Are you Pentecostal?

Since the turn of the 20th century, this term has often been associated with a movement that traces its beginnings to the Azusa Street Revival in 1906. The varieties of Pentecostal denominations that have arisen from this event emphasize speaking in tongues as a distinct sign of salvation - the proof that an individual is truly filled with the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals are also known for their emphasis on miraculous healings, demonic exorcisms, and energetic worship that often involves extreme expressions of emotions - from loud singing, boisterous laughter, and dancing in the aisles to uncontrollable weeping. The experience of being "slain in the Spirit" - the moment when a pastor touches the head of a parishioner and he or she falls backward to the floor in ecstasy - is a hallmark of this movement.

These are strange things for most of us. And yet there is no getting around the fact that the birth of church at Pentecost is accompanied by strange events: a violent rushing wind that produces a deafening sound, floating tongues of fire that alight on people's heads and yet do not burn their hair, and the miraculous ability to speak in different languages. Strange events indeed! These events are so odd that our text records that even the devout Jews who witnessed these things were "bewildered, amazed, astonished, perplexed, and confused." Some even conclude that the apostles are drunk!

What is the meaning of Pentecost? Should we be pentecostal? Are we too restrained in our expressions of worship? Have we missed something important? Or is more going on than meets the eye?

Two key questions arise as we focus on this event, both stated in the text: "What does this mean?" and "What should we do?"

The Day of Pentecost

The scriptures record that these strange events occurred during the celebration of Pentecost - a day-long Jewish harvest festival which was celebrated fifty days (hence pente) after the first harvested sheaf of the wheat harvest (cf. Leviticus 23:15-16). The more common term for this event is the "Feast of Weeks" - one of the three pilgrimage feasts when the entire household of >Israel scattered throughout the ancient world gathered together in Jerusalem> fifty days following Passover. It is for this reason that Jews from all over the world were gathered in >Jerusalem.

And it all began at a church meeting.

On this day a little less than 2000 years ago, Jesus' apostles were gathered together in the Upper Room. While gathered together, a series of strange events unfolded. A sound like a violent wind filled the entire house. Tongues as of fire rested on each person. These are familiar Old Testament symbols of theophany - a term that describes a physical manifestation of the presence of God. After their exodus from Egypt, Israel at Mount Sinai had experienced similar phenomenon. They heard loud sounds, saw flames of fire, and heard the immediate and direct speech of God speaking from the mountaintop.

There is no better phrase to describe these strange events than to view them as a genuine mystical experience - the actual in-breaking of heaven into earth's affairs. But unlike our conventional view of a mystical experience which occurs to one person in isolation, this experience happened during a gathering of people and touches every person present.

The words used to describe this experience highlight its mystical import. The sound is like a violent wind; the tongues as as of flames of fire. These phrases are used because words fail to describe the uniqueness of the apostles' experience. At best, these comparisons merely suggest what it was like. As Father John Foley points out, the apostles may have described this event in the following manner:

They might have said, "Some kind of sound came from the sky, something that sounded like, uh, oh, let's see, uh, wind! That's it. It wasn't wind but that is the closest we can get. And then things that looked sort of like tongues, you know, like tongues of fire. Only it wasn't really fire. Or tongues either. But we were sure that it was the Holy Spirit, and it descended upon each person."[1]

What is clear is that the community's reception of God's Holy Spirit was perceptible and unmistakable. This proved that the ancient prophecies of the Old Testament that spoke of the Spirit's coming to all people in the last days - at the climax of God's saving work - had been fulfilled without a doubt. The Spirit's presence among the community of the Lord's disciples placed an indelible and distinguishing mark upon all present. This distinguishing mark made its presence known to all observers - even if many did not initially realize its significance.

Speaking to the Crowds

As the apostles moved out into the crowd gathered in >Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks, the people recognized that something strange had occurred. Those gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the festival were "devout Jews" from various regions of the world. The text highlights their diversity (see Acts 2:9-11). Having come from different regions, the gathered Jews would speak various languages. And the thing that shocked them more than anything else is "each one heard them [the apostles] speaking in their native language" (Acts 2:6; cf. 8, 11). These simple Galileans were speaking in various foreign languages - languages they had not been trained in and could not possibly know on their own - about "God's deeds of power" (Acts 2:11).

