“Pentecost” means “fiftieth.” It is the name of a Jewish agricultural festival that culminates fifty days after Passover. Also, tradition maintains that God’s law was given on that day.
According to Acts 2, Pentecost took on new and enlarged meaning following the resurrection of Jesus Christ. During that Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in great power, as promised by the resurrected Christ, resulting in expanded vision of whom the gospel was for. Acts emphasizes that on Pentecost the fledging Christ community was empowered from on high with a compelling message and mission for the whole world.
Apostle Peter, boldly preaching to a large crowd, proclaimed that what was happening fulfilled Joel’s prophecy that one day the Spirit of God would be poured on “all flesh,” sons and daughters, young and old, even on male and female slaves (Joel 2:28–29 NRSV). We can describe this as the leveling, or equalizing, work of the Holy Spirit that breaks down walls of separation between people.
'Pentecost' means 'fiftieth.' It is the name of a Jewish agricultural festival that culminates fifty days after Passover. Also, tradition maintains that God’s law was given on that day.
On that day, the sign that the vision of Pentecost was being fulfilled was the experience of Jews from all nations of the known world who heard the gospel in their own language. Three thousand responded by being baptized. Pentecost was—and is—a prophetic, forward-looking event that asserts that all walls of separation based on language, ethnicity, economic status, and gender, eventually will be overcome by the work of the Holy Spirit.
I have experienced God’s Spirit working in that way many times. One example is when I was in South Africa to help establish the church there. One evening, I shared a meal in a restaurant with women and men from the African (Black), Afrikaans (White South African), Chinese, and North American cultures. We all sat around a big round table.
A man at a nearby table watched carefully as we interacted. Eventually, he approached and said, “You must be Christians.” We asked, “How did you know?” He responded, “Because in this society people from your nationalities would be seen eating together only if they were Christians.”
As you consider the vision of Pentecost, here are questions to consider personally or in groups:
- Where or how do you see the Holy Spirit working in pursuit of the vision of Pentecost today?
- What “walls of separation” demolished by the Holy Spirit are evident in your life and congregational experience?
- What “walls of separation” in your life and congregational experience await the leveling action of the Holy Spirit?
- What is your role in creating a congregational environment conducive to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in pursuit of the vision of Pentecost?
The vision of Pentecost is for a new humanity, living in a new community of reconciliation, mutual trust, and equality in Christ. The Holy Spirit continues to stretch the church in hope, transformed relationships, and worldwide outreach true to the vision of Pentecost. To that end, let us always sing and pray, “Come, Holy Spirit, Come” (Community of Christ Sings, 154).
