FILLED AND SUSTAINED
Acts 2
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?…..12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”….
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”
Long before there was a Christian Pentecost, there was a Jewish Pentecost (also known as the Feast of the Harvest, Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot) which was celebrated 50 days after Passover. It celebrated the first fruits of the harvest and religiously, it celebrated God’s gift of the Law on Mount Sinai. Whether it was physical food or spiritual food, the Jews praised God for sustaining them. The disciples had gathered for this Jewish holiday and it is against this backdrop that we have Pentecost in the Christian tradition.
In the Christian tradition, Pentecost marks the end of the seven weeks of Eastertide. During these weeks, we, with the disciples, have been trying to understand the meaning of the Easter event. In appearance story after appearance story, the disciples gain new awareness of who Jesus was and how he lives as the Christ. Each of these new awareness were individual ‘aha’ moments when the coin finally dropped and the disciples started to understand what Jesus had been teaching all along. In ordinary life, the experience is common. We can be taught something for years before we finally understand. But when we finally do, it leads to a redirection of our lives. Pentecost is the corporate culmination of that process.
In Acts, though it is clear that for some listeners, the disciples sounded like drunks, it is also clear that for many, the speaking in tongues led to understanding. People from “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs” could understand them. When normally, the language barrier would be unbridgeable, the disciples were able to meet these people where they were and in ways they could understand. That is most assuredly a gift of the Holy Spirit.
There is a universal language of kindness and love that supersedes all differences—-including language. Many years ago my son was on a mission trip to Mexico. He was living with a village family when he started having flu like symptoms. What he remembers to this day is that his hosts went out and bought him orange juice. The language of kindness was unmistakable. Also, several years ago, I was in the emergency room spiking 104 degree fevers. I looked up and saw Catherine Carter, one of our parishioners, poking her head through the curtains. I still don’t know how she got through the layers of hospital security. She apologized for not having a get well card and handed me a birthday card—she said it was all she had. The words on the card did not matter. It could have been written in sanskrit. Her kindness is what I will neve forget.
It requires a lot from each of us to proactively seek to meet people where they are—but our faith says that is how God loves and our faith says, following that example is the way to life. The most obvious and dramatic example is the Word made Flesh. God wanted to communicate with us in a way we could understand. He spoke our language. When the disciples realized this fundamental truth about God’s love, “suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” (FYI both wind and fire were well understood manifestations of God’s presence)
Our task is to love, to proactively cherish, to show mindfulness and regard. The remembrance of the giving of the law (the Jewish Pentecost) becomes the celebration of God’s writing the law upon our hearts (the Christian Pentecost). The Holy Spirit both allowed them to see what love is as well as enabling them to actually live that love. Meeting people where they are is basic to love. God did it in the Incarnation, Jesus did it over and over again in his ministry and now we are called to do likewise. The laws of love became the relationships of love—and those relationships are saving and transforming—“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
It takes effort to learn a ‘forgien’ name much less another culture. We certainly are not ‘required’ to learn difficult names—but it is kind to do so. We are not required to wear face masks but it is courteous to do so. Arguing over ‘rights’ neglects the Christian question, “What is kind? What is mindful? What is loving?” Jesus did not have to reach out to the outliers of society but he did—over and over again. His gift was to treasure each person, to view differences as signs of uniqueness rather than occasions to divide. In real life, this is a radical idea.
It is a bit ironic that the Holy Spirit introduced the universal language of love by paying close attention to the individual differences of every person. The Holy Spirit calls us by name—in our own language. When that kind of regard is experienced we know what it is to be loved. The problem, however wonderful it is to receive such love, oferring such love is often inconvenient at best, and dangerous at worst.
It is difficult to listen to another person from their point of view. It requires suspending our own assumptions. It requires a willingness to learn how other people live and come to different conclusions. I often ask, would you rather be right or in a relationship. It is much easier to stay within our bubbles and speak only to people who are like us. Our contact with others is based upon agreement not respect. Love requires us to widen the blinders of our assumptions—to be curious enough to learn something new instead of ‘proving’ our own point of view. That effort is not required if someone already sees the world as we do.
On Pentecost, the disciples were suddenly empowered to meet people where they were. The willingness to change our point of view is in itself a sign of regard. That is what the Holy Spirit brought to the disciples. And please note this gift was unevenly distributed. The gift was mindful of the disciples personal limitations. The disciples could meet others where they were only as the Spirit gave them ability. In real life, our abilities vary greatly but understanding of the direction of love is what is most important.
In the popular self help book, The Languages of Love , Gary Chapman makes this point secularly. Everyone one of us needs to be cherished and everyone of us have certain ‘love languages’ which nurture us. We cannot assume that what works for us will work for the one we love. In order for love to be lived, we have to teach others what we need (without any guarantee that we will be fed) and we have to learn what our partner in relationship needs. No matter how much effort you put into a relationship, if you fail to meet the other where they are, the relationship will stall.
Learning a person’s name is a sign of regard; learning a person’s language is a sign of regard and learning how another person feels loved is a sign of great regard. All are difficult, all require intentionality and effort and all are included in the way God loves us.
One more story, from a podcast by Brene Brown and Harriet Lerner that Alex Rodgers sent me (https://brenebrown.com/podcast/harriet-lerner-and-brene-im-sorry-how-to-apologize-why-it-matters/ ). (It is long but it has some very practical words about relationships, accountability and ways to communicate in more respectful ways.)
It is the tale of a king who becomes angry with his son—so angry that he banishes him. After a period of years, the king’s heart softens and he sends emissaries to find his son to request his return. Though the emissaries offer an apology on behalf of the king, the son refuses to return and sends the emissaries away. Learning this, the king sends the emissaries back to son with the words, “Tell my son to come as far as he can and I will come and meet him there.”
The king did not make conditions. He did not say “I’ll meet you halfway.” He said come as far as you can and I’ll meet you there. That’s the way God’s love works.
Empty yourself, trusting you will be filled. The Holy Spirit will sustain you and enable you to love as God has loved you. Let it be so.
Vernon Gramling is a Parrish Associate at DPC. He has been providing pastoral care and counseling for over 45 years. You can find more about Vernon, the Faith in Real Life gatherings and Blog at our staff page or FIRL.
