The Acts of the Holy Spirit
A Follow of Bernard van Orley, The Pentecost, circa 1630, oil on panel, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, public domain, click to link.
Sermon Series “Through the Bible,” № 60, Acts 2:1-4, 12-14a, 36-41
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. –Acts of the Apostles 2:1
In the sermon series “Through the Bible,” today we move to the fifth book of the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. It is generally accepted that the Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, the author of the third gospel. As you may recall, many believe this was the same Luke who accompanied Paul during his missionary work, and who is called “a physician” in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
Just as he did in his gospel, Luke opens this book with an introduction to someone named Theophilus, a name that means “loved by God.” Was Theophilus a specific person who Luke was trying to lead to faith in Christ? Was he the leader of a particular group of people, who received Luke’s documents on behalf of a larger community? Or is Theophilus a symbolic name by which Luke was addressing all God-fearing and truth-seeking people who read his writing in order to understand their newly forming faith in Jesus? While we don’t really know, it’s plausible that Luke had in mind all future Christian disciples, and intended “Theophilus” to stand for you and me.
For those loved by God then and now, Luke wove together much of the history of the early church from the time of Jesus’ ascension forward. William Willimon notices, “Acts is not really concerned with the acts of all the apostles …. Peter and Paul are depicted as the chief apostles. Yet some of the most significant breakthroughs for the spread of the gospel are attributed not to the Twelve, but to Stephen, Philip, and unnamed persons of Cyrus and Cyrene (11:20) …. Some suggest a better designation of the work is as the Acts of the Holy Spirit.”[1] One of Luke’s main concerns is to show how the gospel is intended for every nation, and how, in fact, it spread through the Spirit into every corner of the known world.
The opening chapters move quickly through background to set up the dramatic events of the Day of Pentecost. The word “Pentecost,” in the Greek language, literally means “fiftieth,” as in the fiftieth day. If you ask “Fifty days between what two events?” there are two ways to answer. In the Jewish tradition, Pentecost was the Festival of Wheat, which was harvested typically in May or June, fifty days after the Festival of First Fruits. In our Christian tradition, the new holiday of Pentecost was laid over the old Festival of Wheat, and celebrated the 50thday after Easter.
Some say that Pentecost was actually the first time that Holy Spirit came into the world. Others believe this was a special appearance, but not a first arrival. They argue that if the Holy Spirit is one of three persons of the triune God, and God was in the world from the beginning of Creation, God’s Spirit always has been here, though humans have not always been sensitive to this fact.
The first Christian Day of Pentecost also is associated with a miraculous expression of speech. While preaching their message, the disciples discovered that they could communicate with these people in their native languages. This experience is the biblical foundation upon which today’s practice of “speaking in tongues” is based. Some believe that tongues may be more than recognized common languages, that a tongue may be an individual prayer language for communion with God. Others believe that speaking in a tongue that no one else can understand serves no holy purpose.
When the Pentecost story is viewed in the context of Israel’s history, one of the most popular interpretations has been made by laying alongside it the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis, chapter eleven. As the understanding of human language was confused at Babel, so it is restored in Pentecost. As human community was destroyed at Babel, so in Pentecost it is renewed.[2]
Some who look closely at the text believe that Luke had another story in mind, the story referred to in our first scripture reading.[3] After speaking to Moses, the Lord dispenses a little bit of “spirit” on some of the elders, spirit that the Lord had previously given only to Moses. Having received the gift of the Spirit, Eldad and Medad go from being silent witnesses to stellar preachers. Joshua, who is heir apparent to Moses, doesn’t like it. He says, “My lord Moses, stop them!” Joshua objects to uncredentialed, uncertified people prophesying, speaking for God. Moses responds, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” Some say that when the Spirit offers the gift of speech on the Day of Pentecost, it is the fulfillment of Moses’ wish “Would that all of the Lord’s people were prophets.”
You and I aren’t the first people to notice that there is some dissonance between all the excitement and joy of Pentecost, and the way church history has played out. My former colleague Lew Hopfe was author of a textbook on world religions. In a sermon, he once said, “‘If on the birth date of the church the world was signaled that one of its purposes was to bring unity, why hasn’t it happened?’ We do not know the answer. The Christian church seems as divided as anything in the world …. Each division within Christianity seems to believe that it has the whole and correct truth from God. Each claims to have the best way to heaven. Each seems to be willing to take members from the others. Many times in history Christians have been willing to put other Christians to death over an issue of doctrine. We divide. We speak a thousand different languages. Some might say that the best way to begin to reunite humanity is to do away with religion.”
“But what I have just presented is not Christianity at its best, but at its worst. Read again the story of Pentecost. The spirit of Christ moves among the disciples and makes them one. They go out and speak with one voice …. The power of Pentecost has not changed or been diminished …. It has been my experience that whenever the disciples of Christ are gathered in his spirit, there is oneness ….”[4]
I thought about these things as I moved through my work week.
I thought about them during a planned activity, as Thursday Kalyn and I hosted a meeting of the Glen-Ed Ministerial Alliance. We talked about new ways our local congregations might cooperate and collaborate in ministry. We come from many different backgrounds and perspectives, and different ways of speaking about mission and ministry. But behind them all, I heard a longing to follow Jesus’ calling, and a desire to serve together in unity.
I thought about Pentecost during an unplanned activity, as Wednesday I made a detour to a hospital room to visit a “Linda” someone thought was a member of this church. When I entered the unit, and stepped behind the curtain, I came face to face with Linda. But she was not our Linda; she was another Linda with the exact same name. I heard about her family: parents, brothers, sisters, some living and some in heaven. I learned about her faithful son, who was not there because he worked second shift. I learned about her health condition, the reasons for which she was being treated, and why she thought it would some time until she felt better.
I noticed a beautifully bound Bible on her hospital tray, recognized the publisher, and the fact that this was a serious study Bible. This led us into conversation about her Bible reading, her Baptist church, and finally her faith in Christ. As the conversation worked its way toward a conclusion, I asked whether she would allow me to hold her hand, and together we prayed.
My unplanned encounter with Linda reminds me that the winds of the Spirit still blow in ways we don’t expect or imagine, moving in and among disciples, making them one. Wherever Christians gather in humility and faith, with open minds and hearts, there is the chance that tongues of fire will descend, and God will speak and work through us. And when that happens, the spirit of Pentecost is here, and the Church is born again.
NOTES
[1] William Willimon, Acts, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988.
[2] Willimon, p. 32.
[3] The following interpretation is based upon commentary by William H. Willimon in “Pulpit Resource,” vol. 27 no. 2, pp. 36-37.
[4] Lewis M. Hopfe, “From One to Many to One,” a sermon delivered to Plymouth Congregational Church, Wichita, KS, 19 May 1991.
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