“An incredible ‘kick-start’ to things”

Meditation – Sunday, June 8, 2025

Acts 2: 1-21 (Forward, p. 41) CEV p. 1134

“An incredible ‘kick-start’ to things”

Today, Pentecost, is the day that we celebrate as the birthday of the church, but in a sense, it was far more than just that. It certainly is the start, the birth of something, but to me, it is more like the way that we used to have to prime a pump or kick-start a lawnmower. It got things going in a new and dynamic and exciting way. More on that later.

First, however, let me sketch in a bit of background. On the Jewish side of things, this was one of the four obligatory feast days for any adult Jewish male residing within a certain distance from Jerusalem. However, the mere fact that there were represented in the Pentecost crowd adherents from all over the Roman Empire—and beyond—suggests that this crowd was composed of very devout, and possibly very expectant, Jewish believers. For one thing, the fact that it was a harvest festival—the wheat harvest—added a note of thanksgiving and joy—and possibly, even a sense that other harvests might be possible and forthcoming. Moreover, Pentecost was also celebrated for the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai which, most surely, was a kind of new beginning, a celebration of a new and expanded relationship between God and His people. Moreover, we are told that many devout older Jews from across the Empire migrated to Jerusalem for their final years, so to be ready and waiting for the coming of the Messiah—which was expected ‘momentarily.’ So, quite appropriately, there would have been a sense of expectation in that crowd, a sense that God might be ready to do ‘a new thing.’

But, this was not all: from the Christian side of things, from the viewpoint of those first believers, there was a sense of expectancy. They had been closeted together, engaged in prayer, for ten long days in obedience to Christ’s command to wait there in Jerusalem until they had received the

promise of the Father. Wow. That is incredible, such devotion, such obedience. And furthermore, we are told that they were ‘of one mind.’ That too is pretty incredible. How often do we find that in the church, then or now? Not that often. So, in a very real sense, the conditions that day were such that God could really move in an incredible way. We humans were ready.

Now, to the actual gifting of the Holy Spirit that day: what happened? There are three things worthy of note. There was a mighty rushing wind that swept through their assembly and tongues of fire that rested upon each of the believers gathered there that day. Certainly, those two things would have mightily impacted the believers that day, and possibly ‘set them up’ for what was next to happen. The crowds, drawn by something of the above-mentioned noise, now heard the believers speaking to them. And what was so incredible was the fact that the believers had begun to speak in whatever language the Spirit allowed them to speak. In other words, there were not languages that they already knew, but ones that the Spirit had given them. The languages they were given were exactly the ones that those in the assembled crowd needed to hear.

This is something very ‘interesting’ and rather singular: while most of these pilgrims would have known Aramaic, the language of the synagogue, and Koine Greek, the lingua franc of the Empire, that is not what they heard the disciples speaking. They heard the apostles telling them of the wonderful things God had done in their own birth languages! Now, regardless of how many other languages a person might speak or understand, there is always something very special, very endearing and evocative, something very personal, about hearing something spoken in the language you learned at your mother’s knee. What an incredible way to get their attention! Couple that with a clear exposition of the Gospel, it is no wonder about three thousand people came to faith that day. What a wonderful and incredible way of getting the message across.

However, this almost automatically raises a question, namely, if then, why not now? If the gift of tongues was so effective in getting these people’s

attention and in setting the stage for the Gospel message, why has it not been used since then? Well, actually it has, though not quite in the same way or to the same extent. John and Elizabeth Sherrill in their book, They Speak with Other Tongues, describe instances where someone heard message from God in tongues and I myself have heard of a couple of instances, but each of these was very localized in terms of time and space.

So, how might we explain this? The phenomenon of Pentecost Sunday ‘may’ have been designed and planned by God as a one-off event, an event to indeed jump start the church. But there could be other factors at play as well. As the church became more institutionalized, tongues came to have a set place and purpose when it came to public events. Furthermore, apart for their use for private prayer or for healing, they became more and more confined to church settings, predominantly church buildings, which meant that outsiders were less likely to eavesdrop on them. And sad to say, with just a handful of exceptions over the centuries, believers became more and more timid, bashful, or reserved in terms of ecstatic praise—and more hesitant to break out spontaneously into tongues. And so a chance encounter with an unbeliever is very remote indeed.

So, what can we say about this to us today? Firstly, we need to be more prayerful, watching for opportunities and openings such as the one that presented itself on that first Pentecost Sunday. I firmly believe that there are myriads of people out there that are ready and waiting to hear the Good News, if only someone will present it. Secondly, I think that we need to be more obedient, more willing to step out in faith and take risks when it comes to sharing the message. And finally, I think that we need to ‘rediscover’ the Holy Spirit, to allow Him to retake His rightful place in our lives and work and speak in and through us. And yes, that might well mean awakening the gift of tongues and using it.

Forward notes: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (verse 4).

“The smiles, tears, and laughter of refugees and other forced migrants are universal. Even if we do not share the same language, we recognize and often can identify the emotion being conveyed in a look or gesture. However, hearing what is being ‘said’ and genuinely understanding is vital for communication to continue.

“It is no wonder the first gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was the gift of language. Many of us are blessed to be surrounded by a multitude of languages. On that first Pentecost, all present received a glimpse of what heaven must be, understanding one another and God’s deeds of power. In my work with migrant people, I have had the opportunity to sit in on language classes. Watching people from across the world come together to teach and learn one another’s language as they begin a new life in community is a vital step toward creating the world we all want to share in, where we are amazed and astonished by one another and the gifts of the Spirit.”

Moving Forward: “What steps can you take to truly hear others?”

A concluding note: just a slight correction – there is no indication in our narrative from Acts that the people understood each other; only that they understood the disciples as they spoke of God’s deeds of power.