The Feast of Pentecost, Year A

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25–35,37; I Corinthians 12:3–13; John 20:19–23

A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, June 12, 2011

“ONE GIFTING, OR TWO, OR MORE?”
(Homily texts: Acts 2: 1 – 21, and John 20: 19 – 23)

My wife will often ask me, “Honey, do you want vanilla or chocolate?” (Some of you have heard this before, I suspect.)

In response, of course, I say, “Yes”.

After all, why make difficult choices between two good things? “Yes, I’ll take both,” is the appropriate response.

Let’s apply this to the matter of the giving of the Holy Spirit.

In our readings today, we hear of two such givings/bestowings:

• On Easter Sunday, as Jesus breathes on His disciples, He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit….” (Our reading from John’s gospel account)
• On the great day of Pentecost (50 days after Easter), the Holy Spirit comes “like tongues of fire” and with the “rushing of a mighty wind from heaven”. (Our reading from the Book of Acts)

Biblical scholars have pondered these two separate givings of the Holy Spirit. Some have come to the conclusion that there were, indeed, two separate instances in which the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ followers, one at Easter, and another at Pentecost.

The text provides the material for these two separate instances: John’s text tells us that Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his inner circle of disciples at Easter, while the Holy Spirit came upon a larger group of disciples at Pentecost.

This view says that the Holy Spirit may have been given separately on two different groups: The first giving descended on the inner group of disciples, who would shortly become the apostles. The other giving was granted to a larger group – to the Church – essentially.

Which brings us back to the question, “Would you like a giving of the Holy Spirit at Easter, or one at Pentecost?”

The answer, of course, is “Yes!” (As if to say, “I’ll take both!”)

If there were two separate comings of the Holy Spirit (and, quite frankly, I believe there were), then what might be the reason for the two separate events. Allow me to posit a reason for this possibility:

• Giving the Holy Spirit to the inner circle, the original band of disciples, strengthens them for the time in which our Lord spoke to them in the 40 days between Easter and the Ascension. This critical time allows the Lord to instruct them for the ministry which will unfold once He has ascended into heaven from them, and it allows formation of the leadership which will lead the Church as it engages in the world-wide ministry which will unfold after Pentecost.
• Giving the Holy Spirit on those who had gathered on the Feast of Pentecost shows that the Holy Spirit will not be the private property of just those who will lead the infant Church. But rather, the Holy Spirit will come upon all who come to be followers of Christ, that is, the Church. As the Book of Acts unfolds, we will see evidence that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all who come to the Lord, including (even) Gentiles.

These two instances, dramatic as each of them are, allow the Church to see that the Holy Spirit is actually an integral, important, active part of the Godhead. Prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit in the two instances that we have before us, God’s people simply believed that the Spirit of God was some sort of a vague influence, a “flavor” of God’s presence (can you see that I am grasping for words here?) in much the same way that we might say that a person’s “spirit” can be discerned in a group in which the person once was involved. In such cases, we can discern a person’s “spirit” in the things that people recall about the individual and in the influences which shape the group today. But the coming of the Holy Spirit with observable signs and power lead the Church to a new understanding of just who the Holy Spirit is….granted, it will take some time (centuries, in fact) for the Church to come to fully realize the nature and the identity of the Holy Spirit within the Holy Trinity (more on that next Sunday, which is Trinity Sunday). Put another way, the Church comes to understand that the Holy Spirit is God, truly and fully God. (Again, more on that next Sunday, Trinity Sunday.)

Having come to a conclusion about whether there were two separate givings of the Spirit, and having come to a reasonable conclusion that there were two, separate bestowals, then let us move on to the matter of the Holy Spirit’s continual descending on the Body of Christ, that is, the Church.

The seeds of an understanding that the Holy Spirit will come upon all believers lies in the pages of the Book of Acts. Its pages are filled with accounts of the coming of the Holy Spirit….we’ve already mentioned the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence within the Gentiles, such as the Roman centurion Cornelius (see Acts, chapter ten).

The Holy Spirit comes, again and again. The coming is often marked in the Book of Acts with the giving of the ability to speak in unknown languages, called “tongues” (the Greek term for this is glassalalia). But there are other signs, as well, such as the ability to heal, or to foretell future events.

So the Holy Spirit comes, again and again.

The Holy Spirit comes upon us, as well, today. He comes at our baptisms, giving by His presence and insights the ability to grasp the mysteries of God, leading us into all truth, confirming our understandings of the coming of Jesus Christ, and of God the Father, from whom the Lord Jesus Christ comes.

Time and again in our lives, the Holy Spirit comes, if we will simply allow Him to do so. He comes, providing confirmation of the truths of God, while allowing us to see the fallacy of other beliefs we might hold. He comes, energizing us for ministry in Christ’s name. He comes, bringing the truths of the Gospel to life, so that those truths can come alive for a new generation of believers.

So, come Holy Spirit, come, and lighten with celestial fire.

AMEN.