Pentecost: God’s promise fulfilled
Daily Scripture
Acts 2:1-24, 32
1 When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5 There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. 7 They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them? 8 How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!” 12 They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” 13 Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”
14 Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15 These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! 16 Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young will see visions.
Your elders will dream dreams.
18 Even upon my servants, men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness,
and the moon will be changed into blood,
before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved [Joel 2:28-32].
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man whose credentials God proved to you through miracles, wonders, and signs, which God performed through him among you. You yourselves know this. 23 In accordance with God’s established plan and foreknowledge, he was betrayed. You, with the help of wicked men, had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. 24 God raised him up! God freed him from death’s dreadful grip, since it was impossible for death to hang on to him.
32 This Jesus God raised up. We are all witnesses to that fact.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Did You Know?
“Shavuot, (“Festival of the Weeks”).… was originally an agricultural festival, marking the beginning of the wheat harvest…. During rabbinic times the festival became associated with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai…. It became customary during Shavuot to study the Torah and to read the Book of Ruth. Celebration of Shavuot occurs on the 50th day, or seven weeks, after the sheaf offering of the harvest celebrated during Passover. The holiday is therefore also called Pentecost from the Greek pentēkostē (“50th”).” *
On the Pentecost day in Acts 2 (seven weeks after the Passover when Jesus died on the cross) the Holy Spirit descended in a highly visible way. Some Jerusalem skeptics claimed the Spirit-filled Christians had started drinking early. Peter forcefully told them this was God pouring out the Spirit and quoted the promise of Joel 2:28. The Spirit led Peter and others to boldly preach the saving news of Jesus’ victory over death just 50 days earlier in that very city.
- In John 15:26, Jesus said the Holy Spirit “will testify about me.” That’s exactly what the Spirit did at Pentecost. Peter’s Spirit-filled sermon said, “Listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man whose credentials God proved to you through miracles, wonders, and signs.” How has the Spirit testified about Jesus to your heart? When you have a chance to share your experience with Jesus, how can you rely on the Spirit to make your sharing as effective as possible?
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In Acts 1:4, 8, Luke wrote that Jesus told his followers “not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, ‘… in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and you will be my witnesses.’” Acts 2 recorded how that promise initially came true. When have you needed to wait for God? What did you learn through the experience? When have you been able to be a witness to what God has done in your life?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you kept your prophetic promise on Pentecost, as in the end you keep all your promises. I claim your promise today and call on the name of the Lord for my salvation. Amen.
GPS Insights
Emily Stirefelt
Emily Stirewalt serves as Resurrection's Silverlink Pastor specializing in pastoral care of elderly adults. She is an ordained Elder in the Missouri Annual Conference and has served since 2007. She is married to Randall, a special education teacher. They have two daughters, Elliott and Marlowe. When Emily is not in a care home sharing communion or with her family on another Kansas City adventure, you can find her curled up on the couch at home binge watching "Friends" or "Golden Girls."
When I was lead pastor at other churches, organizing worship on a regular basis, Pentecost was one of my very favorite Sundays to celebrate. Of course, I always encouraged people to wear red on that particular Sunday–that was something I had done growing up in church and remembered fondly. Over the years, I tried other fun, creative ways to help people mark the arrival of the Holy Spirit that first Pentecost, encouraging them to see how the Spirit was still very much among us. Some of my favorite memories include the years I made a birthday cake for children’s time and encouraged everyone to sing “happy birthday” to the church or the times I asked people to bring their favorite candle that Sunday and we would have an array of different light on the altar during worship.
The memories of these creative ways to celebrate Pentecost (along with the beautiful red stole that the Missouri Annual Conference gifted me to mark my ordination and my red high heels) are certainly powerful. The imagery calls me to celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit. And my memories of those days are just as much about the people who were in the pews. The ones who remembered to wear their red every year, without fail. The children who were so excited for that piece of birthday cake. The stories that people shared with me behind the favorite candles they brought to worship…. the people and their lives they shared is what I remember most. Because Pentecost is not just about tongues of fire or the color red. It is about the gathered community.
The Spirit did not come to the early church individually. But rather the Spirit came when they were gathered together–in community, sharing their stories. Sometimes, our culture and society value our individuality and ruggedness of one mindset too much. My two-year-old’s favorite phrase right now is “My do it” and I always respond with “I love your independence and if you need help, do not be afraid to ask me.” Because honestly, we all need each other. We need community. The Spirit knew it that first Pentecost. And knows it still. May we be awakened again to the idea that we need each other and when we are gathered, the Sprit will move.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Article “Shavuot” at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shavuot.
