The story of Pentecost is one of the great stories of our faith. The story we have received is that 50 days after the Resurrection of Jesus (10 days after his Ascension) the disciples are gathered in a room where, suddenly, a great noise, like a hurricane, shakes the house and room where they are gathered. Then, tongues of fire appear over the heads of the disciples. We are told that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and that they left the room and were able to speak in tongues or languages that reflected the native tongues of all those who are on pilgrimage to Jerusalem at that time. Each person heard the Gospel proclaimed in their language.
This is truly a remarkable story but what does it mean? Did it really happen that way? I would suggest that, in order to understand that meaning of Pentecost for us today, we must look to the powerful images and symbols that this story contains.
1) The disciples were gathered together. This is extremely important. The disciples were together. They were together in the upper room. They were praying together. They were sharing stories of their experiences with Jesus together. And when the Holy Spirit came, they all received the gifts of the Spirit together. In other words, Pentecost is about togetherness and unity. The disciples were not singled out according to importance. They were not competing for various gifts. They were not called as individuals but they were gifted together. Despite the presence of Peter, James, John, Mary and others who are well known to us, community was more important than individuality. A church had been born. Despite the diversity of the disciples, there was unity among them.
2) The group of disciples was inclusive. We are not told that it was only the 11 apostles present. It may have been a much larger group that was together. More likely it was the 120 disciples that are often spoken of in the Scriptures. We are also not told that there were all men present. Quite deliberately, there is no gendered language in this story. That means both men and women were present and that both men and women received the gifts of the Spirit on that occasion.
3) The sound of noise described as a great rushing wind tells us that God is present in that gathering. God’s breath— the same word used to describe the breath that God breathed into Adam and Eve and the wind that hovered over the chaos of the world at creation— is present. This is nothing less than a creation story. God calls the disciples into new life. They are born again as children of God and filled with the Spirit of the Risen Jesus.
4) The tongues of flame also speak of the presence of God in that room. Just as God had appeared to Moses in the burning bush, so too, he appears to the disciples as fire. Just as God led the Israelites through the desert by a pillar of fire at night, so too, God leads the disciples forward by the flame which lights up the way before them. Fire is also a tool for refining and purifying. Like swords that are hammered into shape by the fire, or gold that is refined through fire, the disciples are being refined and molded for the purpose of spreading the good news of Jesus.
5) The variety of languages or tongues represent the unity of the message itself. This is meant to symbolize a reversal of the tower of Babel where God confused the languages of those who were acting together for their own purposes. Now, the unity of languages means that the message of Jesus is to be made available to all people. Regardless of one’s race or ethnicity or language, the Gospel is to proclaimed to all who will listen.
6) Finally, there is importance in the fact that the disciples, who were once hiding behind closed doors, are now invited out to courageously minister to all people. Rather than remain in hiding, they are to make their faces seen by all people. They are the public witnesses to the message of Christ.
If we take all of these symbols and images seriously, we will understand that Pentecost is about God— The Father, Son and Holy Spirit at work in the community of believers. God intervenes in a dramatic way in the human story. God takes hold of the first disciples. God empowers all of them, men and women, to be his messengers. They are strengthened, purified, forgiven and lifted up in the Spirit so that they can emerge from behind closed doors to say what needs to be said about the salvation offered through Jesus. In order to do that, they are gifted in many various ways and are able to speak the words of Jesus to a diverse society and world.
Pentecost is a foreshadowing of the way our church is to operate. Pentecost reminds us that church is about the unity of a diverse people from all walks of life who are called together as one family to minister to the world. This church is not to operate behind closed doors but for everyone, everywhere to see. The Church should have no secrets; it should be transparent. The Church is not about who is more important than another but who will work together with others. Priest, layperson, bishop, religious woman, pope, deacon: each compliments the other and all share in the ministry entrusted to them by Jesus Christ.
Pentecost is a feast that reminds us that the Church contains people who are all gifted in ways that can benefit the human family. No one gift is more important than the other. Each are members of the body and each person’s gift is necessary for the well-being of the entire body. Pentecost is about an inclusive church that respects the equality of all its members be they male or female, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, laborer or professional, single or married. All are called together within the family of faith to support each other and to minister in God’s name to the world.
Finally, Pentecost speaks of a church that is be at work in the world in every nation and within every culture. Our church is to speak a common language of love. The message of Jesus is conveyed to the world by a church that knows how to forgive, how to be compassionate, how to be patient, how to be respectful how to be welcoming. This is the language our church needs to speak.
Too often, we wax eloquently about that first Pentecost yet fail to see the connection between what happened then and what should be happening now. We are the same church and we share the same spirit. The same thing should be happening in the church today that happened on the day it was born. There is no difference, really. Unfortunately, some believe there should be a difference and they fight against the movement of the Spirit which is seeking to re-create our church everyday. Our politics of exclusion, our fears of equality, our suspicions of certain giftedness, our hesitation to be courageous, our personal agenda get in the way of God’s Spirit. The wind of that spirit is hushed. The fire is extinguished and the doors are closed by some who are protective of their own image of the way their church should be. Therein lies the mistake. This is God’s church. God was responsible for Pentecost and it is God who calls us into ministry. We can’t afford to forget that lest we forget why our church was born in the first place.
So, on this Pentecost, let us pray for our church. Each and every day we should pray that the Holy Spirit take possession of our church and fill us with a renewed sense of what we are. There is so much to do in our world— so much work to be accomplished in the name of the Risen Jesus. Our church has to be healthy and remain opened to the Spirit if it is to be effective and relevant in its message.
The Holy Spirit has been poured forth and is ready to work wonders wherever human hearts are open. We are all equipped with the Spirit of God. All we have to do is open ourselves to this Spirit so that the Kingdom of God can be born in our midst.