The result is that the devout Jews were bewildered, amazed, astonished, perplexed, and confused. The key question they ask is this: What does this mean? (Acts 2:12). Obviously, the significance of this event eluded many in the crowd. Some simply sneered, and wrote off the apostles, concluding that they were drunk (Acts 2:13). Others remained, interested in hearing the apostles' message.

Peter attempts to answer the question, "What does his mean?" in his sermon to those willing to listen.

Peter's First Sermon

Peter first addresses the concern of the naysayers who simply assume the apostles are drunk: "Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning" (Acts 2:15). These strange events cannot be explained by the babblings of prematurely inebriated individuals. It is too early to be drunk!

No, what the apostles are experiencing and the people are witnessing is the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. Peter quotes the prophet Joel - one of the many prophets who spoke of the time when God's saving work would come to its climax in the pouring out the Holy Spirit upon all flesh - to prove his point. He declares that a new epoch has begun. God is inaugurating the final stage of salvation history - the promise associated with "the last days," "the end times." They are witnesses of this event. Robert W. Wall and Anthony B. Robinson put it succinctly: "the demonstrative coming of God's Spirit makes it clear that >Israel has already entered into the final epoch of its history."[2]

As the first recipients of God's outpoured Spirit, the community of the disciples declare the saving truth that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). This is the apostles' mission, the reason for the Spirit's coming: to draw people to turn to the Lord for salvation.

This explains what is happening. The rest of Peter's sermon explains why this is happening. Put simply, this is happening because of Jesus. Jesus "has received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, and he has poured out this that you both see and hear" (Acts 2:33). Peter proclaims that it is through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus that God's promise comes to its final fruition. The risen Jesus gives the Spirit to carry on his mission of salvation in the world. Peter concludes by declaring, "Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36).

Having been told what is happening and why it is happening, and recognizing that they bear some blame for crucifying Jesus, the crowd responds with one voice, "What should we do?" (Acts 2:37)

Peter, who of all people knows from personal experience that God gives sinners and betrayers second chances, invites the people to share in God's salvation by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus: "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" (Acts 2:38). This is not only true for them, but for all people and for all time: "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" (Acts 2:39).

A large crowd of people respond positively to Peter's proclamation: "So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added" (Acts 2:41). In one day, a mega-church is created, through the faithful witness of Spirit-filled apostles who preach Jesus - his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

The account concludes by giving us a glimpse of the primitive church as an alternate community in human history. The people "devote themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). They dwelt together and shared their resources with those in need (Acts 2:44-45). They "spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people" (Acts 2:46-47a). The witness of their life together in the Spirit resulted in further growth of the church: "And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47b).

The elusive secret to church growth is plainly revealed: The church grows when a Spirit-filled community bears witness by word and deed of God's saving work in Christ.

Significance

One dominant principle arises in the story of Pentecost: The Spirit of God moves among us in community and results in the creation of a Spirit-filled community. The account goes out of its way to emphasize how this mystical experience is not the domain of an isolated individual but a shared experience of Christ's gathered community: "they were all together," "the Holy Spirit filled the entire house where all were sitting," "tongues, as of fire, appeared among them... and rested on each one of them," "all of them were filled." The same Spirit "appeared among them--on each of them."

During an organized meeting[3] of the Lord's disciples, the Spirit showed up, the Lord's promise was realized, and the community witnessed in power and boldness of the good news of Christ Jesus. One of my favorite spiritual writers, the Roman Catholic Ronald Rolheiser comments on how this applies to our own gatherings:

We meet a lot...and all those meetings can seem like a huge waste of time and energy, a distraction to real work. Moreover, at a point, we can't help wondering too: "Are all these meetings changing anything? Would life be any different (other than more leisured and pleasant) if we stopped having all these meetings?" It's easy to grow tired, discouraged, and cynical about all the meetings we're asked to attend.

But we should keep something in mind: Pentecost happened at a meeting! One of the central events that shaped Christian history and history in general, happened not to an individual off praying alone or to a monk on a mountain-top or to a solitary Buddha meditating under a tree. None of these. Pentecost happened at meeting and it happened to a community, to a church congregation assembled for prayer, to a family of faith gathered to wait for God's guidance. Moreover it happened in a common room, a meeting room, in one of those humble, church- basement, type of rooms. It can be helpful to remember that. Our search for God should take us not just into private places of quiet and contemplation but, equally, into meeting rooms...

