Tuesday 14 April 2015

Psalm: Psalm135:15-21

Background

Sukkot, or Pentecost, was a Jewish harvest festival occurring 50days after Passover, when Jesus had been crucified, and Jerusalemwas full of visitors celebrating the feast. A group of about 120people, including the 12 disciples and Jesus' mother, Mary, werewaiting in Jerusalem, as instructed by Jesus, for the promise ofGod to be fulfilled. They were gathered together in a house whensuddenly they heard a sound like the rush of a violent wind and sawtongues like fire resting upon each of them (verses 2-3). Thelanguage reflects other stories in the Bible when God appears andalludes to John the Baptist's proclamation that Jesus would"baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke3:16).

Filled with the Spirit they all began to speak in otherlanguages: Jews in Jerusalem from many nations gathered, amazed andastonished, to hear their own native language being spoken. Someput it down to the disciples being drunk (verse 13) but Peter,standing with the other 11, addressed the crowd and interpretedwhat was happening as a fulfilment of God's promise as spokenthrough the prophet Joel that, "I will pour out my Spirit upon allflesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (v.17,quoting Joel 2:28).

The promised power of the Holy Spirit had come upon them and thegift of prophecy had returned as a sign of "the last days" (v. 17).The disciples were being transformed from people who struggled tounderstand Jesus to those who were grasping his truth; from thosewho were frightened and intimidated to those who could stand up inpublic and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ with passion andcourage.

Pentecost signalled the birth of the Church and revealed theChurch as being rooted in the powerful activity of the Holy Spirit.An organisation and an institution maybe, but primarily a renewedIsrael with the potential to cross all cultural boundaries and tobe an embodied expression of God's transforming mission in theworld.

To Ponder

• Pentecost was a unique event and as such it defies exactdescription. What experiences have you had which you have founddifficult to put into words?

• According to Peter's speech Pentecost initiated a new stage inGod's purposes and mission. Why do you think it was thought to beimportant to portray these events as the fulfilment of promises inthe Bible?

• People will still sneer and scoff even in the face of the mostextraordinary manifestations of God's love and power. How canPeter's speech inform the ways in which you might respond to suchcynicism?