From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts:
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven
staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”
Acts 2:1-11, First reading for Pentecost Sunday
“Pentecost” (note the “pente” or “5” as in “pentagon”) was celebrated by Jews 50 days after Passover. One of three great pilgrimage feasts in the Jewish calendar, it attracted, as it says here, “Jews and converts to Judaism” from across and beyond the edges of the Roman Empire. It celebrated the end of the winter harvest time (for wheat) a time of completion, thanksgiving, and of commemoration of God’s giving his people the Torah, 50 days into the great escape from Egyptian slavery. The 50 days between Passover and Pentecost also mirrored the 50 years between Jubilee Years for the Jewish tribes, when sold property reverted to its original owners and people who, say in a time of famine, had had to sell themselves out as slaves to survive, were to be set free. A time, then, of renewal and fresh beginnings.
This particular Pentecost was when the small number of followers of the Risen Lord “caught fire” and—
tongues as of fire…parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
This was not the “speaking in tongues” Paul discusses in Corinthians but was speech in a wide variety of known human languages, each recognized by Jews who had returned from these places for the festival or by native peoples who had converted to Judaism in those areas and joined the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Pentecost, then, marked the beginning of a new harvest—a joining of new thousands to those God was saving in Christ. As they pondered the teachings of Jesus the Christians came to understand the difference between what happened at this Pentecost compared to the original events centuries before in the desert during the Exodus:
Then—the Law/Torah was given.
Now—the Giver of the Law is given.
Now the Giver of the Law comes to live as the Holy Spirit within each follower of Jesus. This Spirit will share divine life with them and guide them day-by-day. New Christians may remain a member of any ethnicity or tribe, but each has become one of the People of God. Man or woman, slave or free, each is now able to live free from our deadliest enemy, sin, and destined to live in joy with God forever. Openness to the Holy Spirit has apparently had great impact on many people’s lives through the centuries since. If this sounds fantastic to you, why not ask questions?
For further reflection:
Living the Christ-life is not simply a matter of conforming to external rules (“Don’t steal. Do attend church this week.” Etc.) It is a matter of living out our new relationship with our Lord. Of cultivating an ever-deepening response to Christ within us, body-soul-mind-and-heart. This includes looking for ways to understand him better by listening in prayer, our eyes attuned to picking up directions as we go through our days and nights with Someone who made us (because he loves us). Do that, and the rules will take care of themselves.