Responsively YoursResponsively Yours
Pentecost was a feast day celebrating the harvest and the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. Jews from throughout the known world gathered in Jerusalem for this annual festival. The date was about 50 days after Passover, so for Jesus’ followers, it was about seven weeks after his resurrection when they came together to celebrate Pentecost.
It was in the morning before nine o’clock when the Holy Spirit came. The coming was announced with a mighty wind, tongues of fire and the people’s ability to speak in various languages. Luke does not record the feelings of the believers, but does say the crowds were amazed and astonished to hear themselves speaking in the many languages.
The coming of the Holy Spirit that day fulfilled the prophecy of Joel and the promise of Jesus just before his ascension. The Spirit gave power to this group of believers -- a power that enabled them to bear witness to the teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Peter was not known as a great speaker, but on that day he became an eloquent preacher. His message stirred the hearts of many to the extent that more than 3,000 people were baptized and joined the early church.
In Pentecost, the barriers that separate people were overcome. The barrier of language differences disappeared. The barrier of isolation caused by fear disappeared. The barrier of education and experience disappeared. The followers of Jesus were able to talk with, preach to and mix with the variety of Jews present in the city that day. Remember that most of the disciples were uneducated and economically poor. The Holy Spirit overcame the barriers of class and nationality, giving to each the power to share the Gospel story.
Pentecost was the beginning of the early church and its missionary efforts. Peter, John and the other disciples became bold in their witness. Not only did they preach, they also healed the sick and taught in the streets. Such actions brought them to the attention of temple officials. They were arrested but because of the interest of the crowds, the officials only warned them then released them. Even this did not stop their preaching.
The Holy Spirit today
The Holy Spirit is in our world today. The Spirit is still free and flexible. The Spirit can overcome barriers of the various "isms" of our day. The Spirit is available to individuals and to groups of people, even to entire communities and nations. The Spirit can make the followers of the Christ bold in their witness. What’s preventing such power to come to each of us this Pentecost?
Perhaps we are not open to the Spirit. It is much easier to keep doing what we’ve been doing and living as we want to live, than to change and be disrupted. The Holy Spirit stirs things up. If the walls we or the Church have erected are too high or too strong, even the Holy Spirit will have a hard time penetrating our closed minds and hearts.
Perhaps we are unwilling to recognize the work of the Spirit in our world. God’s purposes are not always our purposes. Sometimes God is working in strange and mysterious ways. To discern where God is at work in our lives and the world takes concentration, prayer, and a willingness to listen and respond to God.
Perhaps we are only looking for the extraordinary presence of the Spirit. God’s spirit is not always the wind or the fire. God’s spirit can and often is the "still small voice" that is within each of us. Sometimes that voice speaks through a friend or relative. Sometimes that voice comes from the depths of God’s spirit in whose image each of us is made. Listen and look carefully at the ordinary in your life, for it just might be the presence of the Holy.
Perhaps we are overcome with the difficulties of the world and are afraid to tackle any of them. The Holy Spirit comes to each of us to give us the power to do what we can do. We are not expected to take on every task, but we are empowered to take our individual responsibility. The Spirit provides us with the resources to make our contributions to the difficulties facing our world.
Let us open our hearts, our minds to the Holy Spirit. Let us be receptive to the Spirit in our midst. Let us affirm Brian Wren’s words from "There’s a Spirit in the Air," No. 192, The United Methodist Hymnal:
"There’s a Spirit in the air,
telling Christians everywhere:
Praise the love that Christ revealed,
living, working, in our world.
May the Spirit fill our praise,
guide our thoughts and change our ways:
God in Christ has come to stay.
Live tomorrow’s life today!"
Responsively Yours ,
Joyce D. Sohl
Deputy General
Secretary
Women's Division