A Devotion for What Was Found in the Fire

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they 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 NRSV

What kind of birthday party is this?

My first experience with Pentecost (that I can remember) was a strange one.

I was 8 years old. Our third grade Sunday school class had to wear red and sing some sort of “Happy Birthday Church!” song. It was awkward, and to be honest, I had no idea what was going on or the meaning of the red or the birthday song.

Many people talk about Pentecost as the “birthday of the church,” when the followers of Christ really formed and were given purpose and vision.

However, I do think this comparison of Pentecost to a birthday is a bit flat. Birthdays typically celebrate what happened on a day 10, 20, 50, 75 years ago.

A child was born! A life began! A remembrance, a commemoration – that doesn’t really do Pentecost justice.  

Because Pentecost is not just what happened. Pentecost is what is happening and continuing to happen.

The celebration of Pentecost begins the story of the church in Acts, and as the book of Acts unfolds, we continue to see ways in which the boundaries, and literally the very walls of the church are broken down, as God’s spirit moves to the outcast, the beggar, the poor and the homeless. 

Pentecost is the beginning of the story of God’s Kingdom through God’s church moving in unexpected and powerful ways.

New people, new places, new ways. Boundaries being crossed. The Holy Spirit, this third and often misunderstood person of the Trinity

I’d like to think that if any of the three persons of the Holy Trinity worked in Disaster, it would be the Holy Spirit. With the Spirit comes freedom, a courageous, truth-telling, that makes new in place of old, that expands our notions of what is possible and the capacity of the human spirit when it is filled with the fire of God’s holiness.

In the gift of the Holy Spirit, we see the fruits that can come from recovery work: new understandings, enlivened communities, growth, expansion, and empowered lives.

And so we ask: what is happening this Pentecost? What boundaries are being threatened and challenged by the Spirit of God? What is being consumed and made new by the fiery love of God? 

How might God’s fiery spirit be challenging you today? 

Could it be that something needs to be burned away, cleared away by God’s fire to make room for something new?  How is God’s Spirit of love indeed alive, and on the move?

Happy Pentecost, friends!

With you on the journey,

Chaplain Amy