June 28, 2007

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:4.
The Jewish Festival of Pentecost had arrived and Jerusalem, the Holy City, was teeming with Jewish pilgrims from all over the known ancient world. The followers of Jesus were gathered together, as was their habit, when, suddenly, there appeared among them an amazing, yet strange, presence – the Holy Spirit manifest as tongues on fire. This presence flowed over and through the disciples, filling them with the fresh presence of God. As they were filled up with the Holy Spirit, they began to run over with joy and spoke in a strange, new language. The whole gathering was freshly filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke in tongues. It had finally happened! This was what Jesus had promised before His departure, and it had finally been fulfilled!
Can you imagine what it must have been like to be part of that gathering on that day? They had waited for the Promised One to arrive, not knowing quite how He would come. Then, this strange occurrence happens. There had never been an event like this before. The disciples began making verbal utterances that they did not necessarily understand with their minds, but yet, they were compelled to speak out by this New Presence. This was a very dramatic event and drew the attention of thousands, who were in Jerusalem for the Holiday Festival.
If I had been one of the disciples that day, I wonder what my reaction would have been. It is easy to say that, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, I probably would have been swept up in the moment. But then there is this other side of me that wonders if I would have withdrawn, due to my own insecurities or doubts. Have you ever been in a situation when God dramatically moved in a manner that was foreign to any of your previous life experience? If so, how did you respond? These new followers of Jesus were in that situation on that Pentecost day. We tend to make it into some religious, “stained-glass” experience, but I would imagine that there were all kinds of emotions present – fears, doubts, wonderment, amazement, and excitement, among others. Take some time today to reflect on the wonder of this day in the life of this early group of believers, and how it has affected us down through the centuries to our present day. Also, reflect on how you would have responded to those strange or foreign situations.