Meetings are the "Upper room", the place where we wait for pentecost. And what are we waiting for? Why are we in the upper room, at a meeting? Because we are waiting there, with others, for God to do something in us and through us that we can't do all by ourselves, namely, create community with each other and bring justice, love, peace, and joy to our world.[4]

Many contemporary people have given up on organized religion, and some, for good reasons. But I believe some give up simply because of its inconvenience. One of my friends on Facebook defines her beliefs in this way: "My spiritual beliefs are mine, private and personal." Notice that her beliefs have no place for the shared witness of a community. It's almost as if she is ashamed to admit what she believes in public. This kind of spirituality does not draw people together in community.

And yet, that is exactly what the Holy Spirit does: The Holy Spirit both binds us to Christ and to one another. And we are bound to a variety of diverse people - a diversity reflected in the apostolic community (comprised of fishermen, tax-collectors, and zealots), Joel's prophetic passage (that speaks of God's Spirit coming upon sons and daughters, the young and old, servants and free, and men and women) and the people present from many nations. No gender, age, or class discrimination should divide the community. All receive God's Spirit; all are enabled to bear witness.

The harvest festival of Pentecost... now marked the giving of new life and the gift of the church, a new way of living for those who would follow Jesus in every land and in every age. Not just some kinds of people, but all different kinds of people, in all different places, different languages and customs, different cultures and backgrounds and experiences, different abilities and gender and races and orientations, all different kinds of people, beloved of God and filled with God's Spirit, a new creation just as it could and ought to be.[5]

This diverse community united in God's Holy Spirit has one goal: that of calling others to salvation in Christ through shared witness. Again we see that the Spirit of God moves among us in community and results in the creation of a Spirit-filled community. It is through the faithful witness of the Spirit in community that the gospel goes forth. And one of the chief means through which this happens is through preaching.

In the Pentecost account, we discover the significance of Spirit-filled preaching. The Spirit empowers Peter's preaching to shed light on God's saving work. In Peter's preaching, he answers the questions, "What does this mean?" and "What should we do?" These are precious words to a preacher. We all long to hear these questions and do our best to provide answers. These questions show interest in learning the ways of God and a strong desire to respond positively.

One way the Spirit moves among us is through Spirit-filled preaching: "The Spirit of God empowers persuasive speeches for specific audiences and not ecstatic events that convince no one in particular. Persuasive preaching is not a matter of being 'filled with new wine' (2:13) but being 'filled with the Holy Spirit' (2:4)"[6] This calls us to take preaching seriously:

Not long ago, the great preacher Fred Craddock observed that the most frequent lament regarding preaching was once that preaching was not "biblical." Today, he continued, the frequent lament is that too much preaching sounds as if "nothing is at stake."

What's at stake when your pastor -- or you as a preacher -- gets up to preach? Is there something urgent and important about this moment? Or is preaching a series of friendly ideas, good advice, cheerful platitudes, and possibly an encouragement to participate in a useful project or activity? In other words, does preaching help us adjust to the world as it is, or does it give us a whole new world?[7]

Preaching is a shared corporate discipline meant to edify all present. It is a wonderful privilege and weighty responsibility. Please pray for me as I seek to discharge this duty on a regular basis. Pray that I would be filled and guided by the Spirit. Pray that the Spirit would be unleashed in your life and our community through the wisdom that comes from our times together in the word.

Conclusion

Are you Pentecostal? I'm not calling you to enter a particular denomination. I'm not suggesting that we should all speak in tongues, perform miraculous deeds, or engage in extreme expressions of emotion during worship services.

I am inviting you to see that whatever label we use to describe ourselves, we must be Pentecostal in practice. We may be United Church of Christ Pentecostals, but we are Pentecostal or we are not engaging in God's Spirit as did the early church. The presence of the Spirit among us is the chief mark of the church.

The filling of the Spirit is not primarily through personal and private experiences of an isolated individual. Instead, it is found in the corporate witness of the Lord's community. The Spirit of God moves among us in community and results in the creation of a Spirit-filled community - a community that bears witness to the work of Christ by dwelling together in unity and calling others to salvation: for all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!

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© Richard J. Vincent, 2009