Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this morning’s meditation is written in
the second Chapter of the book of Acts: Verses 1-11:
When the
day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of
them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as
the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there
were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at
this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them
speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed
and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how
is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians,
Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, 10 Phrygia
and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors
from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans
and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of
power.”
I think it’s generally true that people are always looking to improve, to
change their lives for the better. That’s why there are so many commercials for
diet and exercise products – lots of people out there trying to improve the way
they look. People spend a lot of money on cosmetic surgery and having Botox
injected into their face to take away their wrinkles for a while; (they may not
be able to smile or have any expression, but you look good for a few weeks!) People are always looking to improve, to
change for the better. Isn’t that why people go to school? Isn’t that why
people go to conferences and seminars? Isn’t that why people go to counsellors
and psychologists? People want to be changed for the better.
What is it about ourselves that we would like to change? If we could change one thing about ourselves, what would it be? The way we look? Something to do with our health? Something to do with our level of expertise on a certain subject? If we could change one thing about ourselves, what would it be?
God is interested in change. He’s interested in changing us. Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, and as we take a look at what happened on Pentecost many years ago, we see that God changed many people’s lives.
What is it about ourselves that we would like to change? If we could change one thing about ourselves, what would it be? The way we look? Something to do with our health? Something to do with our level of expertise on a certain subject? If we could change one thing about ourselves, what would it be?
God is interested in change. He’s interested in changing us. Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, and as we take a look at what happened on Pentecost many years ago, we see that God changed many people’s lives.
I guess we all know that God
is most interested in changing us – because of who we are, sinners by nature, God
continually changes us; we must be changed to be acceptable in God’s sight; we
must be changed if we are going to simply believe that God exists; we must be
changed if we are to repel Satan and accept God’s love daily; We must be
changed if we are going to carry the saving gospel of Jesus Christ into the
world in accordance with God’s will. Does
that sound daunting? Well, let me reassure you, as we sit here today God is
changing us; through His unfailing love, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, through the miraculous events at Pentecost, and through His Word and
Sacrament.
Two major changes took place on Pentecost. Change number one was what happened to the disciples. If you are familiar with the Scriptures, you know that the disciples believed in Jesus as their Saviour, but they were still very confused about all kinds of different things. They still didn’t fully understand Jesus’ mission, why he had come to earth. They were still wondering if Jesus would be an earthly king. They were confused, and as a result, they were timid. They weren’t confident about sharing the Gospel with others. How could they be, if they didn’t fully understand it?
Then came the Pentecost festival we read of in Acts 2. The disciples were together, when suddenly the sound of a blowing wind came down from heaven. What seemed to be tongues of fire settled on their heads. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in, and understand, foreign languages they had never learned before. A crowd was gathered, people from all over the world, and that crowd listened as the disciples preached the Gospel. The Apostle Peter stood up and addressed the crowd – he gave a beautiful sermon that God the Holy Spirit inspired him to preach, a sermon that converted 3000 people in one day.
Do you see the changes that took place on that Pentecost? No longer were the disciples confused. Now they understood the plan of salvation completely. No longer were they timid. Now, they were confident, speaking publicly. Look at Peter – two months earlier he was so afraid that he denied Jesus three times. Now he was speaking to the crowd with confidence and understanding that he had never had before.
There was another change that took place on that Pentecost, and you could argue that this change was more spectacular than what happened to the disciples. After Peter preached his sermon on Pentecost, 3000 people came to faith and were baptised. What we know about these people is that they were the ‘Old Testament Faithful’ who had been looking forward to the coming Saviour, as promised in the Old Testament scriptures 1,500 years prior. We do know that Jerusalem was packed with these people because God had commanded in Leviticus 23:15–21, that annually all men must be present at the Festival of Pentecost, (formerly known as the Feast of First-fruits). Back then, Pentecost was an agricultural festival – God had told the Jews to gather in Jerusalem 50 days after Passover to celebrate the harvest. Jews from all over the Roman Empire came. 3000 of them who were not Christians as such, but had faith in the coming of the prophesied Saviour, received the gift of the Holy Spirit and accepted Jesus as their Saviour who had come. They were no longer people anxiously waiting for the saviour who was to come.
