Sunday of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23
Pentecost is the New Testament Greek word for the Jewish Festival of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-22), which happened 7 weeks after the Passover and was the equivalent of our “Harvest Fests” to the first-century Israelites. Sowing of barley took place in the Fall, and the grain was harvested in the Spring. The faithful would flock from whatever geographic region they resided to Jerusalem to make offerings of thanksgiving in the Temple, each speaking their local dialect or language.
Some contemporary Christian traditions correlate the ability to speak in tongues with receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps another way to bear witness to the event that gave birth to the church in Acts is to consider the “strategic thinking” of the Holy Spirit. The more the Good News was understood in different places through the different languages, the more Jesus’ ascension promise (Acts 1:8) would become true. Language barrier is a thing.
Interestingly, the final Levitical instruction from God to those observing the Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost, was a mandate to share part of the harvest with the poor and the alien (Leviticus 23:22). I wonder if such a practice may have boded well for the infant church when praying in Jesus’ name for the presence of the Spirit among them.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses multiple issues that are inflicting wounds, causing division, and interfering with the church’s witness in Corinth. In the verses we receive this Sunday, he makes a case for the equal gift of faith received by all who are brought to the font by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit that allows every baptized to confess that Jesus is Lord is the same one that manifests in myriad ways to different believers for the common good. Maybe the fire of the Spirit can cauterize and help to heal the wounds afflicting faith communities to this day.
“O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.”
(Psalm 104:24, 30-31; NRSVue)
Bridging Faith 