It’s Pentecost!

The 50 days of Easter are over. So, today we celebrate Pentecost. For many outside of Pentecostal circles or traditions that follow the church calendar, Pentecost is a bit unfamiliar. Originally, Easter, Jesus’ Ascension, and Pentecost were all celebrated together. But that leaves the question, what is it? Well, Pentecost marks the coming of the Holy Spirit, empowering the church to live out our calling as Christ followers. The account in Acts 2 is one of the traditional readings:

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues  as the Spirit enabled them. 

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

Acts 2:1–11 (NIV)

Emilio Alvarez has a fantastic introduction to Pentecost that I listened to recently. One of the points that he highlights is the way that the coming of the Spirit reversed Babel and ushered in a new reality:

Pentecost displays the power and importance of a Spirit-led multilingual reality that supersedes national linguistic boundaries and even breaches the political.

As Christians, do we live that way? Does our faith supersede national boundaries? Do we value those from other countries who live in our communities? Do we seek to serve them?

Does our faith supersede our political beliefs? In a world that is increasingly polarized, are we willing to cross those lines? Each of us has been created as God’s image. Do we truly believe that and act on it?

Are we living by the power of the Spirit in our daily lives?

If you’re interested in learning more from Alvarez, here’s a preview of this short book.

Here is this week’s Sunday contemporary collect:

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life
to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy
Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the
preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the
earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.

To consider:

• Ask the Lord if there are ways that you are placing national or political loyalties above loyalty to Him and His kingdom.
• Ask the Lord to use you as an instrument of His love and grace in your community by the power of His Spirit. Follow as He leads.

Wise Words

I am currently traveling, so we’ll be taking a brief hiatus from the Wise Words series. I’m looking forward to digging back in with you soon. On that note, are there particular questions or ideas you’d like for me to dig into a bit more?

© 2019-2024 Jennifer Brown Jones