Today being Pentecost Sunday we come to explore the Pentecost Narrative in Acts 2. It is Luke’s story of the giving of the Holy Spirit in contrast to John’s story in John 20. My tendency is therefore not to read this story primarily as history, but rather to read it as a symbolic narrative in which Luke is seeking to express insights into the spiritual life using symbols and metaphors.
I believe that the real heart of the story of Pentecost can be found in chapter 1:14 where we read they were all together constantly praying. This is in response to the command of Jesus to stay in Jerusalem waiting for the gift of God from on High. This I believe is the crux on which the whole story pivots and from which it all unfolds. A stance of prayerful receptivity can open us to the Divine Presence or the IAM Presence which in the Biblical tradition is generally referred to as the Holy Spirit. The word Spirit can mean breath or wind or breeze. It is the Breath of God that animates, gives life to and moves in and through all creation. The word Holy, in its original meaning means different. When we are moved and animated by the Holy Spirit or the IAM Presence, we are moved and animated by something different, something other than our normal egoic way of thinking. And this opening up to the IAM Presence or the Holy Breathe of God according to the story come through prayer.
The word ‘prayer’ or ‘to pray’ in this verse is the Greek word proseuché (pros-yoo-khay) and it refers to an exchange of wishes; to pray therefore literally means to interact with God or the Divine by exchanging our human wishes and ideas for God’s Divine wishes for us and for the world; exchanging our narrow small-minded egoic desires and wishes in order to be moved, inspired and animated by a Higher Wisdom than our own, as we become open to the IAM Presence which resides at the heart of all things.
And so prayer may begin by the expressing of our own human wishes to God, a speaking out of what concerns us and what our own hopes and dreams are, but if prayer is to be an exchange of our wishes and ideas, often arising from our small and narrow egoic minds, it ends with us needing to be open to receiving The Divine wishes for us which come from a higher or a deeper place – perhaps one could even say, from our higher selves. And this requires being open and receptive. Prayer ultimately and logically should lead to silence and stillness, leaving us in an open and receptive place, ready to be open to the Holy Breath of God, open to the IAM Presence from which all deeper or higher inspiration and wholeness comes.
As the Psalmist reminds us, Be Still and Know that I am God: Be Still and Know the IAM Presence of God that underlies all of Reality.
And in the story of Pentecost there is some wonderful imagery that points to this:
Firstly, there is the imagery of the wind.
In verse 2 we read that suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house were they were sitting. That is at least how the NIV translates the original Greek, and most English translations would roughly do the same. But as I explored some of the Greek words behind the English text, there are I believe other possibilities in how to understand these words.
In the English text, we read the phrase "a rushing wind". However, in the original Greek, the word used is "pheromenēs" which means to carry or bear or even to uplift. In addition, the Greek word biaios (bee'-ah-yos) often translated a violent can also simply mean strong. In addition the Greek word for ‘wind’ could also be translated a breeze, a gust, or even as breath. And so the wind in Acts 2:2 might indeed be describing not a rushing and violent wind, but rather a breeze or a breathe of air that uplifts and brings strength to those who receive it. This imagery evokes the imagery of two Old Testament passages. Firstly, the idea of the wind lifting up and carrying, is reminiscent of the Isaiah 40:31 which speaks of being lifted up on wings like eagles. Just as an eagle flies high, soaring up on the currents of air, so being open to the IAM Presence in prayerful receptivity or meditation, opens us to the Divine breeze or current that enables us to be lifted up to begin to soar, carried by a current that is greater than ourselves. As Isaiah 30:15 also reminds us "...in quietness and trust is your strength...".
The other Old Testament passage that it might remind us of is that of the story of Elijah when he encounters the Divine Presence, not in the sound of a tempest, in other words not in the sound of a rushing and violent wind, but rather in the sound of a gentle whisper, the gentle sound of a breath.
We have all had times, even if momentarily, for a split second, when we have been able to sink down into Presence. It might be just for a moment staring out the window while drinking a cup of tea, or waiting quietly in a car. And in that moment of quite watching and listening, of open receptivity, our spirits briefly come into contact with a sense of a still Presence. And in that moment we feel a sense of quiet relief and a lightness like a breathe of fresh air has just blown into our spirits. It is surely, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breathe of God breathing through us enabling us to be momentarily touched by the IAM Presence of God.
