Our Message for Pentecost - The Language of Pentecost

On Sunday, May 19, Sligo Presbyterian Church celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. We focused on how the Spirit still inspires the people of God to share the good news. A recording and copy of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDST) 

Well, as I sure hope everyone here knows, today is Pentecost, that one Sunday a year when we remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. And even though, when I was kid growing up in Ocean View Presbyterian Church, Pentecost was really no big deal, during my time as a minister, well, it’s become more important, at least in the church I’ve served. 

And when you think about it, why shouldn’t it be? The event itself is pretty spectacular, what with that great wind and tongues of fire. Good night nurse, that’s better than a Stephen Spielberg movie. And as to its significance, in a very real way, Pentecost marks the birth of the church, at least it did for the Evangelist Luke. I mean, this was what he had to say about the last conversation the Christ had right before his ascension:

While the apostles were still with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, are you now going to give Israel its own king again?” 

Jesus said to them, “You don't need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls. But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him, but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky.  [Acts 1:6-10, CEV]

Now, that’s what happened. And so, the coming of the Holy Spirit really marked the beginning of something brand new, something the world had never seen, and I’m talking about the birth of a community  that was commissioned to share the good news about Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Now that’s what started on Pentecost and has continued for almost two thousand years.

And I’ll tell you, it’s the sharing that we’re going to talk about this morning. You see, we’re going to focus on what happened right after the Holy Spirit came on those disciples, and in particular how it shaped what they shared and how they shared it. But that’s not all; we’re also going to relate it to what we’ve been called to do and how we might actually do it. In other words, as you can tell by the title of this message, we’re going to spend some time looking at the language of Pentecost and focus on three different characteristics that, I believe, are just as significant today as they were back in the day, and I’m talking about, three different aspects of Pentecostal language that just might help us do what Jesus commanded disciples to do, namely, to tell everyone about him. 

Of course, before we can do any of this, we’ve got to be on the same page about what happened in Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago. Just listen to what Luke wrote in Acts:

On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.”

Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. [Acts 2:1-14a, 22-24, CEV]

Now, that’s what Luke wrote. And I’ll tell you, for as important as it was back two thousand years ago, you know, when the church was just getting started, I think it may be even more important today, as we try to figure out how we can do the same sort of thing those disciples did, and I’m talking about taking the good news out into the world. You see, through this story, I think we can get a pretty good idea about the language we can use, if we want to be successful.

For example, I believe it’s important for us to remember that the language of Pentecost is inspired, inspired by God himself. In other words, whether it’s shared by the words we choose to say or the works we choose to do, the very same Spirit that descended onto Jesus at his baptism and came and settled on those disciples at Pentecost, I’m telling you, that same Holy Spirit rests on us right here and right now. And it enables us to do exactly what we’ve been called to do. 

But you know, that power and that presence really doesn’t mean very much if we don’t recognize it and claim it and use it. I mean, remember, when those disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they didn’t stay in the house where they were meeting. And they didn’t start speaking in languages that were significant only to them. And they sure didn’t sit around talking among themselves about their own personal opinions and spiritual interpretations. Instead, they claimed the power and the presence they’d received. And they left this very comfortable place where everyone shared the exact same experience and stepped out into a city where Jews from all over the world lived, and they started to share.

And I’ll tell you, we can do the exact same thing ourselves as a community, as a congregation. You see, the Holy Spirit didn’t descend on us so that we can stay secure and warm and protected in this or any other building. It didn’t settle and rest on us so that we can just share the faith among ourselves. And it sure didn’t rest on us so that we could focus on the feelings and the opinions and preferences found only on the inside. Instead, we’ve been given God’s power so that we can break free from what’s comfortable and step out into a world where people may not share our opinions and values because they don’t share our backgrounds and experiences. And we’ve been given God’s presence so that we can approach men and women who may never know about the good news if not for us, man, we can approach them, and we can tell them about who Jesus was and why he came. But even more important than that, we can show them, by how we treat one another as well as how we treat those around us, man, we can show them exactly what it means to follow the one who, when asked about the most important commandment, said, 

“The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.” [Mark 12:29b-31, CEV]

I’m telling you, this we can do. Why? Because the language of Pentecost is inspired. And for me, that’s the first thing we can remember.

And second, I believe it’s also important for us to remember that the language of Pentecost is also understandable. In other words, it should not only be meaningful to disciples who already know about Jesus; it should also be heard and understood by folks who know absolutely nothing about faith. You see, the message should make sense and be meaningful to everybody, particularly to those on the outside.

