Pentecost Sunday Readings: Acts 2.1-11, 1 Corinthians 12.3-7, 12-13; John 20.19-23
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
(John 20.21)
Pentecost is an event not only about the miracle of fiery tongues for Jesus’ disciples. It is also the miracle of the ear for all those from around the Mediterranean hearing the new message about Jesus, messiah and Lord. We may feel insignificant and powerless like the disciples, a minority among their people. We may be new immigrants trying to learn English, expecting not to understand or be understood. Or, we may be powerful leaders and authoritative persons in our community and church.
Today Christ breathes on each one of us in baptism, powerful and powerless, and sends us forth into the world. If we stand among the powerful, today is a day to listen to those too little heard. If we are among those who have little power, today is a day to speak out and act. The miracle of the ear for the powerful works together with the miracle of the tongue for the powerless. Both miracles are essential to make the Pentecost experience complete. The Pentecost interaction is one we badly need in our polarized nation.
What difference does it make to think of the coming of the Holy Spirit as a miracle of both tongue and ear?
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