KNEE HIGH BY THE FOURTH OF JULY
Once upon a time, a little girl was sitting at the kitchen table watching her mother do dishes. She noticed that her mother had several long strands of white hair that really stood out on her brunette head. Naturally, the little girl felt compelled to point that out. “Mommy,” she asked, “why are some of your hairs turning white?”
Her mother replied, “Every time a mother’s little girl does something bad or makes her cry, one of her hairs turns white.” I’m not sure that’s a good thing to say to a child, but that’s what this mother said. The little girl thought about that for a moment and then replied, “Mommy, is that why all of grandma’s hairs are white?” That, my friends, is what we euphemistically refer to as “turning the tables.” One little girl clearly turned the tables on her mother.
In the passage we read from Acts, I suspect a lot of the Jews in Jerusalem felt as if the tables had been turned on them, as well. As our passage notes, it was the day of Pentecost. Perhaps we Christians think of Pentecost as a Christian holiday, but it was a Jewish holiday first. It was one of three great festivals which every male Jew living within twenty miles of Jerusalem was expected to attend. The feast of Pentecost was significant to the Jews. It commemorated Moses’ reception of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. It had an agricultural significance as well. An offering was given to God on Pentecost in thanksgiving for the harvest. They had done the work of cultivation, but they truly believed that it was God who provided the growth. The point is that Jerusalem would have been full to overflowing as they celebrated the Jewish feast of Pentecost.
Why would some of the Jews have felt as if the tables had been turned on them? Some seven weeks before, the leaders of the Jewish faith had seen to it that a rabble-rouser named Jesus was crucified. They had hoped that would be the end of Jesus and his message, but apparently it wasn’t. His disciples were still in Jerusalem. As they were gathered together in one place, suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind. There appeared to them tongues as of fire that came and rested upon every one of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Apparently the Jesus movement was still alive and well, and now it would be even more difficult to contain. Like I said, I suspect there were some Jews in Jerusalem that day who felt as if the tables had been turned on them.
In the Christian Church we call this event the Day of Pentecost. To us it signifies the disciples’ reception of the Holy Spirit. What really happened on that day? Luke, the author of the book of Acts – the same Luke who wrote the gospel according to Luke – tells us that when the tongues of fire rested upon the disciples, they began to speak in foreign languages. Remember, there were literally thousands of people gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. They would have come from many lands and they would have spoken many languages. The disciples managed to speak in the native tongues of all who were gathered there. We call this phenomenon glossolalia, which means literally, “speaking in marvelous, heavenly languages.”
That’s the way I’ve always interpreted the glossolalia of Pentecost. The disciples spoke in the native tongues of all who were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. In fact, that’s what Luke literally says. In verse 4 he writes, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Luke clearly tells us that speaking in tongues has to do with speaking a language that everyone can understand.
Yet William Barclay, a biblical commentator for whom I have the utmost respect, takes issue with that interpretation. He notes that Luke is really writing about an event at which he was not in attendance. He tells the story as if the disciples suddenly acquired the gift of speaking in foreign languages…as if the gift of the Spirit was like a crash-course in Rosetta Stone. Yet there was in the early Church a phenomenon that’s recorded on numerous occasions, most vividly in the 14th chapter of the first book of Corinthians. What would happen is that someone – in an ecstatic trance – would begin to pour out a flood of unintelligible sounds in no known language. This speech was believed to be directly inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, and was a gift that was greatly coveted. To speak in tongues meant that you had the Spirit! Perhaps glossolalia is not so easily explained away. William Barclay writes:
It seems most likely that Luke, a Gentile, had confused speaking in tongues with speaking in foreign languages. What happened was that for the first time in their lives this motley mob was hearing the word of God in a way that struck straight home to their hearts and (that) they could understand. The power of the Spirit was such that it had given these simple disciples a message that could reach every heart.
When all is said and done, I really think that’s the point. Whether the disciples spoke in foreign languages or whether they uttered the unintelligible sounds of heaven is inconsequential. What matters most is that the people gathered in Jerusalem that day heard the word of God in a way that went straight to their hearts. The disciples spoke a Spirit-filled message that everyone understood.
Frankly, I think that’s the goal of preaching as well. The goal of the preached word is a message that everyone understands. The goal of the preached word is to speak in a way that goes straight to the heart of the hearer. Yet how can that be done? How can the preached word go straight to the heart of the hearer?
It’s a two-fold process, really. Theologians tell us that the preached word is the word of God. It’s not the preacher’s words that are the word of God rather, it’s the Holy Spirit working through the words of the preacher and in the minds of the hearers that make it the word of God. Thus, the preacher has a grave responsibility in preaching. He or she must construct a sermon through careful exegesis and through diligent prayer. Yet the hearer has a grave responsibility as well. I think Jesus describes the responsibility of the hearer quite well in a parable he told in the gospel according to Matthew.
Jesus said, “A sower went out to sow. As he sowed some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
When Jesus told this parable, his disciples failed to understand. So Jesus later explained it to them. He said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself…and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The message here is clear. For the word of God to pierce our hearts, we must somehow prove to be good soil. And that takes a little effort on our parts. Here’s one way to start. Begin and end every day with prayer. Thank God for the simple beating of your heart in the morning and thank God for the gift of the day at night. Remember, prayer isn’t meant to change God. Prayer is meant to change us. Daily prayer just might change us, and it will help to make us good soil. And do more with your Bible than set it on the coffee table for when the minister comes by for a visit. Open it up and read it. Start with the gospel of Matthew and read at least a chapter a day. As we become more God-centered, the word of God will come to have new meaning for us. Like I said, the hearer has some responsibility in the preaching event as well. If we come to worship unprepared, the preached word will never reach our hearts.
I think of an old farming analogy. Farmers in the Midwest, when speaking of their corn crop, always say, “knee high by the fourth of July.” If corn is to be “knee high by the fourth of July,” the field must be plowed ahead of time, the seed must be planted ahead of time, and the crops must be fertilized ahead of time. God will provide the requisite sunshine and rain but the farmer clearly has some responsibility in this as well. Encountering the word of God is really quite similar. God will provide the seed, but we still have to cultivate the soil in which that seed is planted. We must first prepare ourselves to receive the word of God. Amen.
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