This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday and I’m so excited!! In the Christian tradition (see the Acts text below), we celebrate this as the time when God’s Holy Spirit is given to the disciples who are then empowered to do some incredible things! Of course this is so incredible, it seems, that some of those nearby assume that the disciples have had too much to drink!
Peter sets the crowd straight with an empowered homily. But it begs the question: how often are we so filled with God’s spirit, doing incredible things, that people start to question us? You may remember a sermon I gave several months ago where we agreed that we felt able to respond when people ask us about our faith—which would require us to live lives worth questioning. It seems from this Pentecost text that the Disciples found a way to do just that…
Acts 2:1-8, 12-21 (CEB)
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?
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.
Consider these questions:
- As you read this Bible story, what do you find the most outlandish? What part of this story do you find hardest to believe?
- What sparks your curiosity? What do you want to know more about this story? What questions would you ask if you could talk to someone who was there?
- Peter’s response quotes the prophet Joel. What do Joel’s words say to you? How do they apply to the experience of the disciples and the surrounding community?What prophesies and visions and dreams do YOU have for La Jolla UMC?