Two major changes took place on Pentecost. Change number one was what happened to the disciples. If you are familiar with the Scriptures, you know that the disciples believed in Jesus as their Saviour, but they were still very confused about all kinds of different things. They still didn’t fully understand Jesus’ mission, why he had come to earth. They were still wondering if Jesus would be an earthly king. They were confused, and as a result, they were timid. They weren’t confident about sharing the Gospel with others. How could they be, if they didn’t fully understand it?
Then came the Pentecost festival we read of in Acts 2. The disciples were together, when suddenly the sound of a blowing wind came down from heaven. What seemed to be tongues of fire settled on their heads. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in, and understand, foreign languages they had never learned before. A crowd was gathered, people from all over the world, and that crowd listened as the disciples preached the Gospel. The Apostle Peter stood up and addressed the crowd – he gave a beautiful sermon that God the Holy Spirit inspired him to preach, a sermon that converted 3000 people in one day.
Do you see the changes that took place on that Pentecost? No longer were the disciples confused. Now they understood the plan of salvation completely. No longer were they timid. Now, they were confident, speaking publicly. Look at Peter – two months earlier he was so afraid that he denied Jesus three times. Now he was speaking to the crowd with confidence and understanding that he had never had before.
There was another change that took place on that Pentecost, and you could argue that this change was more spectacular than what happened to the disciples. After Peter preached his sermon on Pentecost, 3000 people came to faith and were baptised. What we know about these people is that they were the ‘Old Testament Faithful’ who had been looking forward to the coming Saviour, as promised in the Old Testament scriptures 1,500 years prior. We do know that Jerusalem was packed with these people because God had commanded in Leviticus 23:15–21, that annually all men must be present at the Festival of Pentecost, (formerly known as the Feast of First-fruits). Back then, Pentecost was an agricultural festival – God had told the Jews to gather in Jerusalem 50 days after Passover to celebrate the harvest. Jews from all over the Roman Empire came. 3000 of them who were not Christians as such, but had faith in the coming of the prophesied Saviour, received the gift of the Holy Spirit and accepted Jesus as their Saviour who had come. They were no longer people anxiously waiting for the saviour who was to come.
At that Feat of Pentecost, their
whole way of looking at God, at themselves, at the world, at eternal life –
everything had changed. The Holy Spirit was the one who converted those 3000
people that day. Now these people knew how to get to heaven. Now they knew that
they were at peace with God. Now they knew that Jesus was their Saviour.
Pentecost can be summed up in one word, and I believe that word is change. We see the change that took place in the disciples, and the change that took place in those 3000 people. We only need to hear the daily news to know how much our modern day world today needs change; the kind of change that the Holy Spirit brings. There are so many people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ, who won’t accept God’s grace. Also like the Old Testament faithfuls before Pentecost there are so many Christians who are confused, weak, timid. We need the Holy Spirit to come to us, and change us. 1 Corinthians 12 expressly tells us that “no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.”
Pentecost can be summed up in one word, and I believe that word is change. We see the change that took place in the disciples, and the change that took place in those 3000 people. We only need to hear the daily news to know how much our modern day world today needs change; the kind of change that the Holy Spirit brings. There are so many people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ, who won’t accept God’s grace. Also like the Old Testament faithfuls before Pentecost there are so many Christians who are confused, weak, timid. We need the Holy Spirit to come to us, and change us. 1 Corinthians 12 expressly tells us that “no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.”
Often the problem is that we don’t think we need to be changed. “I’m alright the way I am,” we say to ourselves. “What do I need to change about myself?” The answer is, a lot. Yes, it’s true, we are Christians, but we still have sinful habits that we don’t want to get rid of. We still have moments when we are selfish. We still have moments when we completely misunderstand what God is telling us in the Bible. We still have moments when we fail to share our faith because we’re too timid.
It is true that we are
Christians who are going to heaven, but we still need to change. We still need
to become more and more the people that God wants us to be.
How does a person change their
soul? We can’t do it by trying to be a better person. That’s like saying that
there is something wrong with my car, but I’ll try to change that by being a
better driver. We need someone to work on our engine, our soul; but the thing
is, our spiritual self is too complicated for us to fix ourselves. We need
someone to fix it for us; and that someone is the Holy Spirit.
But how does this happen? On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came directly to those disciples in a noisy, spectacular and colourful way. Maybe that was necessary at the time! I guess God could make that happen today, but after a couple of times it would become mundane. The Bible, he tells us that the Holy Spirit works in a different way. He no longer comes with the loud sound of a wind, or with what looks like tongues of fire, or with the ability to speak in foreign languages. That was a one-time event.
