Has anyone ever told you that you look divine in red? It’s true. Everyone needs that distinctive splash of red to show their true identity , so this weekend you get to bring it! Wear the color of fire, because this weekend we are celebrating Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled the place where Jesus’ followers had gathered and empowered them to speak about God’s mighty deeds in ways that were understood universally.
Let’s remember that story for a moment: Jesus had been crucified, then raised, then spent forty days with the disciples before his ascension. Before departing, he told them to wait for an infusion of power that God would give them, in order that they would be able to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. And on the Day of Pentecost, that power came and filled each one of them as they were waiting and praying.
The phenomena were outstanding! “Tongues of fire” came and rested on each of them. I don’t even know that that means, exactly, and it gives me goose bumps! Whatever those tongues of fire are supposed to be, or to represent, they didn’t discriminate. Tongues of fire fell on each of them – men, women, old, young, timid, bold, doubters, believers, buoyant, depressed – you name it. No discrimination; all of them. With the fire was a loud noise like a mighty wind, that filled the entire house. The whole house, not just the front row, and not just the cool kids’ table! And the narrator says, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues.” Again, I’m not so sure what the “speaking in tongues” is supposed to be, or to represent, but I know the word “all” and that means each and every one of them. And whatever “speaking in tongues,” “the sound of a rushing mighty wind” and “tongues of fire” are supposed to mean or represent, here’s what happens: Each of them began proclaiming the “mighty deeds of God” in ways that people from all over the world were able to hear and understand. The Apostle Peter – who only recently had timidly denied that he even knew Jesus three times – was bold enough to stand and declare to the people gathered from all around how these strange phenomena were fulfillments of the promise from the prophet Joel that in the last days God would pour out God’s Spirit on all flesh. (Again with the word “all”!)
That’s the story. You can read it for yourself in the book of Acts, chapter 2. It has such powerful, but mysterious imagery, so the church has found many different ways to express it.
- Pentecost is a reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), so the diversity of tongues that once represented chaos and discord is now a gift that allows the good news to be proclaimed in every language, culture, and place.
- Pentecost is an expression of the wind/spirit/breath that sweeps over the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 34 and brings the skeletal remains of a battlefield back to new life.
- Pentecost is the spirit of God that hovered over the waters in the creation story of Genesis 1, once again giving new life.
- Pentecost is the true meaning of Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks (in Leviticus 23), which started as a harvest festival celebrating God's abundance, and later became a celebration of the gift of the Torah.
- Pentecost is the gentle lilting of a dove, swirling down to the baptized Christ (Luke 3), newly declared the Beloved Son.
This Spirit is many things and - as my friend Ched Myers likes to say - "She's quite a lady."
So, I invite you to wear red this weekend as your way of signifying our participation in this story of Pentecost. May God fill us with fire, fiery tongues, a profound breath of God’s Spirit, and enable us to proclaim the Good News of God’s Love in ways that anyone can hear it and rejoice.
See you in worship,
Mark of St. Mark
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