50 Days - May 28, 2023

Pentecost is the celebration of the Spirit that enlivens, connects, and clarifies. Foreigners find a home, their language is spoken in Jerusalem. Fear is driven out and the birth of the church is blessed and empowered. However, there is an element of Pentecost that I often overlook, and that is this, the 50 days of waiting before the celebration.

The text says that Devout Jews from every nation under heaven had gathered.

They had gathered as part of the ritual celebration of Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks.

The Festival of Weeks marks the 50th day after Passover on which the giving of the law on Mt Sinai is commemorated. In the case of the Hebrews fleeing from Egypt, there were 50 days following the crossing of the Red Sea to what is called the Torah. In Jewish tradition, each of the 50 days is counted. In the Christian tradition, Pente meaning 50 in Greek, marks the 50 days from Easter to the burgeoning of the church and the outpouring of the Spirit. 50 days can be a long time of waiting, yet somehow waiting I believe is part of the spiritual journey. Sometimes the question is not so much whether you wait, but how you wait.

PAUSE

In a New York Times article, journalist Alex Stone tells the story of how executives at a Houston airport faced and then solved a cascade of passenger complaints about long waits at the baggage claim. They first decided to hire more baggage handlers, reducing wait times to an industry-beating average of eight minutes. But complaints persisted. This made no sense to the executives until they discovered that, on average, passengers took just one minute to walk to baggage claim, resulting in a hurry-up-and-wait situation. The walk time was not a problem; the remaining seven empty minutes of staring at the baggage carousel were. So, in a burst of innovation, the executives moved the arrival gates farther away from the baggage claim area. Passengers now had to walk much farther but their bags were often waiting for them when they arrived. Problem solved. The complaints dropped.

According to Richard Larson, an MIT research analyst, the length of one's wait is not as important as what we're doing while we wait. "Often the psychology of queuing is more important than the statistics of the wait itself," says Larson. Essentially, we tolerate "occupied time" (for example, walking to baggage claim) far better than "unoccupied time" (such as standing at the baggage carousel). Our question for today is, how did the disciples occupy their time? And please note that when I use the term disciples, I am now, and always, referring to men and women who followed Jesus – as indicated in Acts 1:14. So, how did they wait – they devoted themselves to prayer.

Perhaps that can be an encouragement to you – The Torah, Easter, the Exodus – all preceded with periods of waiting, asking, some grumbling, and some confusion (by the way, the disciples are still waiting for Jesus’ earthly kingdom to be established). Every day is not a festival or outpouring of the Spirit. What can you do in the meantime, whether walking to a baggage claim or waiting for news from the doctor or an update from a job application or direction for the next step in your life – you can wait with prayer.

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The text says – on the day of Pentecost, suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of wind and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.

It’s worth saying that I don’t believe that the Spirit of God or the lure of God is something new. The Holy Spirit that rushes in like wind with something like tongues of fire stands in continuity with the Hebrew Ruah or wind that in Genesis poetry blew over the face of creation. The images of fire are also in continuity with the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day that led the Hebrews on their wilderness journey following. In theological terms, these are called theophanies, manifestations of God in visual form. The Spirit’s coming is the gift of Christ and the promise for which the disciples waited – but it was not anything new. I share this because as Protestants, we’ve had the habit of separating the Old from the New covenant as if the new supersedes the Old. In fact, from the very outset, this movement of the Spirit not only begins on a Jewish festival that records the law given on Mt Sinai but with illustrations resembling the wildnerness period, a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

So, what are the hallmarks or characteristics of the Spirit, and how can we identify the movements of the Spirit?

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Filled with the Holy Spirit, they (the disciples) began to speak in some 15 different languages. The crowd replied, how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own languages?

This first hallmark is that the Spirit brings connection, not isolation. I have to imagine that an immigrant or visitor hearing their language felt something like coming home.  

After undergrad, I moved to BsAs, Argentina to work as the Youth Director of an ecumenical church called United Community Church. At the time, I saw it as an adventure, perfect for a recent graduate who had studied Spanish and Religion. I could travel on my off-time, work on my Spanish, and teach youth about Jesus. It was all of those things and I am glad I went, but it was also deeply lonely and isolating.

