All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'What does this mean?' But others sneered and said, 'They are filled with new wine.' (Acts 2.12,13)
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'What
does this mean?'
That's
the question the crowds posed on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit -
as a mighty rushing wind and in tongues of fire - was poured out upon Peter and
the eleven, who then were empowered to speak in languages unknown to them but
understood by the crowds from around the Jewish dispersion.
What
does it mean, indeed?
The
manner of the coming of the Holy Spirit is one thing; the Holy Spirit's
presence in the Church is quite another.
On
the Day of Pentecost, we can fixate on the outer signs and miss the inner
workings, the 'what does this mean?' of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
St
Gregory the Great suggests that the outer sign of the powerful breath of the
Spirit points to the propagation of grace by the Spirit, to be made known to
the nations, especially in the forgiveness of sins.
The
tongues of fire signify a longing for higher things: the Spirit appeared as
flames, which tend to rise upwards, and so the Spirit raises our hearts on
high.
There
is something radically new here - the crowd had never heard the like of this -
and also something deeply ancient, from the before the foundation of the world.
Peter,
in beginning to explain to the crowds what this all means, reaches deep into
the scriptures, to the prophecy of Joel, to make clear that what he and the
other apostles proclaim are not drunken ramblings - irrespective of the time of
day - but are at the heart of the purposes of God, for the salvation of those
who 'call upon his name' (Acts 2.21).
The
Holy Spirit - the power of God that brought about Creation - who is being
poured out, is ever old and ever new, giving capacity and power to those at the
start of their earthly life, and equally to those who approach the evening of
life.
As
the psalm puts it:
'Young
men and maidens, old men and children, praise the Name of the Lord: for his
Name only is excellent, and his praise above heaven and earth.' (Psalm 148.12)
'What
does this mean?' It means that the Holy Spirits draws men and women, old and
young, to the praise and worship of God.
This
is an action of the Holy Spirit.
'What
does this mean?'
St
Paul writing to the Christians of Rome, as we heard in our second reading, speaks
beautifully of the same Spirit who inspires us to pray: when our life of prayer
seems bleak or barren, non-existent or a puzzle, the Holy Spirit will help form
our unformed deep sighs, longings and yearnings into words.
No
wonder the Holy Spirit unsettles people.
To
be in put in touch with who we really are, and who God calls us to be, is
unnerving.
The
actions of the Spirit can unsettle and disrupt and challenge our comfort and
those around us, such that they ask, ‘what does this mean?’
Non-Christians
family or friends may look at your faith and say, ‘what does this mean?’ – be
ready to tell them!
This
is where another work of the Holy Spirit comes in: the Holy Spirt is described
as the 'Comforter', but that is in the sense of the Latin, com-fortis,
meaning, 'with strength'.
The
Holy Spirit doesn't cuddle us, but opens our bodies, minds and human spirit to
God’s power and strength, to help us give an account of the hope that is within
us as Christians: as Peter, the apostles and the saints through the ages, have
done – and continue to do.
'What
does this mean?'
The
Holy Spirit pours grace and power in wind and flame upon otherwise fragile
people to worship and adore God the Father in Jesus’ name.
The
same Spirit draws together a disparate body of people – you and old, male and
female – to be the Body of Christ in the world and seeing God’s power in
dreams, visions and reality, transforming lives.
The
same Holy Spirit empowers us to God’s witnesses to the ends of the earth, and,
more modestly - but still a tremendous challenge - to our own families, friends
and colleagues.
The
Spirit’s call to worship, fellowship and witness, is what many people today
will say, ‘well, if that’s your thing and you’re not affecting anyone else,
fine, believe it’
But
this Holy Spirit is what Jesus, in the Gospel, declares to be the 'Spirit of
truth' who comes from the Father, the Spirit of truth, 'who will guide you into
all truth' (John 16.13)
This
is when the crowds of today ask,
'What does this mean?' Now that is unnerving for modernity.
In
a world that has been declared to be 'post-truth' - where 'my truth' trumps
'your truth'; where the objectivity of truth is deconstructed, up for grabs and
used as a weapon; where being truthful is deemed unkind - to speak of truth and
the Spirit of truth who will 'guide you into all truth' is going to be
contested.
It's
actually not entirely new: 'what is truth?' Pontius Pilate famously asked at
Jesus' trial.
The
Holy Spirit reveals that Jesus Christ is truth itself.
Jesus
Christ is 'full of grace and truth' (John 1.14) and likewise the Spirit of
truth, the Spirit of Jesus, will guide us into all truth, a truth that is not ‘my
truth’ or ‘your truth’ but is God's.
What
does all this mean?
In
the words of the priest and poet, Gerard Manly Hopkins, it means this:
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