•         the 50^th day,

•         the day Israel celebrated the Spring grain harvest,

•         the day bread was baked and taken to the priests as thank-offering to God,

•         the day of food sufficiency.

Imagine the chaos of it all, . . .

•         throngs of pilgrims crowding Jerusalem’s streets,

•         the aroma of baking bread stretching into every nook and cranny of the city,

•         vendors bargaining with farmers newly secure following the harvest and sale of their crops,

•         revelers enjoying the stress-free moment of their accomplished mission before turning to the task of         planning for the next crop. 

I picture Pentecost much like I picture county fair and carnival –  a marketplace abuzz with kids chasing, merchants bargaining, youth reveling, sightseers milling, families picnicing, and men drinking.  I picture Pentecost as a time for relief, release, and recreation.  I picture the temple as center point of the city, yet somehow disconnected; physically there but somehow separate.  Thanksgiving and sacrifice are the reason for the season, yet the season seems to have taken on a larger life of its own – much like Christmas in our culture. 

Now I’ve got no proof of any of this; no learned sources to quote; just my own hunch bolstered by what I believe I know about human nature.  But if you can relate to my description of Pentecost’s chaos, you might have better appreciation for what I’ve termed “holy chaos,” as Luke describes it. 

Was the gale-force wind we read about confined to only a single room of a single residence in the city?  Were the tongues of flame only visible above the heads of those within that same room?  I’ve always wondered about both of those questions.  We’ve got no answers.  No one seems to know.  Perhaps it doesn’t really matter.  But we do know the cause.  Clearly God was getting the attention of those who had been closest to his Son.  That’s right!  Getting attention and empowering! 

God was setting up the holy chaos that would soon bewilder, amaze, and astonish the entire marketplace.  Let’s call this a moment of true inspiration – a moment of breathing in.  On this particular Pentecost, the life-giving breath of God, disguised as the bluster of a storm wind, filled Jesus’ disciples and moved them to speak of God’s activity to people wrapped up in their own activities.  Now that’s inspiration, indeed.  And the sound of the holy chaos, the sound of many languages speaking of God’s deeds of power, got the attention and perplexed a crowd who had never before experienced such a thing.  The breath of this babble of languages electrified a city full of people with new life and filled them with amazement and perplexity.  

The perplexity resulted in questioning.  “What does this holy chaos mean?”  And it provoked an answer.  Impetuous, presumptuous Peter had the presence of mind to respond.  You can read again how he marshaled the words of the prophet, Joel.  I will simply summarize Peter’s point this way: though Jesus is gone, God is not turning his back on any of his people.  God means to stay connected with you today as surely as when he spoke to his prophets of old through visions, voices, and signs in nature. 

Inspiration is not the totality of Pentecost, however.  God’s breathing into his people is, at best, only half of the story.  Let’s think about the rest of the story by setting it up this way: not only does God inspire; God also conspires.  God breathes into us so that we may breathe with God. 

It’s the apostle, Paul, in today’s second lesson, who speaks of this conspiracy involving God and his people. 

First, God breathes his Spirit into each and every one so that all are able to confess that Jesus is Lord.  Now that’s pretty radical stuff – no breath, no confession.  We know God because God puts himself into us. 

For some of us that happened very quietly and almost unnoticeably at the time of our baptism.  It involved a splash of common, ordinary water, a simple formula of words, and the trusting hearts of our parents and sponsors. 

For others of us, God put himself into us very dramatically at a crisis moment, at a moment of conversion, at a memorable moment when we were hyper-conscious of the Spirit’s presence. 

I am not equipped to pass judgment on whether one way is better than the other.  If I had to say anything, I would suggest that God seems energized by infinite variety.  He likes to keep us guessing so that we don’t picture him too small. 

Second, after the breathing in comes the breathing with – and that’s where the fun starts.  Paul describes a whole bunch of Spirit-given gifts.  He even identifies some of them by name.  I’ve got a couple of things I want to say about the Spirit’s gifts, and I want to set the record straight about how I understand them, so please bear with me.

First, please pay specific attention to verse 4 of today’s second lesson: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;” Then Paul goes on to list some of that variety. 

Paul’s list is extensive, but not exclusive.  Let me say that again:  PAUL’S LIST IS EXTENSIVE, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVE.  Here’s what that means: If you do not have one of the gifts Paul mentions, you may still have a gift from the Holy Spirit.  You may not immediately discern your gift, but that does not mean that you have not been given one.  God conspires to include you, not exclude you.  Let me belabor my first point:  Paul’s list is extensive but not exclusive.

Now let’s move on to a second thing.  Let’s go back to that word, VARIETY.  Throughout the life of the church, some gifts have been more prominent than others.   At certain times and in certain places certain gifts have been common.  At other times and in other places, those same gifts have been nearly non-existent.  That shouldn’t be surprising.  We are part of a big church with a big variety of needs as well as a big variety of gifts.  

I do not believe that the gifts of God’s Spirit were ever meant to become the church’s measure of the spiritual authenticity of its members, or serve as a credential to verify the quality of our relationship with God.  God gives his good gifts for his own good purpose.  We misuse them when we put them to our own ends. Paul’s operative concept here is variety, not conformity.  We are talking about being in a conspiracy with God for the sake of the life of the world.  God’s intention is that we all be breathing with him for the good of one another.

Well, I’ve rambled and ranted far enough.  Perhaps I’ve created chaos of my own.  I hope not.  I hope you now have a better idea what the Spirit of God was up to in Jerusalem on Pentecost Day, and perhaps even a hint of what that same Spirit may be doing here today.  AMEN