Secondly in verse 3 we read of the imagery of fire, “...they saw what seemed like tongues of fire which separated and came to rest on each of them.”
Again, two Old Testament images come to mind. The first is the image of Moses’ encounter with the IAM Presence of God at the burning bush. It suggests that when we become prayerfully open and receptive so that we begin to touch the stillness of that IAM Presence at the heart of Life, we become like human burning bushes, shining warmth and light wherever we go. Human manifestations of the Divine.
And this brings us to the second image from the Old Testament, taking us to the Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting and later to the Jerusalem Temple where a lamp, known as the "Eternal Light" or "Ner Tamid" in Hebrew, was meant to burn continuously, representing the perpetual nature of God's presence in the Holy of Holies.
In Acts 2, the flames of fire that rest on the heads of those gathered in prayer, remind us of our Divine capacity to become living temples in which God lives by God’s Spirit, Living Temples animated by the Holy Breath of God in which the flame of eternal light, the IAM Presence shines both within and through their humanity. As Paul says, do you know know that your bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breathe, the Holy Presence of God (see 1 Cor 6:19).
Is that perhaps what the Pentecost story is pointing us toward – our God given potential of becoming living Temples of the IAM Presence of God.
Lastly, in the passage we read of the disciples being enabled to speak in other languages, helping to bridge the divides between people. It recalls the Old Testament sacred myth of the Tower of Babel, where due to human pride, the people become scattered across the world speaking different languages so that they become divided, separated, no longer communicate and understand one another. It sounds a little bit like our world today doesn’t it? A world of division and separation where there is a failure in understanding and an inability to talk and communicate it civil ways.
But in the story of Pentecost, as the disciples, together with Mary the Mother of Jesus and some of the other women, gather in prayerful waiting, openness and receptiveness, and as they find themselves being gifted with the IAM Presence of the Divine, the underlying Unity behind all things, they are enabled to become part of the unifying, reconciling, healing work of God in the world and God’s secret plan revealed in Christ in Ephesians 1:10 to bring all things back together in unity. AS Paul says in 2 Cor 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to God’s-Self.
When we gather in open, prayerful receptivity to the IAM Presence in all things and in all people, we become partners with God, in the work of healing the divisions and separation of our world as we begin to speak the reconciling language of Christ-like Love.
Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
And I leave it there: What does this mean? What could this mean for us? Amen.
I believe that the real heart of the story of Pentecost can be found in chapter 1:14 where we read they were all together constantly praying. This is in response to the command of Jesus to stay in Jerusalem waiting for the gift of God from on High. This I believe is the crux on which the whole story pivots and from which it all unfolds. A stance of prayerful receptivity can open us to the Divine Presence or the IAM Presence which in the Biblical tradition is generally referred to as the Holy Spirit. The word Spirit can mean breath or wind or breeze. It is the Breath of God that animates, gives life to and moves in and through all creation. The word Holy, in its original meaning means different. When we are moved and animated by the Holy Spirit or the IAM Presence, we are moved and animated by something different, something other than our normal egoic way of thinking. And this opening up to the IAM Presence or the Holy Breathe of God according to the story come through prayer.
The word ‘prayer’ or ‘to pray’ in this verse is the Greek word proseuché (pros-yoo-khay) and it refers to an exchange of wishes; to pray therefore literally means to interact with God or the Divine by exchanging our human wishes and ideas for God’s Divine wishes for us and for the world; exchanging our narrow small-minded egoic desires and wishes in order to be moved, inspired and animated by a Higher Wisdom than our own, as we become open to the IAM Presence which resides at the heart of all things.
And so prayer may begin by the expressing of our own human wishes to God, a speaking out of what concerns us and what our own hopes and dreams are, but if prayer is to be an exchange of our wishes and ideas, often arising from our small and narrow egoic minds, it ends with us needing to be open to receiving The Divine wishes for us which come from a higher or a deeper place – perhaps one could even say, from our higher selves. And this requires being open and receptive. Prayer ultimately and logically should lead to silence and stillness, leaving us in an open and receptive place, ready to be open to the Holy Breath of God, open to the IAM Presence from which all deeper or higher inspiration and wholeness comes.
As the Psalmist reminds us, Be Still and Know that I am God: Be Still and Know the IAM Presence of God that underlies all of Reality.
And in the story of Pentecost there is some wonderful imagery that points to this:
Firstly, there is the imagery of the wind.