I recall one mid-week day, I was at a prayer/community event, I forget the specific occasion. I had been living with, speaking, and hearing Spanish for some time. Until out of the thick air of words and thought patterns I did not fully grasp, I distinctly heard the words,

“Hey, I’m Steve.”

The sound, words, and language were so distinct and recognizable. It was not filtered through various translation grids in my head, conjugating the verb tense or identifying the personal pronoun. I could also tell something about the person – he was friendly, extroverted, and I needed a friend.

So, I turned around and saw a young man about my age, with red hair, curly, with round metallic-rimmed glasses dipping down on his nose.

Hi, I’m Steve. What’s your name, he said.

Adam, I said. And you speak English.

Yeah. He laughed. Steve laughed a lot.

What are you doing in Argentina, he asked.

I’m working with the youth at a nearby church.
What are you doing, I asked.

I’m an actuary.

At that time, I had no idea what an actuary was.

But I’m also a noviciate. I’m studying to be a monk. We should hang out sometime.

From that day forward, Steve and I became fast friends. He introduced me to a group of Argentines that had an Ultimate Frisbee club. I was hooked. Pretty soon, I was playing ultimate frisbee – a fantastic game – on Thursday evenings under a lighted court and Sunday afternoons. Eventually, Steve became my roommate and a long-time friend. For me, Steve’s words of introduction came like a fresh wind.

It’s worth noting that the gift of the Holy Spirit on that day of Pentecost was not for the disciples. The Spirit’s outpouring was first and foremost a gift for the immigrants, the visitors of Jerusalem, (and those lost in Argentina). It was for those who had been present either the last 50 days from Passover to Pentecost or immigrants who had made Jerusalem their home. The text says Jews from every nation were present – and they were living in a language world not their own, suddenly, hearing their native language.

One hallmark of the Spirit’s work is that of connection and clarity. The Spirit helps us to hear another, speak to another, see one another, and understand one another – where there is clarity there is the Spirit.

Let me offer a word of peace as well, particularly as we deal with a new language scheme in our culture wherein the binary nature of gender pronouns no longer fit many different social groups in our society. The use of non-binary pronouns like “they/them” is used to speak about someone to more accurately acknowledge that one is neither distinctly male nor female. I must admit that at times, I slip up. At times, I opt for silence for fear of offense, and so one's name and identity shrink from my own language. May I say that the attempt means more than the execution? The attempt is the Spirit’s leading, allowing another to hear a language that fits – so may we have tongues of fire as we reach out to speak in languages familiar to those with us and near us.

Our last characteristic of the Spirit is that its work and movement will bring you to places of inclusion.  

PAUSE

The text continues with Peter’s address to the crowd: what you see is spoken of by the prophet Joel. In the last days, God will pour out my spirit on all flesh: your daughters will prophesy, young men shall see visions, old men will dream dreams, and the enslaved will receive my Spirit.

It’s remarkable to me, that Peter cites a scripture from the prophet Joel in which the vision is one of indiscriminate blessing. In his speech, Peter addresses the crowd as Men of Judea, however, God’s spirit has something much broader and more inclusive in mind.

Per the vision of Joel, referenced in this Festival of Weeks or Pentecost, God’s spirit does not discriminate by gender, status, or age. The text intentionally names daughters when sons, at that time, would have referred to children in general. Likewise, Jeremy Williams, NT Professor at Brite Divinity School writes, “The outpouring does not exclude those on the lowest rungs of the social ladder—enslaved men (doulous) and enslaved women (doulas). And although Joel declares that God will pour out God’s spirit on all flesh, the wealthy, the patriarchs, the able-bodied, and the enslavers are not named.”

God’s work tends to exist beyond our thinking alone.

So where shall we find the Spirit and how shall we recognize it?

Where the Spirit is there will be a connection. Like a friend through a crowd, like a familiar word spoken of welcome. The Spirit will come.

Where the Spirit is there will be clarity, a mutual understanding, and hearing and speaking in a language that may not be familiar to you but is familiar to the listener. The Spirit will come.

Finally, where the Spirit is there will also be inclusion – God’s outpouring is beyond our imaginations, perhaps the only limitation is our own biases. The Spirit will come!

And lest we be too hasty, and demand the Spirit on our time, there is always, and of course, the waiting. Even after the Exodus, there are 50 days. Even after the resurrection, there are 50 days. So, in the meantime, let us be patient in prayer and confident that God’s spirit will come.