

It was only after being baptised by this Spirit, that they had the courage to speak out in front of their peers. 

The report from Acts that “3,000 were added to their number” indicates that the disciples must have spoken well and what they said obviously made sense to those who heard them (in their own language).  
It must have been a mighty sight to witness and then Peter addressed the crowd.

For the first time, he publicly preached about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 
This is the same Peter who, only 7 weeks earlier, was so scared that he had denied even knowing Jesus.

What was so different now? 

It was obviously the Holy Spirit that gave him the ability to speak so eloquently and boldly. 
He started off by defending the 11 against the accusations of drunkenness that were being made by the crowd.
He pointed out that it was only 9am and they couldn’t possible have had too much wine, as on such a festival day, they wouldn’t have broken their fast before 10am. 
Instead, he postulated that what the people were witnessing was a fulfilling of the words of prophesy, spoken by the prophet Joel, when he said that, in the last days, God would pour out his spirit on all people and that miraculous things would happen.
Of course, Joel was talking to the people of Judah, some 860 years before Peter quoted him, but the message was the same:
You may have done nasty things to God’s son, Jesus, but God is still willing to forgive you and bless you - if you accept his message and are baptised. 

Peter went on to tell them about how Jesus had brought the gift of the Holy Spirit to them and that they could receive it if they repented of their sins. 

Surely this should be the basis for every evangelist’s words today.

We can only read in amazement and wonder as the writer tells us how even Peter, the one who ran away, can be so convincing that 3,000 people believed on that day and were converted. 

While ever the disciples sat and meditated and prayed behind locked doors, they remained defeated and downcast.  
When they ventured out to share the Good News they knew the gift of the Spirit of God in life-changing ways.   

Is it an exciting thing we can participate in?               Certainly.  
Are we given a peace within?                                          Absolutely
(even if all around is turmoil - but it can certainly be hard to find at times.)
Reading your bible every day is one way of finding that peace.  
Does every Christian have the gift of the Spirit?        Definitely
- so long as we actually follow Jesus in his mission.  
Can we predict where the Spirit will blow us?            No way. 

So, what can we do and how can we be as brave as the disciples, when we’re not sure if we’ve felt the Holy Spirit come upon us?
Maybe, when we’re talking to friends and acquaintances in the coming weeks, remember these words from Acts and pray that God will use even people like us to do his work in the world today. 
We may feel like we’re speaking words that our listeners may not even understand, but, with the help of the Spirit who came at Pentecost, they will hear us in their own idiom.

The worst thing would be for us to not speak the words in the first place. 

Maybe not all of us feel that we have the gift of evangelism, but it’s worth giving it a try.
Start with baby steps and see how it goes.

We need to remember that we’re just the planters of the seed, God will take over and use the Holy Spirit to nurture and grow them. 
But if we haven’t even planted the seed, all the watering and feeding will be of little use. 

I encourage you to think of ways that God can use you to further his Kingdom, here on earth and I pray that the Comforter will guide you along the way. 

Pastor Rick