Pentecost, a Greek word meaning 50, is the 50th day after the Easter Resurrection – a Feast Day celebrated this year on May 19th. Pentecost is the day the “Holy Spirit” entered a room holding Jesus’ apostles and entered each of them, an event which “makes the church the church.” Happy Birthday, Church!
Jesus has gone and the disciples are hanging out rather fearfully in the upper room. They have just had a rather tumultuous time – they walked with Jesus for up to three years before he is taken from them on the cross. Now they wait, disappointed again. But they WAIT. And then, Jesus appeared, stood in their presence, and spoke those life-changing words, “Peace be with you... Receive the Holy Spirit!”
“When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” - Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2This gift of the Holy Spirit broke down the dividing wall. The Spirit-baptized are drawn together in the Holy Spirit’s power to carry on the work of Christ. This community is strikingly inclusive. The Jews Peter addresses are immigrants from all over the known world who then lived in Jerusalem, and the Jesus movement will soon open up to include Gentiles as well. Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, casts the church as a diverse, prophetic community of bridge-builders, visionaries, and dreamers, male and female, enslaved and free. We are still part of that widening circle, that growing momentum, slowly building ripple by ripple toward the ultimate reunion of humankind.
The Holy Spirit did not appear, as Jesus did, in human flesh. Instead, God’s presence in the person of the Holy Spirit was “like the rush of a violent wind” and appeared as “divided tongues of fire.” And rather than the presence of a person, the Holy Spirit came as a power within people – “the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit gave them ability.”
The Holy Spirit is not new to the scene. As a church, we proclaim that the Holy Spirit was present from the beginning of creation, moving as the breath of God over the waters in Genesis 1:2. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets of the Hebrew Bible, proclaiming God’s love and salvation before the coming of Christ. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism, proclaiming him the beloved Son of God. But at Pentecost, the disciples and the church experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in a new way, and they are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do new and amazing things.
God’s breath or spirit – Ruah in Hebrew - means renewal, insight, and responsibility. Breath means new life – and new life means new growth, change, and ongoing development. The Spirit protects, but it also challenges, provokes and pushes us along. The fruits of the Spirt are not impossible standards that we strive for. The fruits of the Spirit are the visible signs of a life lived through the power of God.
We may not understand what it is, but the Holy Spirit is very much the glue that holds us together. The power of the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples, and it empowers all of us, to become witnesses to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit transformed the disciples from lambs to lions, setting them on fire, as people convicted, converted, consecrated to set about setting the world on fire. God sends the Holy Spirit to each of us, empowering us with spiritual gifts large and small.
God makes the same promise to us. “Peace be with you. Receive the Spirit.” This receiving is when and how we each make a genuine personal commitment to Christ. The question for us today, and for every day, is both simple and profound, “Do we really want the Holy Spirit convicting, convincing, converting, changing, challenging us?”
The Spirit began to transform the disciples into new people, not perfect, but new people, with new attitudes, motives, behaviors. They followed Jesus. When the Holy Spirit takes root in our lives it upsets everything. Christ’s presence leaves us dissatisfied with the way we are. We find ourselves wanting to stand up for those on the edges. To be good stewards of God’s creation. To walk away from bad habits and bad influences. To follow Jesus.
The church is not a building, nor is it a particular membership nor is it a gathering of people together in one place. Rather, at its heart, the church is a mission - a dynamic community of people following Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out God’s mission of healing, liberation, and joy for the sake of the world.
God’s mission, loving and protecting our neighbors as we would love and protect ourselves – and the call, the challenge, and the adventure continues. In an age of distrust, fear and fragmentation, the church’s mission – the essence of Pentecost – has never been more pressing. Let’s go!
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