Reflections on "Pentecost Countdown" Acts 2: 1-21; Numbers 11: 24-29

Since Easter morning, we have done the following in worship: confirmation Sunday,  reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant, senior sermons, recognition of new members, ordination and installation of officers, communion twice, and maybe another thing or two I have forgotten at this moment. As  Pentecost approached, I was not ready for another big blow-out, so we went low-key in worship, although we also had the Youth Barbecue immediately following worship.

The sermon below connects with the Pentecost Countdown that is also below after the sermon.  The countdown quiz was in the bulletin.  

As you read through the sermon, the highlighted sections were preached by me and the unhighlighted questions were preached by Lisa, the other pastor.  I didn't have her sermon notes, so the notes do not accurately reflect what she said.

“Pentecost countdown” SAPC, Denton; May 20, 2018; Pentecost Sunday; Acts 2: 1-22; Numbers 11: 24-29

Acts 2: 1-21  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.’

Pentecost Countdown

Question 1:  Red is the color of Pentecost because 

a.     Pentecost is on Youth Barbecue Sunday, because the red hides the barbecue spots on our shirts. 

b.     It reminds us of the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross.

c.     Red is the color of fire and reminds us of the tongues of flames that were present in the Pentecost story in Acts.

d.     Pentecost connects us to the flood story in Genesis and red is one of the primary colors found in the rainbow.

Question 2:  The word Pentecost derives from the root word for 

a.  Holy Spirit       b. 50    c.  40   d. Speaking in tongues

Question 3:  True or False

The Acts story of Pentecost contains the first reference to “speaking in tongues in the New Testament?”

Question 4: True of false

       In its original celebration, Pentecost commemorated the ascension of Christ to heaven  and the descent of the Holy Spirit. 

Question 5: The Easter cycle of the liturgical calendar consists of 

a.     Palm Sunday through Easter.

b.     Ash Wednesday through Easter.

c.     Ash Wednesday through Ascension Sunday.

d.  Ash Wednesday through Pentecost.

Question 6:  True or false

References to the Holy Spirit are only found in the New Testament? 

Question 7:  Pentecost has agrarian connections because

a.  The gathering in of converts is like a harvest.

b.      Pentecost was celebrated in the Jewish tradition as the culmination of the harvest festival.

c.     Tongues of fire and violent winds have nothing to do with agriculture

d.     A, B and C.

Question 8:  Pentecost came into being 

a.  Because it was fifty days after the resurrection that the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples.

b.     As the final day of the Jewish festival Feast of Weeks that marked the fifty days after the Passover celebration.

c.     As the day in which first century Jews celebrated the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

d.     So that they had a day to baptize all those people who were not ready to be baptized on Easter.

e.     Worship committees like decorating with red.

f.      All of the above

Question 9:  In the first century, they did not fast during the Pentecost season because

a.     No one wanted to fast during the Pentecost party with all its red desserts and punch.

b.     They were too hungry from the fasting that took place during Lent.

c.     The fifty-day cycle of Pentecost was considered to be like the Sabbath, one-seventh of the yearly calendar and a time of peace and joy.

d.  They had given up fasting as a part of their Christian life.

Question 10:  True, false, or maybe

            Pentecost is the birthday of the church?

Question 11:  Where do you find the Holy Spirit in a Presbyterian Church?

a.     What…the Holy Spirit?

b.     As the flames of fire on the Presbyterian seal.

c.     Somewhere.

d.     Who knows?

e.     All of the above

Introduction:   11 questions, five points each, if you get 10 correct, you receive 50 points (for those of you paying attention, that is a clue) and you’re invited to become a “Pentecost Person” and eat the red cupcakes that are part of the After church fellowship.

If you disagree with the answers provided, go home and look it up.  All disputes must be presented in writing.

Are you ready to play?

Question 1:  “Red” is the color of Pentecost because

a.    Youth barbecue.  .

b.    It reminds us of the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross.

c.    Red is the color of fire and reminds us of the tongues of flames that were present in the Pentecost story in Acts.

d.    Pentecost connects us to the flood story in Genesis and red is one of the primary colors found in the rainbow.

A  might be accurate for this year, except the youth t-shirts aren’t going to hide my barbecue stains.

B and D are good answers, but not to this question. 

Although in a way, the love of God that leads to the coming of Christ and his death on the cross is the love that we discover by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Certainly, the flood story depicts a God who is active in world affairs, so that is connected to God who is still active in our world today by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Coming of Christ and flood story are about God saving us, which fits with what we heard Peter say:  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But the answer is C – the image of flames of tongue; power and might.

This hard to imagine story fromAacts is a bit scary.

Volcanoes have been in the news recently.  I’m not an expert on volcanoes, but I believe the volcano works something like this.  Hot, molten lava hidden underneath layers of the earth.  Waiting and waiting until the right time to erupt and burst through those layers, spewing fiery lava that runs down and drastically changes the landscape of the world it encounters.

