“Suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind... divided tongues as of fire appeared... All were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability...” Acts 2:2-4
Several million church goers are going to hear this read this Sunday. Many thousands of readers will stumble over the geographic names – kind of ironic since we are reading of the Spirit giving the ability to speak in every dialect. Other thousands will begin to daydream. Children will stare at ceiling fans or count the organ pipes as I used to do. Thousands of preachers will wonder if their message will bring some fresh insight to their parishioners.
Maybe among the millions will be some who wonder if “God declares, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh...,'” (2:17) why aren't we experiencing the outpouring of the Spirit right here, right now?
On that day when Peter declared, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (2:21) 3000 people responded. Why not today?
Could it be because we don't ask? Or because we don't really expect the Holy Spirit to do amazing things today?
Has our faith been so domesticated that we have stopped looking to be awed?
Following Jesus, whether 2000 years ago or today is a radical departure from the norm. Jesus was never boring and never predictable! Our very faith is a result of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is never boring, never predictable!
Predictability is what we have done to the faith. Boredom is the result.
Let's go back to the story. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak...” (2:4) All of them!
In what languages do you share the love of Jesus? What, not a preacher or an evangelist? All were filled, all spoke... All of them!
Maybe you already speak the language of an engineer, or the language of a teacher, or the language of a teenager, or the language of the sports fan, or the language of the musician, or the language of the social networking media, or one of the other myriad of languages of 21st century culture.
No doubt we are all multilingual. No doubt we can all be filled. No doubt we can in some small way, each of us, share the love, the acceptance or the invitation of Jesus.
Let the amazement begin!
Grace and peace,
Jeff Silvernail
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