Day of Pentecost
May 31, 2020
Numbers 11:24-30
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
The Surprising Work of the Holy Spirit
Introduction
The work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church is manifold. The Holy Spirit restores us. The Holy Spirit directs us. The Holy Spirit equips us. These are some of the many cherished dimensions of the Spirit's work in the Church. However, our texts for the Day of Pentecost remind us of one of the oft-unwelcomed aspects of the Spirit's work - disruption. Of course, the Spirit does not cause disruption to harm us. Rather, the Spirit is profoundly present in pain to help us (Romans 8:26-27). "Still, the Spirit of God often disrupts our plans, agendas and carefully calculated means of control in ways we cannot always understand. Why? The Spirit seeks to more fully align us with the missio Dei (the mission of God). In the lectionary texts, we see the Spirit of God amid loss, grieving and fear manifesting in unexpected people and in unexpected places to advance the purposes of God. In a word, we learn that the mission of God is intricately connected to the surprising work of the Holy Spirit.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Numbers 11:24-30
The Spirit of God is revealed unexpectedly in the wilderness journey of the people Israel. God calls an overwhelmed Moses to gather 70 elders of Israel, to help care for a massive group of dissatisfied and disappointed Israelites. (Num. 11:1-23). Moses situates his new leadership team around the "tent," a reference to the Tent of Meeting or central place of worship before the divine presence (11:24). Then, a theophany - that is, a manifestation of God - takes places. YHWH descends in a "cloud," directly addresses Moses, and distributes the Spirit of God among the elders (11:25). The result? The elders prophesy. Most scholars equate this shocking yet singular sign of the Spirit with a kind of ecstatic speech seen in other instances of the Old Testament (1 Sam. 10:6-13; 19:18-24). Even more surprising is that two of the elders - Eldad and Medad, who remain "in the camp" away from the tent - also begin to prophesy as "the spirit [rests] on them" (Num. 11:26). Joshua, Moses' protégé, is critical of their behavior. He literally begs Moses to "stop them" (11:28). Joshua is offended by God's unexpected ways of advancing God's mission. Moses, on the other hand, welcomes the surprising work of the Spirit-even in elders who are away from "the tent" of traditional divine encounter (11:26).
Acts 2:1-2
The Holy Spirit comes upon the early followers of Jesus in ways that none of them could have imagined. It is the Day of Pentecost, a festival that celebrates the barley harvest and renews covenant with God 50 days after Passover (Lev. 23:15-16). While the followers of Christ are "all together in one place," God's Spirit manifests as "a sound like the rush of a violent wind" and like "divided tongues, as of fire" (Acts 2:1-3). The God who blew like wind over the waters of creation in Genesis is now showing up in a sound like the roaring of a violent wind (Gen. 1:1-2). The God who manifested the divine presence at a fiery, burning bush before the prophet Moses is now showing up as something like flames of fire over each member of the community (Ex. 3). And the God who raised and restored a valley of dry bones in Ezekiel by the Spirit is now acting to restore and raise up a new people through the Spirit (Ezek. 37). Same God. A new work. As a result, the people are filled with the Spirit of God and begin to "speak in other languages" (Acts 2:4). Many scholars see this manifestation of the Spirit as a reversal of Babel. At Babel, God scattered languages to separate people, but here God scatters people to bring them together (Gen. 11:1-11). The Spirit is poured out on "devout Jews from every nation" (Acts 2:5). Some sneer at such a surprising, unexpected event. But the apostle Peter offers an interpretation of the outpouring that puts it in continuity with God's mission from long ago. Drawing on the words of the prophet Joel, Peter speaks of God's Spirit being poured out "upon all flesh"-young and old, male and female, slave and free (2:17; Joel 2:28-32). Among other things, the story of Pentecost reveals God's socially subversive mission of welcoming all peoples in Christ by the Spirit.
John 20:19-23
The story of the sending of the Spirit in John's Gospel occurs in an unlikely place. It is the third day - the day of Jesus' resurrection. Jesus has already appeared to Mary Magdalene and commissioned her as a witness to his resurrection (John 20:11-18). However, the disciples are secluded in fear behind locked doors. In the midst of their panic and isolation, Jesus comes and stands "among them" (John 20:19). Jesus arrives in the flesh. He shows the scars of his victory in his "hands and his side" (John 20:20). He not only twice speaks the traditional Jewish greeting of "Peace be with you," but he embodies the wholeness of peace previously promised in his very person (John 20:19, 21, 14:27, 16:33). And, most importantly, he sends forth the Spirit as the disciples live in obedience to the way of Jesus and continue the mission of God. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you," Jesus says (John 20:21). And he breathes on them the breath or wind of God: "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). This is the basis for much discourse on missional theology. Behind locked doors, the sent Son sends the disciples empowered by the sent Spirit. The final words of Jesus to the disciples on forgiving and retaining sins remind us of the seriousness of sin and raise a host of questions we can't treat here (John 20:23). However, and in context, Jesus' words, at the very least, are a humbling call to be representatives of God's authority. Yes, God alone forgives (Isa. 43:25), But, shockingly, God sends forth fearful less-than-perfect disciples empowered by the Spirit to be agents of divine forgiveness in the world.
God's Mission in the Text
Each of the three texts provides a window into the way God's mission is extended through the surprising work of the Spirit. In Numbers 11, God sends the Spirit upon Moses' new leadership team as a witness to God's ongoing work amid the disorientation of the wilderness. In Acts 2, God pours out the Spirit upon Jews from many nations and announces through Peter the boundary crossing nature of God's fresh work in the world. In John 20, God's Spirit is breathed upon the cloistered disciples to continue the mission of Jesus in a world in desperate need of God's forgiveness. In short, the mission of God in these texts speaks of the ways in which God's Spirit surprisingly works in unexpected people and places to advance God's redemptive purposes for the sake of the world.
Missional Connections for our Context
The lectionary passages above raise important questions that can renew the missional imagination of churches in North America. Some of these questions include: What are the surprising and unexpected ways that God's Spirit might be poured out in our community? How is the Spirit inviting us to participate in God's mission in ways that more fully affirm cultural difference and diversity as God's gift and design? Finally, how might the Spirit be revealing God to us in the midst of our fear, vulnerability and exposed weakness as a church?
These questions may begin to reveal idols that prevent a church from embracing the Spirit's invitations to join God's mission. One of the common idols for many churches is control and safety - especially among those of us in the dominant group in our context. While there is something to be appreciated about the serenity that emerges from wise planning and organization, an obsessive desire to maintain power and control can easily prevent individuals, leaders and faith communities from learning the vulnerability that is at the heart of participating in God's mission in the world. God, in God's grace, comes to our places of acute insecurity and vulnerability. Thanks be to God. Jesus, in God's grace, walks past the locked doors we have so carefully guarded and protected. And in the midst of pain, loss and fear, God invites us to receive the gift of the Spirit to embody God's surprising and subversive mission in the world.
Biographical Summary
Edgar "Trey" Clark III is an experienced pastor, preacher, and teacher with ministry experience in Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and, for the last 10 years, Los Angeles. He holds degrees from Wheaton College and Fuller Seminary where he is currently a PhD student. In addition, as a recipient of the Parish Pulpit Fellowship, Trey and his wife, Dominique, spent time living and studying in England, South Africa, and Costa Rica.
