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1 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: 17 "In the last days it will be, God declares, 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. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:1-21 NRSV)
Our God is a God of surprises! Jesus knew that and mentioned it quite a bit. "No one knows the day. nor the hour," "He will come as a thief in the night." Hints and clues that the coming important events in human history are at God's beck and call. It is God Who will determine the when and where; even Jesus admitted He did not know these days or times. Jesus spoke of birth pangs as the beginning of what was to come next. And on that day when the disciples were gathered together with people from around the world; the main reason they were together was to celebrate the receiving of the firstfruits of the grain and oil of the land; and it was for that reason that Jews from the known world gathered in Jerusalem. And it was at that very time that God sends what Jesus had promised, the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is the third person of the Trinity, and He makes His appearace as a gift of fire. Luke writes that "Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." All who heard these were amazed that these perceived simple folk from Galilee were speaking in their language and speaking to the great deeds of God's power in ways they were understanding. The truly genuine marveled at such an arrival, while the skeptcis mocked this and said the disciples were drunk on new wine. It was this comment that drove Peter to proclaim the first Christian sermon to the Jews. Peter says it's not wine these men are filled with rather with the power of God to share what the prophet Joel had predicted that sons and daughters would prophesy, and young men would have visions, and old men would share dreams from God. Even nature would get involved in the movement of God's power in this mighty and unexplainable way, finishing with "The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
This was a worldwide impactful event that started in that one corner of the world. The God of all people spoke through these simple, humble men, in their language, the mighty deeds of His power to call them back to Himself. Not only is our God a God of surprises, our God is a God who never stops working and impressing creation with what He can do. From celebrating a good harvest, the people are called to be the harvest that God has sown and now wants to bring back into His realm. Every corner of the world matters to God and all people are invited back in; and the theme of salvation is at the core of this message, with a promise that no one should be excluded only those who choose to be left out.
What Jesus promised arrived in this mighty way and the Christian Church was born on that day, in that place, with a promise that it would move beyond Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. And that dear friends is Good News!
PRAYER: Come, Holy Spirit, again and again into us, to make us truly those who want to conquer the world with love and compassion; with a message of life, a life lived best without sin and God's promise is that all who call unto Him will be made whole and free from their sin; help us in the sharing of this word to all people; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Use whatever means necessary to share the Good News! And use words if necessary!
Receive my blessing of joy, peace, and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
