By Jeff Hampton
Today is Pentecost Sunday, when we recall how the people of God first received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus.
My first awakening to what Pentecost was about was through the giant painting, “The Miracle at Pentecost,” at what is now the Museum of Biblical Art near NorthPark. At 124 feet long by 20 feet high, the painting depicted Solomon’s Portico at the Temple in Jerusalem crowded with hundreds of people, including Jesus’ disciples and other familiar characters from the New Testament. In the center of the scene was Peter, and hovering above the crowd were swirling balls of luminous light representing the Holy Spirit.
I first saw this amazing work of art in the 1960s while it was still being painted by artist Torger Thompson, and I returned over the years after it was finished and lights, sounds and narration were added to bring the “miracle” of Pentecost to life in dramatic fashion. It was destroyed by fire in 2005, but the story of Pentecost still captivates me.
Imagine a moment when everyone around you is from somewhere else and they are speaking their own language and yet everyone knows what each other is saying. The closest I’ve come was when we were touring the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris during a midday mass. In the middle of the liturgy, the priest spoke in several languages, including English, inviting everyone in the cathedral, whether there for worship or on tour, to pray the Lord’s Prayer in their native tongue. And there, for a glorious moment, the cathedral echoed with the voices of a thousand people, all speaking in different languages, but all saying the same prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven … ”
Perhaps the key to that Pentecost moment in Paris was the same as it was at that first Pentecost in Jerusalem: Everyone was speaking not just their words but the words of Christ. And perhaps that is the key to living into the spirit and miracle of Pentecost today: If we are speaking words and sharing ideas that God has given us to speak and share, then our differences can be overcome by a holy unity through the Holy Spirit that doesn’t happen any other way.
As we worship today, listen for words and ideas that don’t just ring true for you, but if shared by you would ring true for anyone you meet.