Adapted from The Bible Project
Exactly 50 days after Easter, Christians celebrate (to varying degrees) Pentecost. Contained in Acts 2, it has the narrative of the Holy Spirit coming down onto the disciples of Jesus.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?”
if we look at this objectively, it seems like a pretty bizarre story – fire landing on people and then becoming multilingual (not just being able to speak Fringlish/Franglais). But when we see it in the context of the whole Bible, it begins to make more sense, and display the significance for even us today.
God frequently spoke and acted in the Old Testament through fire. He speaks to Moses through the burning bush (Exodus 2), appears on the mountain to speak to the Israelites when the ten commandments get given (Exodus 19) and is represented by a pillar of fire when resting on the built tabernacle. The imagery of fire is important, because it shows God’s presence or dwelling.
So this resting of fire on each of the disciples was not some weird act, but showed that God was resting in each one of them.
So what does that for us?
The Holy Spirit dwells in each of us
An important understanding of the trinity is that we each have the Holy Spirit inside of us. That means we have access to a power far beyond what we would have alone.
Christianity is for everyone
The Holy Spirit empowered the early Christians to spread the message of Jesus to people of different languages and cultures. This underscores the universal nature of the Christian message and the call to mission. Today, Pentecost reminds Christians of their call to share the love of Christ with others, regardless of cultural or linguistic barriers.
3. God is always with us
In Matthew 28:20 Jesus told his followers, “I will be with you always, even until the end of the age.” He promptly ascended into heaven, and his followers could no longer see him. But The Holy Spirit remains, and we can always be assured that even when it feels like God is far, the Holy Spirit is resting within us.
