When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
The images in today’s first reading are of wind, and fire! What comes to mind when we think of the wind? There are the gentle summer breezes, and the wind, sometimes gentle, sometimes intense, that drives the rain. As summer arrives, so does hurricane season, and wind will take on frightening characteristics, ripping through cities and cultivated land. And always wind is invisible to the naked eye, unpredictable even by the best meteorologists, and capable of everything from gently rocking a cradle, to destroying a city. Wind is power – the power to nudge, to push, and to topple.
The book of Acts is all about mission – and on this day the disciples will be empowered to begin their life’s work, their mission to spread the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, throughout the world. This mission will take them to far reaching places, and because of this mission many of the disciples will be rejected by their own people, while others will be killed. No wonder that in today’s lesson the Holy Spirit enters with a sound like the rush of a violent wind – and then fire reins down on the heads of the disciples.
Fire! We can all picture fire, though each of us may think of something different when we hear the word. The is domesticated fire. If you like candles, have a gas stove, or a fireplace, you can see fire, tamed and obedient in your home. Bu then, there is wild fire. Television has shown us the devastation of forest fires, and closer to home we have seen, though hopefully not experienced, the complete destruction and carnage of home fires gone wild and lives destroyed. Here in MA we’ve had so little rain recently that fire warnings have been in place off and on for the past few weeks. We know what fire is!
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
The apostles are being consumed by emotional fires – in their case the fires of fear and doubt. Jesus acknowledges these fires offering them first and foremost the blessing of peace. Once again, we see the compassion of our Lord, and for us, who are subject to the torments of so many fires, from anger to passion, to those that rage in nature, this compassion is a blessing we wish to eagerly embrace. This is the peace of the heart and mind and soul. It will not settle the world around us, but will enter into us and calm us, focusing us on our Lord and helping us to remain steady in the world where fires of all types burn uncontrolled.
After Jesus offers the apostles His peace, He showed them His hands and His side. Not only is this a proof to the confused and frightened men that it really is Jesus standing with them, it is also a reminder to them and to us of the violence of the world, which will not change even when the disciples, and when we, establish our center in God.
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
A moment of sheer joy is followed by the commission to embark on a lifetime of work. In these few words to the joyful disciples, Jesus makes it clear to us that first we must embrace God’s peace and then we must begin doing His work in this world. The work God gives us to do is never easy, and so When Jesus had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
It is interesting to note that in Johns’ Gospel, everything happens on the day of Jesus’ resurrection – there is no pause between Easter and Pentecost. Abd so in John - the time has come for Jesus to leave, to return to the Father, and before He goes, He gives the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. He gives them their commission, and the power to fulfill it. There is no way they could possibly have done what they did, traveled, preached, carried on the work Jesus had given them to do, without this great gift of fire and love.
We, like the disciples, understand it is difficult to do God’s work in this world, but that is what each of us is called to do. Despite coming to church on Sundays, reading our Bibles, knowing how Jesus’ story and the lives of the disciples unfold – we have trouble fulfilling our calling, doing the work He has given us to do. We are uncomfortable, uncertain, and unclear as to what is expected of us, and we are distracted by our outward and inner lives.
So today we can rejoice because – at last – it is Pentecost.
We celebrate the arrival of the Advocate given to us by Our Savior! Fire reins down from heaven, and all uncertainty is gone. This fire arrives on the whirlwind. It is scathing and it cannot be controlled. Whether they will it or not, it burns its way into the disciples’ hearts and souls, and it gives them the power to do the work that lies ahead. This is same the fire we received at our Baptism, and it is this fire which gives us the strength to endure; the strength to do the work Jesus has given us to do. All that is asked of us is that we open our hearts and allow it to consume us.
Eastertide has ended, summer will soon be here, and we are ready for all the delights and relaxation that summer offers us. Pentecost, however, is happening, now. We are the people called to testify, not just in our words, but in our lives, to the Love Jesus has for each of us and for each and every person we meet. We are called to proclaim the Gospel and to live the Truth.
The writer and theologian, T. S. Eliot had a way of taking occurrences in his daily life, and turning them into burning imagery with deep spiritual meaning. As the blitz dropped bombs mom Britain in WWII, Eliot produced a moving and powerful image of the action of the Holy spirit. This is one of my favourite T S Eliot quotes which comes from Little Gidding.
"The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre-
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power can not remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire.
We are sent this day into the world to extinguish all fires which are not of love and peace, not of strength and kindness, not of generosity and gentleness, not of Jesus. This we do by the power of the Holy Spirit. You can, as some do, struggle against this commission for the rest of your life, or you may open your heart, take your place as part of the Body of Christ, and go forth in joy, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us Pray:
Almighty God, so move our hearts that all barriers which divide us may crumble, and grant that we may be filled with the fire of your Love, that united in one Body we may so brightly burn, that all who see us may come to know and share in the joy of your Holy and life-giving Spirit, through your Son our savior Jesus Christ. AMEN.