The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
One day at the height of summer euphoria I was outside with the kids under a sunny sky, my ears were full of the delightful sounds of children contented by sandboxes and water spraying and backyard swings (I really do love summer). In the midst of all playing I overheard a little song coming from the tent under the pear tree. I was curious so I inched nearer the tent and the words of the song fell so beautifully on my ears: "I love you, Holy Spirit, you are always with me, you help me not to be afraid..." The song went on and on sometimes in two parts sometimes one voice carrying the melody; I stood outside the tent overwhelmed by the beauty of their worship to God. If I had heard something like this from children only once or twice maybe I would just think of this as a nice story. But, as I have spent time with young children I have discovered that this is not so uncommon. I think children are often quite well acquainted with the Spirit. Spend some time listening to them and you might discover a depth of feeling and a richness of experience that surprises and delights you. There have been many times where a child has said something that I have felt was a word from God. On one occasion after a particularly long day of teaching I sat down at the kitchen table and without uttering a word (which is unusual for me) I dropped my head into my hands. Not soon after I felt a little hand on my back and a wee voice said, "Mommy, I think you are a good teacher." Those words went straight to my heart; I recognized immediately that the Spirit was speaking a word of encouragement to me through my child. Maybe you have a simple story like this or perhaps your child has had a dream or a vision from God or a song in their heart. Do not discount this! I would encourage you to listen, to ponder, and to be prayerful. As we gather this week we have an opportunity to consider the gift, the mystery of Holy Spirit and to learn together with the children.
Our story today opens in dramatic fashion, a sound like the rush of a violent wind, divided tongues as of fire, each of the people in the room speaking in other languages, a large crowd gathering at the noise and commotion and causing further noise and commotion! Wind and Fire are symbols of the Holy Spirit, you may want to spend some time thinking about them with the children. The Spirit is like a wind, blowing into us the breath that we need to live, just as the breath of God created the world and gave life to Adam so the the Spirit gives us life to us. Indeed God is as close to us as our very breath. The Spirit is also like a flame burning in us - it is the way our hearts burn within us when the word of God is opened to us, it is the joy that comes from deep within and you feel truly alive, it is the gentle sustaining, the strength to go on when you feel like you cannot take one more step. The Spirit is like a light showing us how to live in the way that God wants for us. At baptism we are given a candle, the light of Christ and a reminder of the flame of Christ within us.
Now the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and their friends as they were gathered together. At the same time as the believers were together many Jewish people from all over were also gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Weeks. Now because Jewish people had come from far and wide there were many languages heard in the city. You could be walking down the street and hear people talking and have no idea what they were saying. Remember the tower of Babel - how people were given different languages and they had little idea what they were saying to each other and they had to abandon the tower they were building. Well, today at Pentecost that curse is reversed! As the Holy Spirit came upon the believers they began to speak in different languages and all of these people from foreign lands heard their language! Now, because many, many people in the world speak or understand some English probably very few of us have had the experience of being in a foreign land and having a language barrier, but if you have you know it can be a very isolating experience, indeed it can be very challenging to share life with one another when you don't share a common language. AND when you finally hearing your language spoken well it is so wonderful, it kind of sounds like coming home! It fills your heart with such joy to be able to communicate that in your enthusiasm you might find the words just tumbling out one on top of the other. (Maybe you can ask the children in your class how many people speak a language other than English; perhaps some will even be willing to speak and share their language with your class.) So these believers began to speak about Jesus and everyone heard the same message! The Holy Spirit brings a connectedness between people. The Spirit brings us together as the church to show people who God is; to enact his mercy and love in the world, to share with other who Jesus is. Only through the deep mystery of the Holy Spirit can believers from all over the world come together and worship God as one body. The Holy Spirit also connects us to life with God in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. "Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, so Paul tells us, we're able to share the prayer that Jesus prays. When we say "Our Father" we're jumping into that great mystery, that depth of eternal prayer, which Christ gives to the Father. It really is like hurtling ourselves into a river flowing towards the mystery, flowing towards a kind of waterfall over which the water drops forever and ever. The prayer of the eternal Christ to the eternal Father. That's what the Holy Spirit shares with us." (Rowan Williams)
On the day of Pentecost the reaction of the crowd was varied, some were amazed and received Christ others were cynical and mocking. We know about this tendency towards cynicism, all too easily we find ourselves standing back, looking on with skepticism and choosing to sneer. And to the crowd Peter spoke the words of the prophet Joel to all gathered: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." May God give us his words to speak, give us his vision and dreams, filled with his Spirit that we might show the world the love of God.
Today we celebrate the birthday of the church! Let us be sure to remind the children that the church is not our physical building but the people of God gathered around the world. Maybe you want to look at a map, talk about all the places people in your class have connection to around the world. Perhaps you have a story to share about the church in another part of the world. Children might mention the church in Haiti as we have spoken quite a lot about of our brothers and sisters there.
Here is how the Jesus Storybook Bible tells the story of Pentecost:
Suddenly, a strong wind filled the little room, whistling through the walls, rustling straw on the floor. And there on everyone's heads, shining in the gloom were flickering flames. Fire that did not hurt or burn. And something more, in their hearts they felt a strange heat, almost as if the coldness and hardness were melting away. As if their broken hearts were mending. And God was giving them brand new hearts - hearts that could work properly. How it happened they didn't know, but they knew God's power had struck their hearts ablaze - and Jesus himself was coming to live inside them. they had seen Jesus go away, but now he was closer than he had ever been - inside their hearts. And this time nothing could ever separate them. Jesus would always be there. With them. Loving them. Whispering the promise that would get rid of the poison and the terrible lie and sickness in their hearts. God's wonderful promise to them: "you are my child and I love you". "Make my home in me, as I make my home in you," Jesus had said. Could it be? Heaven was coming into their hearts. They threw open the shutters sunlight flooded their room as love flooded their hearts. And the little room was filled with happy noises. Dancing feet, singing, laughing. They unlocked the door and surged out into the streets - as if they had never been afraid.
Peter spoke in a loud voice, so everyone could hear: "Jesus died for you! Because he loves you God made him alive again. He has rescued you!" People stopped. And listened. The words sank down deep into their hears and worked like medicine that makes you well. Like a kiss that wakes you up from a deep sleep. "Stop running away from God," Peter said, "Run to him instead! So he can love you and make you free!" And Peter told them the wonderful story of God's love. How Jesus had come and all that had happened.
There were lots of people from faraway countries in Jerusalem. They couldn't speak the same language but as they listened to Peter, everyone could understand what he was saying in their own languages! Many people believed. And became Jesus' new friends and helpers. And the wonderful news of Jesus spread. Like sparks from a fire. To villages. Towns. Cities. Every day more and more people believed. And so it was that the family of God's children, his special people, grew. And nothing in the world would ever be able to stop it.
- Sally Lloyd- Jones
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