Kristin Emery Saldine postulates that “Pentecost sums up the gospel with simplicity and audacity: Jesus Christ offers salvation to all, and the church exists to proclaim it.” (FEASTIING on the WORD, B 3:6) This is the day in which we celebrate the wind of the Spirit blowing freely through the Church, and revel in the inclusiveness brought so forcibly over the Earth. Scriptures to be retold on the upcoming weekend are encouraging and uplifting, setting free any remnants of Lenten guilt or Easter uncertainty.
Luke’s traditional story in ACTS 2:1-21 tells about that day in Jerusalem when the Spirit came on the gathered Apostles and caused them to speak in all the languages of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Those gathered marveled that these “ignorant” Galileans spoke so well in their own language, and many signed up for the Church. They, like us, were eager for the mysterious to break into their hum-drum days; here was an authoritative voice NOT coming from a distant government or a binding tradition. Now the Apostles were equipped with speech-tools they needed to proclaim Good News to all the world.
ROMANS 8 brings many loaded sentences, and vv.22-27 are no exception. Reading these from today’s standpoint, we who are soured by the static cling of the Church can again rejoice in the workings of the Spirit! “For in hope we were saved…”, even though the Kingdom unfolding seems invisible. When we cannot find words–authentic prayer–this Spirit helps our soul cry out to an all-present God. Come what may, God is always there to hear in all languages the needs and joys of the People.
The Gospel is proclaimed in JOHN 15:26-27, describing the Holy Spirit as an advocate, a friend in court; and in 16:4-15, portraying a Spirit who will flesh-out the partial truths about sin, righteousness and judgement. (To John, this table-talk at the Last Supper is of extreme importance; over half of his Gospel is dedicated to Holy Week, and these last instructions to the Disciples are paramount.) There are many things yet to know about God & Jesus–yet the Spirit will guide each of us into the Truth.
Somehow God speaks to each of us. This speech can be a Burning Bush or a Still Small Voice–more often the Holy Spirit speaks over a time, having tenderized our harshness and caught our attention in a readiness to hear. With me, it’s often in retrospect: I look back at Holy Occasions and think, rather stupidly, “Hey! That was the Spirit!” Touched as we are, where we are, the voice of God continues to speak to us in our own terms, our own language.
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
Come along and join the conversation every Tuesday, as we unpack Scriptural texts to be shared on the upcoming weekend; at horacebrownking.com
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