Many people know that I had various types of involvement with charismatic movements over the years, including a German contemplative charismatic movement, the Vineyard movement, Camps Farthest Out, Order of St Luke, and more. This has brought me to reflect on charismatic and Neo-Pentecostal movements and theologies, so I was happy to do so when presented with the scriptures for Pentecost Sunday on May 19, 2024. I script my homilies/sermons and I present here a somewhat edited version of that presentation, the scriptures being Acts 2:1-11, 1 Cor 12:3-7, and John 20:19-23.

Pentecost is the missional empowerment of the church

While many call it “the birth of the Church,” they fail to realize that the Church was already functioning: Peter was taking leadership and replacing the missing apostle in the Twelve, so there was organization. They were worshipping in the daily prayers of the Temple. They were meeting together in one house and very likely celebrating Eucharist daily as they would continue to do after Pentecost. They seem to have grown through some form of evangelism, given that 120 were present at the meetings in the previous chapter, although all seem to be Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians. But they were also waiting, waiting for the signal to “go into all the world,” as Jesus had commanded them to do.

God apparently chooses Pentecost because on that day Jews and Proselytes from around the then-known world were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. Most spoke Greek, although not necessarily as their first language, and few spoke Aramaic. The Spirit comes in the form of “tongues” of fire and inspires “tongues” meaning a variety of languages. The Spirit directs the believers’ speaking and a crowd gathers outside (for it was the time when the pilgrims were jostling through the streets on their way to the Temple to worship) and is amazed that these Galileans (from their dress) were speaking “the mighty acts of God” in the various peoples’ in the crowd’s own native languages including Greek. Three thousand will be converted after Peter’s speech and most of these will go back to their own communities taking the good news and the Jesus way of life with them. It was instant Mediterranean-world evangelism. Shortly thereafter the Greek-speaking leaders of the Church will be forced out of Judea and will follow them, providing pastors and bishops (to use today’s terms). 

Paul points out that these gifts of the Spirit are still functioning in his day

The same Holy Spirit gifts various persons with various gifts, not all of which are in the list in 1 Cor 12. All of them are gifts needed for the mission of the church in the world, whether for outreach or for the building up and integration of the new believers. None of the gifts are better than others.

But the use of the gifts needs discernment. If someone feeling inspired says “Jesus be accursed” it may be inspiration but not inspiration by the Holy Spirit, no matter what language it is in. This expression is probably a differentiation between the Christ (or Word) and Jesus, between the Son of God and the human being Jesus of Nazareth, which the Council of Nicea will address in a careful way almost three centuries later. 

In other words, Paul points out that one can function in what Thomas Aquinas terms the external gifts of the Spirit, those needed for mission, and yet not be filled with the internal gifts of the Spirit, those necessary for salvation and holiness, those that produce the fruit of the spirit, as in Gal ch 5:16-25, our alternative Epistle reading. Caiaphas is an example of this, for he prophesied in plotting the murder of Jesus, but the author of John says that his prophecy ex officio was true and accurate. Such examples are common today.

For Christian life and holiness one needs the internal gifts

Here we come to John ch 20. We are back to Easter. The disciples are together, but fearful of the Jews, and likely discussing that morning’s disturbing news of the empty tomb. Suddenly Jesus is there and his first words are “Peace,” “Shalom,” which is the opposite of their fear but also the fruit of the Spirit in Gal ch 5. Then he shows them the evidence that he is indeed the One who was crucified. But after that he again says, “Peace,” commissions them to go as his sent ones (but does not tell them when to go), and then gives them the internal requisite to represent him, “Receive the holy Spirit.” Without the Spirit and his gifts of Isa ch 11, which had come upon Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, they will not have the wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge or fear of the Lord to properly represent Jesus and use the authority Jesus gives, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Here is the basis of Christian virtue so that mission will be truly Christian and communities will be formed to be like Jesus.

Now we take a deep breath and draw some conclusions

First, we see that the Pentecostal gifts are secondary, missional, not necessary for being a holy follower of Jesus but very necessary for going into all the world as a witness. We should focus on the internal gifts, the Isa ch 11 gifts, the Gal ch 5 gifts that lead to fruit. Otherwise your mission will go wonky. That has shown up in spades lately in Protestant charismatic churches.

Second, the Pentecostal gifts are not all given to every Christian nor are is any of them always constant in any given Christian. The missional Spirit is what is given and the gifts are tools given in and for mission; you never possess them, even if some seem to be more characterized by one or two gifts than by any of the others. Pentecost thrusts the Church into mission, but its gift of foreign languages was particularly needed for that multilingual Pentecost situation. It will show up in Acts and in the Patristic writings for times the Church needs to cross linguistic barriers, such as in Sts Cyril and Methodius’ learning slavic and reducing it to writing to make scriptures and liturgical materials available to the new converts. (That it was a gift of languages even the early Pentecostals knew and assumed that they had; it was only later that the phenomenon of ecstatic speech was imported into the terminology of “tongues” and so the “prophesying” seen in the “sons of the prophets” and Saul in 1 Samuel and the like will be labeled “tongues” and also be expected to be universal.)

Third, we need the 1 Cor 12 gifts of the Spirit for mission. Evangelical Protestantism in the late 1800’s developed “means” or “formulas” for converting or “saving” people, a development that continued into much of the 1900’s in such methods as Evangelism Explosion, the Four Spiritual Laws, and the like, none of which are like what the evangelists in Acts or Paul in his descriptions of the gospel he preached (Rom 10:8-10; 1 Cor 15, the first few verses) told people to do. While in these methods there was prayer for God to lead and bless, and while God often did sovereignly choose to use it, the methods were not Spirit impelled and could even be abusive (especially of children). And their results have been huge percentages of people in the USA among other places who have “prayed the prayer” but show little or none of the internal gifts of the Spirit or its fruit. This in turn has led to the “great dechurching” and scandal in our post-Christian world. Again, the internal gifts are the foundation for the external.

So, Brothers and Sisters, seek the Spirit. Pray for the Spirit. Spend time before the Spirit-giver. Beg God to give you growth in virtue. Do this informed by proper examination of conscience. But with that foundation being laid, pray for the Spirit to come and thrust you into mission, giving you as you go the gifts you need for each context, for the Church is designed for mission.