When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs– in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But 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. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, 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.’ – Acts 2:1-21
(Note: on Sunday this passage was read in different languages, including German, Polish, French, Spanish, Latin, and Swahili)
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Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 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. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. – John 14:8-17, 25-27
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Good morning and Happy Birthday Church! Today being Pentecost, this is the day when the Holy Spirit first arrived and anointed Jesus’ disciples for ministry, and it’s considered the birthday of the Christian Church. Traditionally, depending on where you’re from, we wear red today to symbolize the flames of fire that anointed the disciples, or we wear white to symbolize the Holy Spirit’s cleansing.
The tradition of Pentecost stretches back into the Old Testament. Pentecost was, and still is, a Jewish holiday called Shavuot which means weeks – a holiday that was tied to the rhythms of a farming society. In ancient Israel they counted a sabbath of sabbaths (7×7 weeks) since the festival of firstfruits – and this became Pentecost, the harvest festival.
This creates parallels of prophecy between the Old Testament and the New Testament, tying the two testaments together. For example, Jesus is sometimes called “the firstfruits of them that sleep” – the first human being to be resurrected from the dead. He is the firstfruits of the human race. And seven times seven weeks after Jesus’ Resurrection we have Pentecost: a harvest of souls being brought into God’s kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit’s presence is only possible because Jesus ascended into heaven (as we celebrated last Sunday) and is therefore able to send the Holy Spirit to be with us.
I’m sure it’s no coincidence the Jewish Pentecost was one of three holidays when Jewish believers were required to travel to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple. So on the church’s first Pentecost, there were faithful people from literally all over the known world in Jerusalem. They were there to give thanks for God’s blessings: good homes and good food which God had provided throughout the year; but this year, they were surprised by something that was going on in the city, and found themselves worshiping God – the same God they’d always worshipped – in a brand new way: in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In a lot of ways the Holy Spirit is a bit of a mystery. The Old Testament talks about the Spirit from time to time; we know for example that King David often ministered and sang in the Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit is called the “third person of the Trinity” – ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’, or as some say, ‘God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit’. And while the Father is not Jesus who is not the Spirit, at the same time God is One and all three are God. It’s a mystery, and we’ll explore this mystery a bit more next week on Trinity Sunday.
Meanwhile, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in John 14:17 when he says:
“This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”
Before he ascended to heaven, Jesus told the disciples to wait together in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit – which is exactly what the disciples are doing at the beginning of Acts chapter two in our reading today. They were together in one room – a lot like we are now – and all of a sudden they heard a sound like rushing wind and saw tongues of fire coming down and resting on each one of them. And all of them – men and women, young and old – were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.
Does the Holy Spirit always arrive in peoples’ lives with wind and fire? These days, not usually. But on that first Pentecost, wind and fire had specific meaning to the disciples. Jesus had said in John 3:8, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” So wind signifies the presence of the Spirit.
And in Luke 3:16 John the Baptist said: “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; […] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And also in Isaiah chapter 6, when Isaiah is worshipping in the temple, he sees a vision of God, and he says “woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips…” God sends one of the seraphim to take a live coal from the altar and touch Isaiah’s lips with it; and he says, “this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for.” The fire represents cleansing and a restoration of holiness. Anyone who was raised Jewish would have recognized these symbols.
So here on this first Pentecost, the disciples “were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.” And these languages were heard by all the people who had come to Jerusalem from all over the world to worship God. There were people from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe – most of the known world at that time.
I’d like to step back for a moment and reflect on this: have any of us ever had the experience of being in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language? If yes, while you were there, did you ever suddenly hear someone speaking English? How did it feel, to hear English in a foreign country? For me it was like having an instant friend – no matter where they’re from or what their politics are – this person is from home.
That was the feeling in the crowd that Pentecost morning. People from all over felt like they’d found one of their own. They felt welcomed. It felt like a taste of home. And the message in these words was telling them about God’s works – God’s deeds of power – including Jesus’ resurrection.
People didn’t know what to think. They were blown away! Some wiseacre in the crowd said, “oh they’re just drunk” but Peter answered, “not so! It’s only nine in the morning!” And he explained: this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, who said (this comes from Joel chapter two):
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.”
All will prophesy, all will see visions and dream dreams. And not long after this day, even the Gentiles will be included in God’s kingdom. The prophet Joel says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” – regardless of who they are or where they’re from or what they’ve done.
Hearing all this in their native languages, the people who had come to Jerusalem for Pentecost were deeply moved, and many were convinced of the truth. Luke tells us that 3000 people became believers that day, and were added to the church. 3000. People. And the last verse of Acts 2 tells us “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The faith spread throughout Jerusalem like a fire.
