When the day of Pentecost had come,
they 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.
Now there were devout Jews from
every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem . And at this sound the crowd gathered
and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language
of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking
Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging
to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and
Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But
others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
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. Indeed, these are not drunk, as
you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was
spoken through the prophet Joel:
“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.
Even upon my slaves,
both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and
they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and
signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun
shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the
coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Acts
2:1-21
Two
years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Turkey for a Paul and Early Church course. We traveled all around
Turkey (and actually got to see a
number of the places listed in the reading). We happened to be in Antalya , just south of Cappadocia , on the Feast of Pentecost.
After
making my way to this church (which was really the upper room of a coffee shop),
I was greeted by a number of people and shortly we began the service. It was a
non-liturgical church, so Pentecost was not being celebrated, but what I
experienced nothing could have prepared me for.
Attending the service were five Americans, three Turks,
two Russians, a Ukrainian, and myself. The sermon lasted for over an hour,
because it had to be translated into our respective languages! Finally it came
time to sing, and the song we settled on was “Amazing Grace.”
I
expected a horrific sound. Instead, I heard the Holy Spirit sing through us as
the four languages were being brought together into one. Russian, Ukrainian,
Turkish and English somehow molded together, and Pentecost was experienced
again. In Genesis 11, God confused the language of the people of Babel because they tried to
build a tower to reach God. On Pentecost, and that day in Antalya as well, God
reunited the tongues to proclaim his Gospel of love.
Scott D.
Parnell
Director of Youth
Ministries
Romans 8:22-27
When the day of Pentecost had come,
they 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.
Now there were devout Jews from
every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem . And at this sound the crowd gathered
and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language
of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking
Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging
to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and
Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But
others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
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. Indeed, these are not drunk, as
you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was
spoken through the prophet Joel:
“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.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Acts
2:1-21
Two
years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Turkey for a Paul and Early Church course. We traveled all around
Turkey (and actually got to see a
number of the places listed in the reading). We happened to be in Antalya , just south of Cappadocia , on the Feast of Pentecost.
After
making my way to this church (which was really the upper room of a coffee shop),
I was greeted by a number of people and shortly we began the service. It was a
non-liturgical church, so Pentecost was not being celebrated, but what I
experienced nothing could have prepared me for.
Attending the service were five Americans, three Turks,
two Russians, a Ukrainian, and myself. The sermon lasted for over an hour,
because it had to be translated into our respective languages! Finally it came
time to sing, and the song we settled on was “Amazing Grace.”
I
expected a horrific sound. Instead, I heard the Holy Spirit sing through us as
the four languages were being brought together into one. Russian, Ukrainian,
Turkish and English somehow molded together, and Pentecost was experienced
again. In Genesis 11, God confused the language of the people of Babel because they tried to
build a tower to reach God. On Pentecost, and that day in Antalya as well, God
reunited the tongues to proclaim his Gospel of love.
Scott D.
Parnell
Director of Youth
Ministries
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
As often happens with Paul, a lot is packed into a few words! The first thing to notice is, there's a whole lot of groaning going on: creation, we ourselves, and the Holy Spirit, are all groaning, in expectation of something new and wonderful beyond words. Paul compares this to the groans of a woman in labor: the present time is difficult, but it contains the promise of a time when the pain will be in the past, and new life will begin. Also notice that all of creation is awaiting renewal. This is a pretty important point for understanding Paul: God's plan is not just to get individual people into a distant place called heaven. God's plan is to renew the face of the Earth, to redeem the creation he loves, and bring it all back into a close, loving, trust-filled relationship with Him.
I find great comfort in the description Paul gives of the Holy Spirit. We are a culture of words, especially written ones; we want to be able to say the right thing. I remember beginning a course in Clinical Pastoral Education, and being all excited that I would finally learn the right words to say to people in difficult situations. The first thing the instructor said was, "In this course you are not going to learn all the right words to say to people in difficult situations." What we learned was more about a "ministry of presence"; giving up the false hope of fixing things with words, and learning to be with people to listen, to pray, to just be there. Because the Holy Spirit is with us, these prayers beyond words are heard and understood, just as surely as the most eloquent collect from the Prayer Book. And that's a very good thing.
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But, now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
Henry the Eighth's favorite preacher was a priest named Lancelot Andrewes (without a doubt the coolest name in anglican history, IMHO). Andrewes made one of the first homeletical jokes ever recorded, preaching about this passage. Why did Jesus have to go up before the Holy spirit could come down? Were they like buckets in a well, on the same rope? Does pulling one up send the other down? History does not say if Henry cracked up. But the question is a legitimate one.
Part of the answer is this: Jesus is clearing the stage for the disciples. Part of The Plan is that His ministry, His role, be carried on by the Church. Unlikely as it seems, we are now the ones who carry God's redeeming work into the world, it is through us that God's presence finds its way into this crazy, mixed-up world. Funnily enough, this makes me think of Groucho Marx: do I really want to belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member?
But of course we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is at work, in us. The Holy spirit is also at work in the world, bearing witness to the ministry, the teaching, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That can be hard to see sometimes, but something tells me it's true. For instance, even my most unspiritual, secular friends are willing to talk about Jesus, even admire him. Somehow, they see his importance, though they might find faith difficult. Maybe the Spirit is still working?
Jesus says there are things the disciples are not ready to hear, but the Spirit will guide them into the truth. I wonder if that is true for all disciples, including us. Each generation has to come to an understanding of what the work of Jesus means in their world, and that doesn't always happen quickly. Maybe the important thing isn't having all the answers, but being willing to become lifelong learners.
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