Today, the Holy Spirit comes to us through the quiet, humble reading and hearing of the Word. On the surface, it doesn’t look like anything spectacular; but on the inside of you, all kinds of changes are taking place. Also, when we combine the Word with water in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Once again, during Holy Baptism, on the surface, it doesn’t look like anything spectacular, but we know from what God tells us in his Word that in baptism, the Holy Spirit changes a person, causes a person, even a little person, to believe in Christ.
But how does this happen? On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came directly to those disciples in a noisy, spectacular and colourful way. Maybe that was necessary at the time! I guess God could make that happen today, but after a couple of times it would become mundane. The Bible, he tells us that the Holy Spirit works in a different way. He no longer comes with the loud sound of a wind, or with what looks like tongues of fire, or with the ability to speak in foreign languages. That was a one-time event.
Today, the Holy Spirit comes to us through the quiet, humble reading and hearing of the Word. On the surface, it doesn’t look like anything spectacular; but on the inside of you, all kinds of changes are taking place. Also, when we combine the Word with water in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Once again, during Holy Baptism, on the surface, it doesn’t look like anything spectacular, but we know from what God tells us in his Word that in baptism, the Holy Spirit changes a person, causes a person, even a little person, to believe in Christ.
Also in the Sacrament of Holy
Communion, when we combine God’s Word with bread and wine, as Jesus did on the
night he was betrayed, it doesn’t look like anything spectacular, but it is.
Because as we partake of Christ’s actual body and blood in this Sacrament, we
become one with the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit lives in us. He
strengthens our faith; he increases our love for Christ and our love for one
another.
As practicing Christians, I guess the real questions are: Do we want to be more confident? More at peace with God and ourselves? Less confused about the Bible and understand it more fully? Do we want to be able to share our faith more naturally, more confidently and to be able to live the way God tells us to live in the Bible? Do we want to change our soul for the better and be as one with our Great Triune God?
This is exactly what the Holy Spirit does. He did that in a miraculous, unusual way on that Pentecost. Today, he does it as we spend time hearing the Word, as we witness a baptism, as we take the Lord’s Supper – that’s how the Holy Spirit changes people, changes us, turning us more and more into the Christian that God has made us to be.
You can see by the Alter Paraments that red is the colour of the festival of Pentecost. There are all kinds of reasons for that. Red reminds us, of course, of Jesus’ blood, which he shed as a payment for our sins. Red also reminds us of what looked like tongues of fire on the disciples’ heads. Red reminds us of the invisible fire of faith that’s burning inside of us, the gift that the Holy Spirit has given to us. If we were to give the Holy Spirit a colour, maybe the best colour to describe him would be red, the colour of fire. Every time we come into contact with the Word and Sacrament, fire enters our heart, and burns away that selfishness and confusion. That fire becomes the fire of faith, a fire that trusts and loves Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
As practicing Christians, I guess the real questions are: Do we want to be more confident? More at peace with God and ourselves? Less confused about the Bible and understand it more fully? Do we want to be able to share our faith more naturally, more confidently and to be able to live the way God tells us to live in the Bible? Do we want to change our soul for the better and be as one with our Great Triune God?
This is exactly what the Holy Spirit does. He did that in a miraculous, unusual way on that Pentecost. Today, he does it as we spend time hearing the Word, as we witness a baptism, as we take the Lord’s Supper – that’s how the Holy Spirit changes people, changes us, turning us more and more into the Christian that God has made us to be.
You can see by the Alter Paraments that red is the colour of the festival of Pentecost. There are all kinds of reasons for that. Red reminds us, of course, of Jesus’ blood, which he shed as a payment for our sins. Red also reminds us of what looked like tongues of fire on the disciples’ heads. Red reminds us of the invisible fire of faith that’s burning inside of us, the gift that the Holy Spirit has given to us. If we were to give the Holy Spirit a colour, maybe the best colour to describe him would be red, the colour of fire. Every time we come into contact with the Word and Sacrament, fire enters our heart, and burns away that selfishness and confusion. That fire becomes the fire of faith, a fire that trusts and loves Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
If we could capture the theme
of Pentecost in one word, that one word would be change. May the Holy Spirit
continue to work in us, to change us, to fan into flame the fire that is in
each one of us, that we may shine as witnesses to the unfailing love of Jesus
Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The love and peace of our
Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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