Pentecost Sunday

 

Pentecost Day, June 5, 2022

Genesis, Acts 2,1-21; Genesis 11, 1-9 and John 14,8-17

Rev. Neli ML

 

And when the Day of Pentecost had come, they were all of one mind, in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as that of a rushing, mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they sat (Acts 2,1-2)

The image of a rushing, mighty wind on the day of Pentecost reminds us of images of the first creation in the book of Genesis in which we read that when God began to create the heavens and earth, there was chaos and darkness, “… while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters” (1,1). This is the prelude to the life that was about to be created in the universe. Thus, the images of the coming of the Holy Spirit, a mighty wind coming from Heaven, must be read in light of a new creation started in Jesus’ resurrection. On the Day of Pentecost, God recreates humanity in Jesus’ first community, which is filled with the divine wind, the Holy Spirit. They became God’s sacrament to the world—a community of life that lives and proclaims the Kingdom of God to all peoples.

 The Feast of Pentecost (in Hebrew Shavuot, the feast of the weeks) marks the wheat harvest. In the rabbinic tradition it also marks the day when God gave the Law (Torah) to the people at Mount Sinai. This feast was an important celebration when many people came to Jerusalem, including devoted Jews born outside Israel and proselyte visitors (gentiles converted to the Jewish faith). All of them came from different nations and spoke different languages; yet, all had the opportunity, in their own native language, to listen to Jesus’s disciples speaking about God’s deeds of power. On this day, Jesus’ disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit and raised their voices to proclaim the good news of what God was doing in the world, a recreation. Thus, all the nations that gathered in Jerusalem participated in God’s recreation!!

This testimony contrasts with the confusion of languages that happened at the Tower of Babel, where nobody could understand one another’s speech. The lesson from Genesis says that “. . .the whole earth had one language and the same words” (11,1). Having only one language, a group planned to build a big tower with its top in heaven as a symbol of human power, arrogance, and independence from God: “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (11:4). The point here is not the building of the tower itself, but the reasons for building it: arrogance, human ambition, and false unity. They wanted to create an empire and establish themselves in the world apart from God. From this position they were ready to dominate the whole earth, but God stopped their plan by confusing their language, so that they were not able to understand one another’s speech. What a lesson for those who want to impost uniformity due to human ambitions!

Our human history is full of experiences of great empires attempting to dominate the world and impose their culture and language on the weakest peoples; yet the incredible diversity of languages in the world reminds us that no one empire can dominate God’s creation, which is diverse.

Dear sisters and brothers, in the human systems corrupted by the Tower of Babel ambitions there is arrogance, domination, and a false unity coercively imposed. In Pentecost, the divine wind moves over us and recreates us. This recreation occurs in the midst of diversity because the Holy Spirit does not impose a single language to proclaim the good news. Everyone can hear the good news in their own language! Language is no longer a means of domination. In Pentecost a common-unity arises… a community that proclaims that the recreation of this world has started.

Sisters and brothers, in each Pentecost celebration, the Holy Spirit recreates us and sends us to proclaim good news in any language, particularly in the language of God, which does not need words. A Saint who understood it said, "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." (St. Francis of Assisi).

May the divine wind, the Holy Spirit, recreate us in this new Pentecost. Amen.