So is the Holy Spirit still present today, and if so can we know if we have the Spirit in us? Yes and yes.
This is a topic of debate in some churches, and teachings on the Holy Spirit vary widely from church to church. Speaking as someone who has been in just about every kind of church there is, I will say this: Christians are never called to prove to anyone that we have the Spirit in us. I say this because some people believe that anyone who has the Spirit must speak in tongues (for example), and that’s not the case. Other people say the ability to heal is the sign of the Spirit’s presence. Again, not so.
The apostle Paul makes it clear we all receive different gifts from the Holy Spirit, as God created us to have them, and as God knows other people need them. The apostle Paul gives us a few lists of spiritual gifts in his letters, particularly in I Corinthians 12, and the lists of gifts include things like wisdom, knowledge, faith, prophecy, discernment and so on. Paul says: “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord…” (I Cor 12:4-5)
And if we’re ever not sure if the Spirit is with us or in us, the very best thing to do is to talk to God about it in prayer. Jesus says in Luke 11:13, “If you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” So if we’re not sure we just need to ask.
So what does all of this mean for us today in the year 2022?
It’s been almost two thousand years since all these events happened, and millions and millions of people around the world have heard the message of Jesus and have joined the body of believers. From where we stand now, we can look back and see so many ways in which the prophecies of the Old Testament have come true in Jesus. We can look back and see how many people through the ages have heard God’s call on their lives and have “called on Jesus to be saved”. Notice how this is a two-way call: God calls us, and we respond by calling on Jesus, who is our King and our Lord.
The Holy Spirit unites the members of the church as one into the Body of Christ. And by that I don’t mean “team spirit” (it’s not something we need cheerleaders for); we don’t work ourselves up into unity. The reality comes from God: if we think of God the Father as God-above-us, and Jesus as God-with-us (which is what his name means), then the Holy Spirit is God-in-us or God-alongside-us. And because the Spirit is in all believers, the Spirit knits us together into one family – God’s family.
The Greek word for Holy Spirit is paraclete, which is tough to translate into English with just one word. One translation I read said this about the Holy Spirit: “alongside you he dwells and in you he will be.” Which I think sounds a bit like Yoda. But the word does have a mixture of meanings, including advocate, helper, guide, comforter; and the root meaning is “one who draws alongside” – a friend who walks with us. Jesus has sent us a friend like himself, who walks with us through life.
And now we are called to do the same for others: to come alongside them, and walk with them, and advocate for them – especially for those in need, or for those who cannot speak for themselves. I think, for example, of the children coming to our country and applying for asylum who enter our court system without a lawyer. Can you imagine going to court without a lawyer? A number of attorneys in our country are stepping up to volunteer in this situation (God bless them) but there aren’t enough yet. And that’s just one of so many ways people here and around the world need someone to speak for them. We are called to do for others what Jesus has done for us. And when we do, we do it with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We are also called to bear witness to the truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are called to bear witness to the truth of God’s word in Scripture – which tells us (and the world) that the promise of repentance and forgiveness and a life empowered by the Holy Spirit is “for you, for your children, and for all who are far away” (as Peter says in Acts 2:39).
And in terms of ‘coming alongside’ others in an everyday kind of way: we can begin by asking ourselves, what are the languages being spoken by the people around us? People we hope to reach? Are they foreign languages? Are they languages of culture or of food or of music? What languages do we hear in the communities around us? And how can we speak to them about God’s love for them, in the power of the Holy Spirit?
The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:14 that “all who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God”. Without the Spirit there is no family relationship. With the Spirit, we are children in God’s family – and if we are children, Paul says, we are also heirs: heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ – who calls us his brothers and sisters.
Speaking of heirs: I saw a photo this weekend (this weekend being the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, celebrating 70 years on the throne – what an amazing long life of service!) The photo was captioned The Queen and her Heirs and it showed Elizabeth, with her son Charles, and his son William, and his son George (Elizabeth’s great-grandson): all the heirs to the British throne.
The Queen and Her Heirs: photo credit BBC (2022)
Imagine if Jesus had a photo like that taken of him and all his heirs. It would have to be a very, very large photo! And we would all be in it (thanks be to God) – along with every believer in every age – and all because of what happened on Pentecost all those years ago. This is where it all started.
So Happy Birthday Church! AMEN!
Preached at Fairhaven United Methodist Church and Spencer United Methodist Church, Pentecost 2022
Getting Started 
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