There is a line between useful “background material” and “nerd bits to leave on the desk” when it comes to preaching. Have you heard of the division of information that is used when it comes to running military-type operations? There is ‘need to know’, ‘good to know’, ‘want to know’, and ‘wish I knew’ (approximately, I work for Jesus, not the CIA). To this, I would add ‘more to know' about God’s Word.
So, “from the Lecture Hall and not the pulpit”, some details to lift up about Pentecost. First, the apostles were lit! And not in the older meaning of the word, although there were some there who accused them of it. But Peter was clear, they were not drinking. It was 9am! To paraphrase a modern philosopher, I guess it is always 9am somewhere. In Christian art, I believe we are talking about the origins of the halo. If you are not much into Christian art, I invite you to remember the scene in History of the World Part 1, when Leonardo Di Vinci stepped out of time to paint Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper. Mel Brooks, as Comicus, holds the serving tray behind the head of Jesus. Halo for the Age of Satire. These are tongues, as of fire, as Acts tells us.
No, the apostles were lit because of the Holy Spirit. But, according to this more modern, informal definition, “very good, impressive, or exciting” (Oxford Languages).
Then, to fill out the "Rave" that is Pentecost, there is an audio component to the audio-visual spectacular. The Holy Spirit granted the gift of tongues. Now, saying it that way can be confusing, because it can refer to one of two ‘gifts of tongues’ in the New Testament. In this case, the ‘gift of tongues’ is the gift of languages. Each of the apostles was given the ability to share the message of the gospel in the first languages of the various communities of Jews visiting from across the Roman Empire and beyond.
It is the command of the church going forward. Wherever people are, whatever language they speak, the Spirit leads the church to reach out with the gospel in their own language. It is not an ‘imperial’ thing where ‘those’ people need to learn ‘our’ language (like English) in order to come into the gift of Jesus. We are called as Jesus was, as servants to the world in need. The apostles got a jumpstart. But to consider just how multilingual the church is today, according to the website “Christian Lingua”, portions of the bible have been translated into over 3300 of the more than 7000 languages currently active in the world.
If we are going to distinguish things, the gift of speaking in other languages might be better translated as ‘the gift of utterances’. Which would allow us to use this term to define the other ‘gift of tongues’. Paul speaks of it a lot.
It is ‘angel-speak’ or ‘heaven-speak’, words spoken in a language that is not of the people of the earth. In fact, it is paired with the gift of interpretation, one person speaks in this unknown way, another then translates and interprets for the congregation. The purpose it serves is for the personal uplift of those who speak, as Paul describes it and limits its practice in times of gathered worship (1 Corinthians 14). It is also a portion of worshipful practice that I have not experienced in my church experience (to my loss I fear).
Finally, at Pentecost, we have the Faithful’s Dystopia. What? Peter quotes the prophet Joel on what the End Times are going to look like. From Peter’s words:
17 “In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Why do I call this End Times prophecy the Faithful’s Dystopia? Because it is what we believe is going to happen in the end times. What we may not understand is that Peter’s use of this quote was to usher in the End Times, back on Pentecost (so we have been living in approximately two thousand years of "end times" now). This is before things come to an end, this is the Dystopia of the Faithful. At that point, we pray and hope that our faith is not in vain, that, with the End, will come God’s Utopia. That it will come the renewal of the world.
Okay, back on the Pulpit
The hard part about End Times dominant thinking is that we Christians can use that as an excuse to fall down on the job of being God’s Stewards of this world. Think about Adam and Eve. The role assigned to them was to tend God’s Garden. And they were cast out. There seems to be this strain of theology, this way of thinking about God, that tells us that, maybe because Adam and Eve were tossed out, this world does not matter because of, well, the End Times. Sun to darkness, moon to blood. Why fight it? In fact, why not try to encourage it, get things done-in Ultimate terms. Except we are still God’s stewards for the world.
We should be leading the fight against global warming instead of demonizing the science and the scientists trying to save our lives.
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin against the earth in order that grace may abound? Shall we destroy the earth by our sinful negligence and exploitation because God is going to save it despite our sinful, greedy intentions?? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?
Peace-May We Work To Attain It
Pastor Peter
PS-that last bit is from Romans 6.
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