Today is May 23, and it is Pentecost Sunday. You may wonder: What is Pentecost? Why do we celebrate Pentecost? Why is everyone wearing red?
It all starts in the book of Exodus, where we read about how Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. After a series of terrible plagues, Pharaoh was finally convinced to let God’s people go and escape to freedom. But as they were leaving, Pharaoh changed his mind, and sent his army after God’s people.
God’s people made it to the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them; Pharaoh’s army was behind them. God parted the waters of the sea so that the people could escape; and when Pharaoh’s army tried to follow them, God caused the waters to rush back.
Fifty days later… God took Moses up to the top of Mount Sinai, and God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments. These commandments dictated how God’s people were to show love to God, and love to one another.
Ever since, Jews have celebrated this event - the receiving of the commandments - with a holiday. In Hebrew, the holiday is known as ShavUot; and because the commandments were given fifty days after the exodus, Shavuot is celebrated fifty days after Passover.
The Greek word for Shavuot is Pentecost. And Pentecost is, for Jews, a holiday of pilgrimage. So in today’s scripture reading, we hear that there were many Jews from many nations who had come to Jerusalem for the holiday, adding to the many Jews from many nations who were already living in Jerusalem.
Imagine the excitement in and around the temple. Imagine a great, international street fair, filled with people in various styles of dress, speaking different dialects and different languages, cooking and eating various types of foods, filling the air with the aroma of exotic spices…
Meanwhile, the disciples were gathered together in one place… in the midst of all that Pentecost excitement, they were still trying to make sense of the events surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
And that’s when, suddenly, the sound of a strong, violent, rushing wind filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Think: loud.
When you hear a sound like that, you know there is phenomenal power at work.
And - just in case you’ve forgotten - the word for wind in Greek is pneuma; the same word that is used for Spirit. Spirit, wind, breath - they’re all pneuma. And the same is true in Hebrew. The Hebrew word ruach means spirit, it means wind, and it means breath.
And when I describe to people what the Spirit is like, the power of a mighty wind, and the nearness of my own breath, are two images that come to mind.
There were also divided tongues of fire appearing among them - a blazing ball of light for each disciple present… a little blazing sun appearing above each of their heads, representing the incredible, awesome power of God’s Spirit that has come upon them.
So you have the power of the wind, and you have the power of the sun, all in that room with the disciples; and then - filled with that power - the disciples discover that they can speak in all the languages of all the Jews who were present in Jerusalem for the Pentecost holiday.
People nearby saw and heard what was going on. Most houses then had large windows that were kept open to catch the cooling breeze, so all that was happening in that house could be seen and noticed by others in the city.
A crowd quickly gathered, lured by the amazing sights and sounds: the fire, the wind, and the sound of these disciples speaking in languages that everyone in the crowd could understand - despite them being from different nations.
And they were amazed and perplexed.
And then Peter - one of the disciples - explained to the people that what they were witnessing was the power of God’s Spirit. And Peter told the people about Jesus, who - after being crucified - was raised back to life by the power of that same Spirit.
This - the events of this day - are why Christians celebrate Pentecost.
And this is why we adorn our sanctuary with red, and why some of us choose to wear red on this day. Red is the color of Pentecost; it reminds us of tongues of flames that were present; it reminds us of the Spirit.
If you didn’t wear red, that’s OK - Pentecost is also about celebrating diversity, so having a rainbow of colors is also appropriate!
Many Christians think of Pentecost as the “birthday of the church.” The work of the disciples, and the work of God’s Spirit in building the church, really began at Pentecost.
But it didn’t begin from scratch. I already mentioned how Pentecost began as a celebration of when Moses received the commandments, something that happened many centuries before the events of today’s story from the book of Acts.
And, when Peter got up and spoke to the people in Jerusalem, to explain to them what was going on, he quoted several ancient scriptures that we find in the Old Testament, from the book of Joel, and from the Psalms.
This is important to remember. Our faith didn’t actually begin at Pentecost, or with those twelve disciples, or even with Jesus during his earthly ministry. Our faith is rooted in the ancient way that the prophets followed, that Moses taught, and that Abraham and Sarah were a part of.
