A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker given at Trinity
Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, on Sunday, May 19, 2013.
“PENTECOST – THE RATIFICATION OF THE NEW COVENANT OF LOVE”
(Homily text: Acts 2:1–21)
In
our first reading this morning, we hear these familiar words: “When the day of Pentecost had come, they
were all together in one place. And
suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled
all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting
on each one of them. And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak on other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1–4)
In
these four verses, Luke (the author of the Book of Acts) passes on to us the
things that took place on the great feast of Pentecost. It is a sparse and spare account of those
events, which gave birth to the Church.
Perhaps
we are so used to hearing this passage from Acts each year as the Feast of
Pentecost rolls around, that we could benefit from some reminders about the
background of the Pentecost celebration and its meaning for the Jews of the
first century. For if we can step
backward into the importance of this festival as Judaism understood it, we can
glean some important significance for us as Christians.
So,
let’s take a journey into the celebration of Pentecost:
As
we begin our journey, we ought to take note of the name of the festival
itself….the name comes from the Greek, where it means “fifty”. This is a reference to the fact that
Pentecost takes place fifty days after Passover. In the year that Jesus suffered, died and
rose again, Passover took place on a Saturday.
So, the feast of Pentecost, in that year, fell on a Sunday (today).
This
festival is known by the Hebrew name Shavuot,
and is also known as the “Feast of Weeks”.
Its significance, originally, was that it was an agricultural festival,
during which the first fruits of the crops were offered in thanksgiving to
God. Deuteronomy 16:9 required that the
first fruits of the corn crop be offered on this day. Pentecost was one of three major feasts in
the Jewish calendar, and would have been an occasion for pilgrims to come to
Jerusalem to celebrate. No wonder that
so many people from different parts of the known world heard the disciples
speaking in their own native languages.
In
later times, the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai came to be associated
with this festival. (Scholars are not
sure if that meaning was attached to this festival at the time that the Holy
Spirit descended on the disciples, or if this meaning came to be associated
with it at a later time. However, it is
clear that, by the time Luke is writing his account in the Book of Acts, that
meaning had come to be attached to the festival of Pentecost.)
Remember
that the giving of the Law was accompanied by fire and the sounds of trumpet
blasts and thunder (and also earthquakes).
(See Exodus 19:16–20)
So
these elements are part of the Pentecost tradition.
Spirit, making connections to the original meanings that were attached
to Pentecost.
We
notice that Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit’s arrival was like the rush of a mighty wind. He also tells us that something like tongues of fire rested over each
one gathered in the house that day. We
get the impression that Luke is straining to find language that can capture the
event accurately. The best he can do is
to liken it to something….perhaps that is because the mystery of God’s acting
often defies the limits of human language to accurately describe.
But Luke states in a very straightforward manner
what the result of the Spirit’s coming was:
He says that those who were
filled with the Spirit began to speak in foreign languages. The Spirit’s arrival was noticeable for the
effects that were produced. And, it is
important to note, everyone was affected in the same way. The Spirit’s arrival became the individual
and collective possession of each individual and of the entire group, as well.
We
said a moment ago that the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai was accompanied
by fire and by sounds. Here, God’s
presence and God’s power are accompanied by some of the same sorts of
markers: fire and sounds.
Just
as Moses made known to the people of Israel what God had made known to him on
the holy mountain, now the disciples who were gathered together made known the
mighty works of God, the works done in Jesus Christ.
So,
a new law is being given, a law of love made known in the person, work,
teaching, miracles, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Deuteronomy 18:15–16, we read, “The Lord
your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among you, from
your brothers – it is to him you shall listen – just as you desired of the Lord
your God at Horeb (another title for Sinai) on the day of the assembly, when
you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great
fire any ore, lest I die.’” Here, in the
person of Jesus Christ, is that promised new prophet, one like Moses, who is
the mediator of this new covenant of love.
This
new covenant’s ratification takes place with the coming of the Holy Spirit,
with fire and with sound. Those gathered
on that day affirm, in unison, that all that the Spirit had empowered them to
do, they did faithfully. In the same way,
the people of ancient Israel, when Moses read the terms of the old covenant to
them, said, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do…” (Exodus 24:7b)
The
old covenant, made with Moses, was intended to touch, shape and transform every
member of God’s people. This process
took place in the ceremonies, sacrifices, and calendar of festivals and
observances that God had prescribed in the covenant that took shape under
Moses.
The
new covenant, likewise, is intended to touch, shape and transform every member
of God’s people. The process now takes
shape under the guidance, power and influence of the Holy Spirit.
Earlier
understandings of the nature of God’s Spirit under the old covenant saw that
Spirit as a general presence, going forth from God. At times, that generally-present Spirit
descended on an individual (the Spirit’s descending on King David at the time
of his anointing is one example…see I Samuel 16: 13). But, generally, speaking, the Spirit’s power
wasn’t something that everyone experienced in a personal way.
Now,
that perception changes as the Holy Spirit descends on each one gathered on the
day of Pentecost. Each one responds, and
they respond in the same way, enabled by the Spirit to speak a foreign language
they had not known prior to that time.
The Spirit is now personally and corporately experienced.
The
old covenant worked on an outside-to-an-inside pattern: The ceremonies, sacrifices, and the yearly
calendar were all designed to keep God’s people aware of God’s presence on a
daily basis. The outward rites and laws
concerned righteous behavior were designed to have an effect on the heart.
Now,
the new covenant begins the process in reverse, operating on an inside-to-an-outside
pattern, beginning its work in the heart, under the power and guidance of the
Holy Spirit.
That
Spirit operates in each believer’s heart, changing the inner disposition into
the image and likeness of God. And as
each believer undergoes this renewal process, the entire body of Christ is also
changed into the image and likeness of God, as He is seen in the person of
Jesus Christ. So the effects of the Holy
Spirit’s presence and power are individually known and seen, but are also seen
in the body of Christ, which is the Church.
We noted earlier that the Feast of Weeks was
originally an agricultural festival, a time when the first fruits of the corn
crop were offered in thanksgiving to God.
Now, the first fruits of the corn crop were offered in thanksgiving to
God. Now, the first fruits of God’s
abundance are presented as those upon whom the Spirit descended testify to the
mighty works of God, done in Christ.
We,
today, who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit at the time of our
baptisms, continue to offer the first fruits of our lives as the Spirit changes
us more and more into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. As we do so, we offer to the world around us
the clear message that God is love, a message that all humankind can understand
as the Holy Spirit prepares the soil of their hearts to hear and receive the
implanted Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks be to God!
AMEN.
