The Language of the Spirit
A Sermon for the Day of Pentecost
May 28, 2023
The Rev. Robin Teasley
When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
`In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' " Acts 2:1-21
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:19-23
Today we celebrate the Day of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus. The Holy Spirit is described in scripture as Comforter, Advocate, and Paraclete. We heard two readings which describe this event, one from Acts and the other from the Gospel of John. It’s worth noticing that both of these accounts begin with the disciples gathered together, in one place, in one room. It might at first appear to be the only thing these two passages have in common.
The reading from Acts describes the more exciting and more familiar description of the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is the “rush of violent wind” version, where the tongues of fire come and rest on the disciples, empowering them to speak in other languages so that all who were present could understand. They were not speaking in tongues here; the text is clear. The disciples were speaking in the native languages of those in the crowd gathered around them. These were existing languages that these disciples had not been taught.
Imagine if we had visitors this morning from countries around the world, and we were suddenly able to proclaim the gospel to each of them in their own language. It would be miraculous!
The word Pentecost means fifty. The Jewish festival holiday that was better known as Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, was celebrated fifty days after the Passover. This festival required a pilgrimage, meaning that observant Jews traveled great distances to the temple in Jerusalem to offer the first fruits of their spring harvest.
This explains why so many from all over the Mediterranean world were assembled in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, with Jews from each nation having their own language. It was indeed miraculous that the Jews from Galilee were suddenly able to speak in all of these other languages. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples, empowering them to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in many languages to all who were gathered there.
The Gospel of John tells a different story altogether, or so it seems. To begin with, there is no gap of fifty days between the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is the very same day that the disciples found the tomb empty, and they were hiding in a locked room in great fear.
Jesus himself gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to those assembled in the room by breathing on them, giving them peace and the power of forgiveness.
In Acts we associate the coming of the Spirit with tongues of fire, the sound of rushing wind, and loud proclamation about the glory of the risen Christ. In John, we hear about a group of people who need to have their fears eased, and their anxiety calmed. This coming of the Holy Spirit is a quiet moment of relief, not a fiery moment of noise, fire, and proclamation of the Gospel.
Despite these very different experiences of the coming of the Holy Spirit, it is the same Spirit. The commonality is that the Spirit finds us where we are and gives us what we most need. The Spirit gives us the fire in our hearts that enlivens our faith, and the rushing wind of joy that lifts us and calls us to spread the good news of Christ. The Spirit also gives us solace when we are in despair, hope when we are lost, comfort when we are in pain, and peace, when we need peace.
Even though the accounts of the coming of the Spirit are so different, they both begin with disciples gathered together. Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church. We are still gathering as God’s people, still being filled with the Spirit, still being sent out to proclaim the good news of God in Christ.
How do you hear the Holy Spirit speaking in your life?
How does the Spirit get your attention?
The Spirit knows every language; not only the verbal ones but also the languages of music, art, and nature; whatever it is that gets our attention and reminds us of the glory of God and of God’s presence with us.
Those of us gathered as the Church here today speak English and some of us may speak other languages. We live in the same nation, yet we hold different perspectives of how to live out the Gospel in our lives. We have differences of opinion, differences in our theology, differences in what we think best for our children.
We are sorrowful and joyful, healed and in need of healing, wise and in need of wisdom, orphans and yet children of God. And we are all in need of the power of the Spirit. When we gather together, speaking whatever language our situation has need of, the Spirit comes to us with a universal language, a miraculous language. It is the language of love.
I’d like to end with a poem by Steve Garnaas-Holmes, entitled
Parthians, Medes, Elamites.
On Pentecost the real miracle
was not the momentary wonder
of people speaking languages
they hadn't been taught,
but the lasting miracle
of people making connections
despite all their separations,
discovering how they were alike
despite apparent differences,
knowing belonging
despite their being foreign.
They were one;
the boundaries did not exist.
They found a shared story,
tapped into the one Spirit
that breathed in them all.
Wonder at this: not that you could
speak some foreign language
but that you could love someone
who speaks a foreign language,
knowing by listening that
your hearts speak the same language,
you and they breathe the same Spirit,
one breath in all of us,
members of one body.
Something divine is going on,
partly in your heart and partly in theirs.
Only together will you behold the miracle.
Title Image: Pentecost Window, Holy Family Church, Queens, NY
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