In last week’s message, I promised to look at the book of Acts, revisiting some of the ways that the “conversion stories” are often read there. I’ll start today with Pentecost.
The story of the Day of Pentecost, from the 2ndchapter of Acts, is fascinating at many levels. The phenomena of the sound of wind, the fire, the ability to proclaim God’s mighty acts in languages other than one’s own – no wonder the narrator uses words like ‘amazed’, ‘astonished’, ‘bewildered’, and ‘perplexed’ to describe the scene. I would be amiss to overlook everyone’s favorite line in this story, which expresses one way of explaining the perplexity, when some people sneer and say, “They are filled with new wine.” And then there are the geographical references – a nightmare for a liturgist who tries to read some of these unfamiliar names in front of people, but a significant indicator of the linguistic and cultural identities that become part of this story. It’s interesting that the litany of cities, nations, and religious journeys – catalogued in verses 9-11 – is not from the narrator but is the way the people describe themselves. The narrator only says that these were people “from every nation.”
The phenomenal beginning of this story is followed by Peter interpreting the outpouring of the spirit as a sign that God is at work in Christ. The stirring line that completes Peter’s sermon is: “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The crowd is cut to the heart and asks what they ought to do, to which Peter replies, “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. 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.” Many of the people do – about three thousand added to the apostles’ number, according to the narrator.
The typical way that I was taught to hear this story was that these were Jews who converted to being Christians. And, of course, there is a lot of truth to that statement. They were indeed Jews, we learn that from the start, despite their countries of origin. Some of them were born into Jewish families and some were “proselytes.” And they certainly were called to “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” “Repent” here is the verb μετανοέω, which means to change one’s mind, direction, or purpose. It was the message of John the Baptist and was picked up as the message of Jesus, according to Luke.
So, there is a lot about the interpretation that this story is about Jews who converted to being Christians that seems correct – except perhaps the word “converted.” The connotation of that term suggests that these Jews quit being Jews and started being Christians, that they switched from one religion to another, perhaps even that they moved from being evil to being righteous, from being enemies of God to being God’s beloved.
But, the narrator does not describe these persons as unbelievers or evil. They are called Jews, followed by the apposition, “devout people.” This adjective ‘devout’ is only used in Luke-Acts and in all three other cases refers to really and truly devout people. It does not signify anything hypocritical, like we might hear the word “pious” used sometimes today (sadly.) It really means living in reverence of God. These folks were devout Jews. And they repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus. That’s the pattern that we want to study a bit more closely next week.
Mark of St. Mark
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