And you know, I think that’s pretty clear in the story of Pentecost itself. After they’d been inspired by the Holy Spirit and decided to claim both the power and presence as they stepped away from their comfort zone, God didn’t suddenly give the crowd the ability to understand the message. Instead, he gave those disciples the ability to speak the good news in a way that they could be understood by all the people. You see, he gave them the ability to share the good news in languages that were different from what they knew. In other words, he gave them the ability to present the gospel in a way that was engaging and meaningful to those who heard. 

And I’ll tell you, I think he does the same thing for us. You see, right here and right now, we have the ability and the opportunity to present the good news of Jesus Christ in ways that will resonate with folks who are radically different from us, and I’m talking about men and women who listen to different music and who appreciate different images and who communicate in different ways. Thanks to Pentecost, they don’t have to come to us; we can go to them. And that’s certainly what we’ve done in the past. Years ago, when we were talking about how our particular church could become better in its outreach, I remember a friend of mine telling me about why, when compared to other denominations, the Presbyterian Church was so successful in Korea. He said, when Roman Catholic missionaries came, they taught the Koreans Latin. And when the Methodist missionaries came, they taught the Koreans English. But when the Presbyterians missionaries came, they learned Korean. And now, there are more Presbyterians in Korea than in the United States. You see, they decided to learn a new language so that the people could understand their message. As a matter of fact, what those missionaries did in Korea is awful lot like what the Apostle Paul challenged the Romans to do. 

When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you know more than others. Make friends with ordinary people. [Romans 12:15-16, CEV] 

Years ago, when we were talking about how our particular church could become better in our outreach, I remember a friend of mine telling me about why, when compared to other denominations, the Presbyterian Church was so successful in Korea. He said, when Roman Catholic missionaries came, they taught the Koreans Latin. And when the Methodist missionaries came, they taught the Koreans English. But when the Presbyterians missionaries came, the missionaries learned Korean. And now, there are more Presbyterians in Korea than in the United States. I’m telling you, we can tell the old, old story in new and relevant ways, because God has given us the ability to be understood. Why? That’s easy; the language of Pentecost is understandable. And I believe that’s the second thing we can remember. 

And finally, third, I think it’s really important for us to remember that the language of Pentecost is also focused. I mean, not only is it inspired by God and understandable to those who hear it, it’s also focused like a laser beam on the one who came and lived and then who was crucified and was raised from the dead. You see, that’s the focus of the message.

And on that first Pentecost, I think that was pretty clear in Peter’s message to the crowd. I mean, even though it was presented in a way that they could understand, his message was all about Jesus, wasn’t it? For example, since he was talking to Jews, in some scripture we didn’t read, he talked a little bit about the Old Testament, you know, about how all this was related to what the prophets wrote and supported by what happened to King David. Still, Peter’s primary focus wasn’t on Joel, and it wasn’t on the Psalms. Instead it was squarely on Jesus Christ, on why he came and on what he did and on how he can absolutely change the lives of those who decide to trust him. And I’ll tell you something, as those who just finished our Thursday evening study of Acts, I believe you could say the same thing about the messages offered by Stephen and by Paul. I mean, although some of the images and examples used were based on the audience’s background and culture, the focus was always the same. 

And so it can be for us as well. You see, we can resist the temptation to shift our focus, to confirm popular assumptions and reinforce popular prejudices and to assume that we’re doing something great for the Kingdom of God when we’re actually only telling people what they want to hear. In other words, we can resist the temptation to become popular for the sake of popularity. Instead we can focus on the simple yet profound message that I believe the Apostle Paul shared when he wrote this to the Philippians:

Christ was truly God.

But he did not try to remain 

    equal with God.

Instead he gave up everything 

    and became a slave,

when he became

    like one of us.

Christ was humble.

He obeyed God and even died

    on a cross.

Then God gave Christ

    the highest place

and honored his name

    above all others.

So at the name of Jesus

    everyone will bow down,

those in heaven, on earth,

    and under the earth.

And to the glory

    of God the Father

everyone will openly agree,

    “Jesus Christ is Lord!” [Philippians 2:6-11, CEV]

You see, even though the wrapping can be different, the content of the box must stay the same. Why? Because the language of Pentecost is focused. And I believe that’s the third thing we can remember. 

Personally, I’m glad Pentecost is a bigger deal around the church now-a-days than in the past. I mean, even though it’ll never reach the level of Christmas or Easter, I think it’s still important for Christians to remember, especially as we go about doing what Jesus called his disciples to do. You see, whether we’re sharing the good news through the words we say or the works we do, what happened almost two thousand years ago reminds us that what we’ve been called to share is inspired. And it’s understandable. And it’s focused. You see, as we move past this very special day and move forward into the rest of the year, inspiration and understandability and focus, this really is the language of Pentecost.