Acts 2:1-11; Romans 8:8-17; John 14:15-16,23-26

‘When Pentecost day came round…’ At the time Luke mentions Pentecost, it was the Greek name of a Jewish celebration that is today called ‘Shavuot’ as Prof Thomas O’Loughlin said on Muffin Talk. The feast was about rejoicing in God’s goodness and originally didn’t have any other meaning.

We Christians have a wonderful reason to rejoice 50 days after the Resurrection: God has promised us an advocate, the Holy Spirit.
The word ‘spirit’ which derives from the Latin word ‘spirare’ (to breathe) and implies life, movement, and fresh air. The Holy Spirit is powerful and strong – ‘a powerful wind from heaven’ and a true advocate of support.
This is what Elijah was expecting when he was waiting for a sign of God. A strong wind, an earthquake, something powerful – but God came in a gentle whisper. This must have been a huge surprise for the Prophet Elijah.

While Elijah was waiting for God’s orders, the Holy Spirit doesn’t give us orders. The Holy Spirit fills us with love, life and peace.
How do we best display our love to others? We listen to them, speak with them, relate with them. Often, languages and cultures can be barriers to achieve understanding.
The main organ that allows us to speak is the tongue, and our first language is our mother tongue. Speaking ‘in tongues’ is usually not helpful for being understood. So, at first glance, the ‘tongues of fire’ don’t sound like good communication. However, the text says, ‘How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language?’
When Luke describes the work of the Holy Spirit with: ‘tongues of fire’, he is not referring to the languages but rather to the emotional experience. After being filled with the Spirit, they could understand and speak languages that were foreign to them previously. Is this a “they are us”-move?  Suddenly, strangers are strangers no more…

The apostles are filled with the Spirit, act through the Spirit, and are therefore ‘spiritual’. The Letter to the Romans has defined the moment when the mind is governed by the Spirit: this is ‘life and peace’. Paul warns the Romans that they had to be spiritual to belong to Christ and to be raised from the dead one day.
Through the Spirit we are children and heirs of God.

In the Gospel according to John, God promises us an advocate – a voice at our side. We understand that this advocate is the Holy Spirit who, together with God and Christ, forms the Trinity we are about to celebrate.
God will look after us when Jesus has returned to the Father. The Holy Spirit will stay with us as long as we keep God’s Commandments. However, it is not about keeping the Commandments out of obedience, like respecting the Road Code. The reason for keeping the Commandments is as important as complying with them. It needs to be out of love for God that we do what God wishes. It is literally about the ‘the spirit of the law’…

We are reminded, that, at the time of His death, Jesus breathed His spirit on those standing at the foot of the cross. We are to continue Jesus’ work on earth. We are all children of God. We don’t have to worry but can trust in God’s promise to send us an advocate.

So, here is where the circle closes: no matter what language we speak or culture we belong to, if we allow the Spirit to be in us, we will be governed by life and peace. The Holy Spirit will be in us, and we will join Christ as children and heirs of God. We will be full of love and happily follow God’s Commandments.
The Holy Spirit plays a pivotal role in this constellation. As an advocate, the Spirit can speak out for us but also stands at our side and supports us when needed.

It is a wonderful message of hope and life.

BM