By Rev. David B. Tabo-oy
1When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. v2Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. v3Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. v4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. –Act 2:1-4
This Sunday is Day of Pentecost or Whitsunday. Most of Christendom commemorate this day the descent and outpouring of the Holy Spirit to the disciples more than two thousand years ago in the city of Jerusalem. As a consequence, the church was born. In the early church it was a time for the administration of the sacrament of baptism, and in the Church of England and other Anglican churches the festival is called Whitsunday in allusion according to one interpretation to the white garments worn by catechumens, those expecting to be baptized on that Sunday.
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In Acts 1:4-8, before his ascension into heaven Jesus instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. The biblical word for Spirit, as you know, is the same word for wind. The disciples were waiting for the wind-the wind of God. In Acts 2 we read in another version, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
They waited on the wind . . . they waited on the Spirit . . . and a mighty wind it was . . . it blew so hard that the world has never again been the same….
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The disciples were gathered in the city of Jerusalem for two reasons: they are there to celebrate the commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses in Mount Sinai or the ancient Jewish feast of Shavuot. This is also the reason Jews from all over the world are gathered. The second reason is of course of the order of Jesus for them to stay in Jerusalem to await the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. Hence on that day of Pentecost – the commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses – the Holy Spirit descended to the disciples and they began to testify before the multitude of diverse culture and language about the wondrous act of God and of Jesus the Christ. They were suspected to have imbibed but Peter stood and testified about the new faith, the new movement started by the risen and now ascended Christ. The Christian church was born.
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The Holy Spirit descended to the disciples attended by a “sound like a rush of violent wind” filling the house where they were gathered and marked by the appearance of “tongues” as in fire. So what is the consequence of that outpouring or descent of the Holy Spirit? The 100th Archbishop of Canterbury of England (Archbishop Coggan) describes the divine movement as follows,
“Think of yourself on a cold dark night. You slip into a room. No lights are on. It seems dark and cold. But presently just a little warmth reaches you. You move closer. A fire is burning. You begin to see. In the brightness of the fire you notice in the room shapes, forms, outlines. If there is someone else in the room you see his face, reflecting the fire. Thus the Holy Spirit enables you to see, and to see like a Christian – perceiving things as they really are in the eyes and mind of Jesus; perceiving meanings and purposes instead of shapeless confusion; perceiving what a Christian ought to be doing. In the words of the Latin plainsong hymn litany, Veni Creator: “Enable with perpetual light, the dullness of our blinded sight.”
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The Holy Spirit in us will give us “right judgment in all things.” The Holy Spirit keeps the light of Jesus glowing in us: that is how we may see as Christians should see. The fire as you approach it, gives you warmth. Warm itself makes you warm. So the warmth of the love of God within you can warm your heart to love Him in response. This is not a matter of sentiment only. The very love of God can penetrate you and warm your faculties to love Him. So we say, “Thy blessed unction from above: is comfort, light, and fire of love.” Here is the full lyrics of the hymn, “Veni Creator Spiritus” (Come Creator Spirit). This hymn is sung especially during ordinations to the sacred ministries and chanted during vespers on the feast of the Pentecost. May the message of this hymn warm our hearts even at the dark and cold hours of this pandemic.
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, and lighten with celestial fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art, who dost they sevenfold gifts impart
Thy blessed unction from above, is comfort, life, and fire of love.
Enable with perpetual light, the dullness of our blinded sight.
Anoint and cheer our soiled face, with the abundance of thy grace.
Keep far our foes, give peace at home: Where thou art guide, no ill can come.
Teach us to know the Father, Son, and thee, of both, to be but One,
That through the ages all along, this may be our endless son:
Praise to thy eternal merit, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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The Holy Spirit within, the Spirit of the God of love, the Spirit of the living Christ is the Holy Spirit that creates a new community among those who believe. This community is not built on mutual compatibility, shared affection, or common interests. It is built upon having received the same divine breath, having been given a heart set aflame by the same divine fire, and having been embraced by the same love. In short, it is the Holy Spirit that causes the community to be.
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The community of faith fashioned by God within is not created simply for the well-being of its members. The community of faith so constituted is for the transformation and liberation of the world. This means that the spirit of the risen Christ who has called us together into one body, the church, sends us out into the world so that all people can share in the fruits of redemption accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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There is the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. As they swam along, the shark said to the whale, “You are so much older than I, and wiser too. Could you tell me where the ocean is?” The whale responded, “The ocean is what you are in now.” The shark would not believe it. “Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!” The whale repeated, “The ocean is here, now; you are in it.” Unbelieving, the shark swam away searching for the ocean.
The moral of the story, I believe, is this: don’t spend too much time looking for God because the Spirit of God is here in the now of your life, dwelling within you, within me, within this community. And that truth is nurtured in prayer.
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On the Day of Pentecost, the world scattered in the destruction of the Tower of Babel in Israel’s primeval history (Genesis 11:1-9) is drawn back together. As God’s action divided languages in response to human presumptuousness in “making name” for themselves, so now the divided languages become a gift, empowering the message of the gospel to reach out to all far corners of the world, beginning in Jerusalem, moving into Judea and Samaria, and thence to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Pentecost is the day we remember and celebrate the gifts of God’s Spirit: a gift to the community of faith; a gift that creates new unity out of diversity; a gift that empower us to bring the world out of darkness into light. The gift brings us not only to a new normal but a new order.
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The new order of peace, the peace of the Holy Spirit. The peace Jesus gives to us through the Holy Spirit is more than we can ever imagine: Peace means the cessation of all warfare, but it also means much more. Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more. Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more. Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more. Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
Let us pray.
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (ECP-BCP, Day of Pentecost Collect, p130)
