Power on Display

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…Acts 2:1-4

Who pushed your buttons? It is so easy to get cross with someone because of what they said, maybe how they said it, or even how they looked at you, yet be totally oblivious to why we reacted.  Pete Docter’s animated film, Inside Out, takes viewers inside the mind of a young girl named Riley Andersen. Five little characters within Riley’s brain argue over who gets to drive her emotional console. Joy and Anger, Fear and Disgust, and Sadness are the personified versions within Riley, all vying for the right to be in control. Life is going great for Riley until she turns 11 and her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her dad’s new job.

Joy has acted as the leader until now, always trying to keep little Sadness from taking control at the emotions console, but for the first time, Sadness can plant a core memory within Riley’s mind. The story then unfolds with drama for Riley as Joy can no longer be the sole driver of her emotions, and their adventures try to correct problems they caused with Riley’s memory storage. There is now a sequel adding more emotional characters, all trying to take control of a teenager, Riley’s emotional console.

Yesterday marked Pentecost Sunday, when the church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. I don’t equate the Holy Spirit’s indwelling with the five little emotional Inside Out characters, but without a doubt, nothing has been the same since that eventful Sunday morning for Believers after Pentecost. Dr. Michael Milton writes of Pentecost, “It was Inauguration Day as the Holy Spirit demonstrated the provision of God, the prophecy of the Old Testament, the promises of Christ, faith in the prophecy of the Old Testament, and the words of Jesus. This Pentecost and every day, is a day to reorient our lives to the mission of God.”

Pentecost marked the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit’s coming. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— (John 14:16), “But I tell you the truth; It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Jesus understood the physical restraints of his body, being in one place at one time, but with the coming of the Holy Spirit, everything changed. There would no longer be the limitations of place or time, but His ever-present presence.

Jesus understood the importance of going to the ends of the world. The followers in that room worshipped that morning when Pentecost came, but immediately they left the comfort of their gathering and went into the streets proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ. By the end of the day, over 3,000 had followed Jesus and were baptized.

The coming of the Holy Spirit was in keeping with prophecy, promise, and provision. Yet that morning, God shook the foundations of expectations. An event of this magnitude was not going to be a quiet unveiling but one that shook the earth. An earthquake that is still reverberating and will continue until the final day.

Writer and pastor, Frederick Buechner, wrote of the unexpected when it comes to God. “Those who believe in God can never in a way be sure of him again. Once they have seen him in a stable, they can never be sure where he will appear or to what lengths he will go or to what ludicrous depths of self-humiliation he will descend in his wild pursuit of (us). If holiness and the awful power and majesty of God were present in the least auspicious of all events, this birth of a peasant’s child, then there is no place or time so lowly and earthbound, but that holiness can be present there too. And this means that we are never safe, that there is no place where we can hide from God, no place where we are safe from his power to break in two and recreate the human heart because it is just where he seems most helpless that he is most strong, and just where we least expect him that he comes most fully.”

Pentecost changed everything. The timid message of Peter and John was transformed as they confronted the religious leaders. Barnabas set the standard for generosity and encouragement. Stephen was known as a man full of God’s grace and power and stood boldly for Christ even as he was martyred. Though Philip was deeply involved in a highly effective ministry, he was sent to one stranger out in the wilderness to share the truth of Jesus, and this stranger would be pivotal in carrying the message of salvation to Africa. Saul, or better known as Paul, was on a mission to Damascus to defend the religious traditions, only to come face to face with Jesus.

Just as Pentecost Sunday changed the course of these early Christian believers, Pentecost Sunday is still changing our day-to-day lives. We are confronted and convicted, causing us to change course, seeing events impacted but always part of the truth being shared.

May this ancient prayer of St. Augustine be an encouragement to you today as Pentecost Sunday comes to a close.

“Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, to love what is holy.”

God is great!