The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

The Acts of the Apostles is the second book written by St. Luke, continuing the story his Gospel began. In chapter 1, the risen Jesus tells the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the gift his Father promised, and then he ascends into heaven. About a hundred and twenty believers wait and pray together, including the Eleven, some women who followed Jesus, and Mary his mother (Acts 1:14). They choose Matthias to take the place of Judas.

Pentecost (Greek for "fiftieth") was the Jewish Feast of Weeks, held fifty days after Passover to thank God for the wheat harvest. Jewish pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all over the Roman world and beyond.

That morning the believers had met in a house in the city. Without warning the house was full of sound, like a gale blowing in from the sky. Each person had what looked like a small flame resting above them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they found themselves speaking languages they had never learned.

A crowd formed. Pilgrims from Parthia, Media, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Libya, Rome, Crete, Arabia and elsewhere heard these Galileans praising God, each hearing his own mother tongue. Some were astonished; some sneered that they were drunk.

Peter, the same man who had denied Jesus seven weeks earlier, now stood up boldly. It was only nine in the morning, he pointed out. What they were seeing was the fulfillment of God's promise through the prophet Joel to pour out his Spirit on every kind of person, not just on prophets and leaders. Then he preached about Jesus, whose miracles had shown that God was with him. Jesus had been handed over and put to death, but God raised him up; death was no match for him. Peter quoted the Psalms of David and said that the apostles were witnesses: Jesus, risen and exalted at God's right hand, had sent the Spirit whose signs were all around them. Peter's conclusion: the Jesus they had seen crucified is the Messiah and the Lord.

The crowd was deeply moved and asked what to do. Peter told them to change their hearts and be baptized in Jesus' name. Baptism would wash away their sins, and the Holy Spirit would be given to them as well. God's promise, he added, was not only for them but for the generations to come and for nations far from Jerusalem. About three thousand were baptized that day.

The wind and fire recall other moments when God showed his presence, such as the fire on Mount Sinai (Ex 19:18). Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church: the Holy Spirit gathered people of many languages into one family of faith.