Our tendency is to downplay the radical nature of the gospel, to reduce how God is at work in the world to what we are already doing or what we are comfortable doing.

But the Pentecost story is about a dynamic God who explodes onto the scene and demands our attention.

Move 2:  The word Pentecost derives from the root word for

a. Holy Spirit       b. 50  c.  40 d. Speaking in tongues

40 days is ascension; 50 days is Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Question 3:  True or False

The Acts story of Pentecost contains the first reference to “speaking in tongues in the New Testament?”

False – in fact, the Pentecost story we read this morning makes no mention of the “speaking in tongues.” 

Holy Spirit fills the followers with the gift of languages so that they can go out and share the good news of the Gospel to the entire world.

That is the strong reminder that the Holy Spirit is in our midst to sustain us and support as we live out the gospel and work to share the gospel. 

The Holy Spirit is with us not to be a gentle breeze that merely comforts us, but the gust of wind that pushes us into the world to serve God.

Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies, “the holy spirit very rarely respects one’s comfort zone” (224)

Question 4:  True of false

            In its original celebration, Pentecost commemorated the descent of the Holy Spirit and the ascension of Christ to heaven.

After three or four centuries, church leaders insisted that the two celebrations be separated, and by the end of the 5^th century Ascension and Pentecost had their own separate days of celebration.

Question 5:  The Easter cycle consists of

a.    Palm Sunday through Easter.

b.    Ash Wednesday through Easter.

c.     Ash Wednesday through Ascension Sunday.

d.    Ash Wednesday through Pentecost.

D –

As an added insight for you this morning, you might note that Lent was added to provide preparation for the Easter cycle.

Thus we have a repeating cycle of penitence and preparation (Advent and Lent), followed by a time of celebrating a miraculous act of God (Christmas and the birth of Christ and Easter and the resurrection of Christ).

Question 6: True or false

References to the Holy Spirit are only found in the New Testament.

 Some would argue yes, but I would argue “no.”  “Spirit” in Hebrew is ruah, which is also the “Breath” of God.

God breathes life into to mud to call us into being.

The prophet Ezekiel speaks of the spirit or breath of God giving live to the dry bones in the valley.

In our Trinitiarian understand of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Spirit has been around since even before creation. 

Question 7:  Pentecost has agrarian connections because

a. The gathering in of converts is like a harvest.

b.     Pentecost was celebrated in the Jewish tradition as the culmination of the harvest festival.

c.     Tongues of fire and violent winds have nothing to do with agriculture

d.    A and B

Matthew 9: 37-38; Luke 10:2; John 4: 35

Question 8: Pentecost came into being

a.    Because it was fifty days after the resurrection that the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples.

b.     As the final day of the Jewish festival Feast of Weeks that marked the fifty days after the Passover celebration.

c.    As the day in which first century Jews celebrated the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

d.    All of the above

All of the above.  Pentecost was already a part of the Jewish calendar.  It was fifty days after the Passover.

If you’ve ever read in Acts 2 about Pentecost and thought, “that‘s strange that they were talking about the day of Pentecost” and we had not created it yet for our church worship, you did not realize this heritage.

Also a reminder that we are connected with out history.  Not a new God, but a new understanding.   A more complete glimpse of God as we discover God in flesh\ in Jesus Christ.

Question 9:  .In the first century, they did not fast during the Pentecost season because

a.    No one wanted to fast during the Pentecost party with all its red desserts and punch.

b.    They were too hungry from the fasting that took place during Lent.

c.    The fifty-day cycle of Pentecost was considered to be like the Sabbath, one-seventh of the yearly calendar and a time of peace and joy.

d.    They had given up fasting as a part of their Christian life.

C – Pentecost was set apart in the calendar as a Sabbath time.  A time to remember and celebrate the joy of Easter and to dwell in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Question 10:  True or false,

            Pentecost is the birthday of the church.

True and false.

Easy to identify with a birthday celebration.  Clearly this was significant moment in the history of God’s people.

But God had been in relationship with humans from the beginning of creation.

The idea that God and biblical texts remind us that again and again God called people into relationship.

Time and again God would

Question 11:  where do you find the Holy Spirit in a Presbyterian Church?

a.    What the Holy Spirit?

b.    As the flames of fire on the Presbyterian seal.

c.     Somewhere.

d.    Who knows?

All of the above. 

Numbers story - Moses calls all the leaders together.  Eldad and Medad stay behind.  They skip the church officer retreat, if you will.

And yet, there they were, prophesying back at camp.  Some of the other leaders were upset and ran to Moses.  Tell them to stop.  They can’t prophesy.  They missed the meeting.

Moses, in one of the great lines in the biblical text replies:  Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”

The Holy Spirit moves among us.  You can’t control it.  But God invites you along for the ride.