Pentecost Sunday

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Ezekiel 37:1-14
Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

Today is Pentecost Sunday! Hopefully that isn’t a surprise to anyone.  I was glad that our church not only acknowledged, but actually preached on it and then had an international luncheon afterwards.  So what is Pentecost Sunday anyway?  Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, was originally an Old Testament festival beginning on the 50^th day after Passover.  It was originally an agricultural festival (Lev. 23, Ex. 23, 34), but gradually became a celebration of God creating His people Israel.  By AD 70, and still today, it is a celebration of God’s gift of the Torah on Mount Sinai.[1]

For Christians, Pentecost is also 50 days after Easter, or 7 Sundays after Easter.  On this Sunday we celebrate many things.  First and most obviously, we celebrate the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus.  Second, the power the Holy Spirit gives us.  Third, the hope that God is doing a new thing in the world (see the Ez. reading this week) Fourth, we celebrate and recognize that God’s work is done through His people and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Each one of these can be worked into an essay of its own, but the readings spoke to me that God is doing new things.  God is a God of renewal and restoration.  Read the words of the Psalmist:

When you send your Spirit,
                they are created,
                and you renew the face of the ground. (104:30)

When God’s Spirit comes, it comes with life.  Nowhere perhaps is this more evident than the story of Ezekiel.  I have often thought of this as a parable but in reading the Prophets more, I don’t think it is.  I think Ezekiel was actually led into the valley and watched bones come to life. I base this on the fact that Old Testament prophets were always doing crazy things to tell God’s message.  If you need an example, read Ezekiel 4.

Back to Ezekiel 37.  This is the story of the dry bones.  Ezekiel prophesied and the bones came together and flesh was formed, yet there was still no life.  So the Lord told him to prophesy to the “breath” and the breath came and filled the bones with life.  The word breath, in some translations is “wind” or (I think most fully) the Spirit.  The Hebrew word is Ruach and it is the Ruach of God which is over the waters in Gen 1:2.  In Ezekiel, this is not ordinary wind; it is the very Spirit of God bringing life and renewal to dry bones.  More importantly, however, the Lord goes on to explain that the bones represent Israel.  Even though Israel was then in exile, God was going to restore them.

In John 14, 15, and 16 Jesus repeatedly promises that when he leaves he will send a Helper or Intercessor on our behalf.  One thing I like about John is that he doesn’t stick with the basic “Holy Spirit” language.  He defines what he means and explains the role the Spirit will play in the believer’s life.  The Spirit will be there to comfort and help us.  I was actually wondering if John even says “Holy Spirit.”  But he does, especially in chapter 14 like in verses 17 and 26.

John wasn’t the only way to write that Jesus promised to give his Spirit.  Luke writes this as well in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:5, 8.  Jesus knew that even though he was leaving, his disciples wouldn’t be alone.  In fact, it is better that we have the Spirit instead of living when Jesus walked on the earth. Jesus is now able to be with each person through his Spirit.  This brings us back to our theme.  God, through his Spirit, is able to do a new work in our lives.  It is the same Spirit from Ezekiel, yet now he is present in new ways, doing new things in each believer’s life.

Two side notes and this will wrap it up.  First, the Spirit was present in the Old Testament.  As I wrote, He was there at creation; He was in Ezekiel and the Psalms.  So it is not like the Holy Spirit was active first at Pentecost. He is present throughout the history of Israel. Second, Pentecost cannot be used to support speaking in an incomprehensible “heavenly language” or tongues.  Pentecost Sunday is about the Spirit working a miracle so that each person from all over the world could understand Peter’s message.  Peter probably spoke in Aramaic and each person understood him in their mother tongue, be that Latin, Greek, Persian, or anything else.  The Spirit is able to work to bring his message to people.

Hope this makes sense.  There is so much to talk about in terms of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit.

Grace and Peace.

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[1] As I have done before, I am drawing this information from Dr. Bratcher’s website. (Where I also get the weekly readings.)  http://www.crivoice.org/cypentecost.html