Happy Pentecost

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. – Acts 2:4

Happy Pentecost! Many like to call Pentecost the birthday of the church. The Holy Spirit coming to the believers in Jerusalem moved those early disciples into new relationships and realities. No longer could they stay close to home and recall the past. They had now been pushed out into the world, given the tools to share the gospel, and finally empowered to be a community with a mission. It is the beginning of the church’s call as God’s people to preach the good news to all people, and therefore, the beginning of the church as we know it.

In his sermon on Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Steve talked about the power of language. He reflected on how it feels to try to connect with someone when you can’t speak their language. He also considered how when we speak a language, we don’t speak words – we speak people. In other words, the identity and reality known in language invite us into real relationship with another person. Language contains culture, history, personality, and connection.

When the disciples found that they could speak in other languages by the power of the Spirit, they didn’t gain some intellectual power of coercion to force people into faith. They didn’t prove their own superiority. By speaking other languages, they spoke people. They reached people right where they were at, sharing stories of God’s love and power authentic to those people and their lives. They didn’t expect people to be (or speak) something they weren’t. They shared their love of God openly, empowered by the ability to speak in other languages

It might be the birthday of the church, but the believers didn’t keep the gifts for themselves. They invited more people to the party.

May this frame of mind shape how we live, work, and speak in our wider community. We don’t expect others to be more like us – we go to where others are and show them love and compassion for their own sake. We learn their language and how to share our faith in ways that will be meaningful for them. We are able to share what God has done for us by being agents of justice and mercy for their sake.

Now that’s something to celebrate.

Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, come. Open our hearts to your inspiration. Open our minds to your wisdom. Open our plans to your leadership. Open our eyes to the needs of your people. Open our ears to their cries. Open our hands to serve, pray, and worship through your power in Jesus’ name. Amen.