Through all those centuries, the temple developed - and Jesus loved the temple. Jesus was a faithful, devoted Jew. His followers often called him “rabbi,” which is a word used to describe one who taught and interpreted God’s torah, God’s law or teaching.
Jesus loved God, Jesus loved the temple, and Jesus loved what he learned by studying the Jewish scriptures.
And because of this love for God, this love for the temple, and this love for the Jewish scriptures...
Jesus had no patience for temple leaders who were hypocritical or who misinterpreted scripture.
Jesus had no patience for those who abused their power, and used their position to gain wealth or more power for themselves.
Jesus had no patience for temple leaders who placed heavy burdens on the poor.
Jesus had no patience for temple leaders who perverted the teachings of the torah and the prophets.
And one way you could describe Jesus and his band of disciples is that they were a protest movement. They weren’t protesting the temple or Judaism, but they were protesting corruption within the temple and Judaism. They were protesting the ways in which temple leaders cared more about pleasing Caesar than they did about pleasing God.
And they protested by associating with people the temple leaders said they shouldn’t associate with: outcasts, lepers, and sinners.
And they protested by healing people and offering God’s forgiveness to them, so that those who were broken could be made whole. They did this, despite warnings from the temple leaders not to.
And they protested by feeding those who were hungry. Caesar - the one whom the temple leaders really worshipped - was known as the giver of bread to the people, so what did Jesus and the disciples do? They fed bread (and fish) to thousands of hungry people.
And they protested by staging a great procession into Jerusalem meant to mock the processions of Roman kings and emperors.
And they protested by flipping over the tables in the temple, to draw attention to how the temple was actually oppressing those who were most vulnerable, when really, the temple should be helping and lifting up those who were most vulnerable.
And just like every protest movement, those with power criticized them and slandered them. The criticism and slander came at them just like it does today to those who take a knee during the national anthem, or who strike every Friday for the climate.
Jesus and his disciples didn’t do these things because they hated the temple. They did them because they loved the temple, they wanted to protect the temple, and they wanted to reform and restore the temple to what it should be.
Nevertheless, the temple authorities accused Jesus of not doing things the right way. They accused him of colluding with the devil. They accused him of blasphemy and disloyalty to Rome. And they eventually convinced the Roman authorities that Jesus was a threat to Rome, and that he should be executed.
But the Spirit of God was on Jesus’ side. The Spirit was on Jesus’ side because Jesus was on God’s side. And the Spirit was with Jesus through it all.
The power of the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. And the power of the Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost, to continue the work Jesus started.
And I truly believe that today - just like in Jesus’ own time - much of the religious leadership in our country has been corrupted by power and the lure of wealth. I’m talking about many of the biggest influencers in American Christianity today.
Like the temple leaders in Jesus’ time, these big religious influencers are oppressing those who are most vulnerable, placing heavier burdens on them while seeking comfort and privilege for themselves.
Like the temple leaders in Jesus’ time, these religious influencers preach hate and intolerance.
And when it comes to the terrible injustices being committed in our nation - particularly against people of different races, different sexual orientations, different gender identities - they ignore or downplay or even contribute to these injustices.
These religious influencers work with political leaders to deny people their rights, including the right to vote, by making it harder for the poor to vote, and harder for Black and Brown people to vote...
But within the church, there is a protest movement. There is a protest movement, and it is being led by the Spirit - the same Spirit that came upon the disciples at Pentecost.
It is not a movement to destroy the church, but to save the church. It is a movement to restore the church to what it should be.
And I see us, here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church, as an important part of this movement. We know that there are so many Christians, and Christian leaders, who have taken the cross and all that the cross stands for, and turned it into a symbol of hate and terror and fear.
But God’s Spirit is leading us - and so many other Christian communities in congregations across the country and around the world. God’s Spirit is working through us, to let the world know that the way of Christ is not the way of intimidation, or fear, or hate, but that the way of Christ is the way of love and unity and healing and wholeness.
Because the Spirit that continues to guide us… the Spirit that is as powerful as a mighty wind, the Spirit that blazes like a ball of sunshine, the Spirit that is as close to us and as much a part of us as our own breath… is the Spirit of love. The Spirit of unity. The Spirit of healing and wholeness.
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