In verse 2 we read that suddenly a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house were they were sitting. That is at least how the NIV translates the original Greek, and most English translations would roughly do the same. But as I explored some of the Greek words behind the English text, there are I believe other possibilities in how to understand these words.
In the English text, we read the phrase "a rushing wind". However, in the original Greek, the word used is "pheromenēs" which means to carry or bear or even to uplift. In addition, the Greek word biaios (bee'-ah-yos) often translated a violent can also simply mean strong. In addition the Greek word for ‘wind’ could also be translated a breeze, a gust, or even as breath. And so the wind in Acts 2:2 might indeed be describing not a rushing and violent wind, but rather a breeze or a breathe of air that uplifts and brings strength to those who receive it. This imagery evokes the imagery of two Old Testament passages. Firstly, the idea of the wind lifting up and carrying, is reminiscent of the Isaiah 40:31 which speaks of being lifted up on wings like eagles. Just as an eagle flies high, soaring up on the currents of air, so being open to the IAM Presence in prayerful receptivity or meditation, opens us to the Divine breeze or current that enables us to be lifted up to begin to soar, carried by a current that is greater than ourselves. As Isaiah 30:15 also reminds us "...in quietness and trust is your strength...".
The other Old Testament passage that it might remind us of is that of the story of Elijah when he encounters the Divine Presence, not in the sound of a tempest, in other words not in the sound of a rushing and violent wind, but rather in the sound of a gentle whisper, the gentle sound of a breath.
We have all had times, even if momentarily, for a split second, when we have been able to sink down into Presence. It might be just for a moment staring out the window while drinking a cup of tea, or waiting quietly in a car. And in that moment of quite watching and listening, of open receptivity, our spirits briefly come into contact with a sense of a still Presence. And in that moment we feel a sense of quiet relief and a lightness like a breathe of fresh air has just blown into our spirits. It is surely, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breathe of God breathing through us enabling us to be momentarily touched by the IAM Presence of God.
Secondly in verse 3 we read of the imagery of fire, “...they saw what seemed like tongues of fire which separated and came to rest on each of them.”
Again, two Old Testament images come to mind. The first is the image of Moses’ encounter with the IAM Presence of God at the burning bush. It suggests that when we become prayerfully open and receptive so that we begin to touch the stillness of that IAM Presence at the heart of Life, we become like human burning bushes, shining warmth and light wherever we go. Human manifestations of the Divine.
And this brings us to the second image from the Old Testament, taking us to the Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting and later to the Jerusalem Temple where a lamp, known as the "Eternal Light" or "Ner Tamid" in Hebrew, was meant to burn continuously, representing the perpetual nature of God's presence in the Holy of Holies.
In Acts 2, the flames of fire that rest on the heads of those gathered in prayer, remind us of our Divine capacity to become living temples in which God lives by God’s Spirit, Living Temples animated by the Holy Breath of God in which the flame of eternal light, the IAM Presence shines both within and through their humanity. As Paul says, do you know know that your bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breathe, the Holy Presence of God (see 1 Cor 6:19).
Is that perhaps what the Pentecost story is pointing us toward – our God given potential of becoming living Temples of the IAM Presence of God.
Lastly, in the passage we read of the disciples being enabled to speak in other languages, helping to bridge the divides between people. It recalls the Old Testament sacred myth of the Tower of Babel, where due to human pride, the people become scattered across the world speaking different languages so that they become divided, separated, no longer communicate and understand one another. It sounds a little bit like our world today doesn’t it? A world of division and separation where there is a failure in understanding and an inability to talk and communicate it civil ways.
But in the story of Pentecost, as the disciples, together with Mary the Mother of Jesus and some of the other women, gather in prayerful waiting, openness and receptiveness, and as they find themselves being gifted with the IAM Presence of the Divine, the underlying Unity behind all things, they are enabled to become part of the unifying, reconciling, healing work of God in the world and God’s secret plan revealed in Christ in Ephesians 1:10 to bring all things back together in unity. AS Paul says in 2 Cor 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to God’s-Self.
When we gather in open, prayerful receptivity to the IAM Presence in all things and in all people, we become partners with God, in the work of healing the divisions and separation of our world as we begin to speak the reconciling language of Christ-like Love.
Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
And I leave it there: What does this mean? What could this mean for us? Amen.
RSS Feed