Devotionals Detail

Reading: Acts 2:1-21

This Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost in the life of the church. Described in Acts 2:1-21, the Pentecost experience continues God’s work, as Jesus ascends to heaven and the Holy Spirit descends to earth. But Pentecost is not the peaceful descent of a Holy Spirit dove, but rather rushing winds and tongues of fire, with a variety of people from all over the Mediterranean able to understand one another’s native language. In the midst of the noise and chaos, one question arises from all:

“What does this mean?”

Scholars have a lot of interpretations about Pentecost’s meaning. In the Jewish tradition, it is known as Shavuot, or “The Festival of Weeks” and occurs 50 days after the Passover. During this festival, Jewish people would make pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bring the first fruits of their harvest in anticipation of God’s blessing for the remainder of the harvest. Pentecost was imagining the beginning of God’s bounty for the people. And for those who are Christians, Pentecost was the birth of the church, as we now look back and see it was the beginning of God’s bounty for the people who became Christians. Each of these rich traditions reminds us of the hope found in Pentecost of God’s presence in what was to come.

From a pastoral perspective, Pentecost also connects with our universal human condition. When we are interpreting the noise of a world clamoring with thoughts and troubles on the news, social media, our family, our friends, our colleagues, we seek purpose and ask: “What does this mean?” When we experience the chaos of a world living with political tensions, wars that never cease, global hunger, worldwide natural disasters, we look for reasons and ask: “What does this mean?” Just like those who are experiencing the noise and chaos of Pentecost, we feel perplexed and terrified in these moments – wanting to make sense of it all.

Our human messiness offers no guarantees of how life will turn out. Some might misinterpret our experiences for us (see those who believe all are drunk in verse 13), or by listening carefully find a way to interpret events from past experiences (see Joel’s prophecy in verse 14). Pentecost reminds us that in the moment, we can’t understand the fullness of God’s activity. That truth can only be seen in the course of time – God’s time. This is not an “everything happens for a reason” message, but rather an imagining of God’s bounty in ways we can’t possibly understand.

So if you are in that place of life today, where you are wondering “what does this mean?” I encourage you to hold onto hope, breathe in the assurance of the Holy Spirit, and trust that

in time, looking back, you will be given an understanding of the fullness of God’s presence that has always been with you.