“What does this mean?” the devout ask (Acts 2:12). For those gathered in that house, the event meant the birth of sudden, surprising, unmerited new life. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they burst from the house with a story to share about God’s wonders. But what does this event of Pentecost mean for us, today, many centuries later? God is at work here, now, in the world. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, God is walking alongside as friend, truth-teller, comforter, and guide.
The writer of John’s gospel speaks of it in this way: the Advocate, the one whom the Father will send, will teach the disciples everything they need to know. God is not yet finished revealing who God is, and the disciples are not yet finished learning. Through the Spirit of truth, the disciples will do the work of Jesus, and his life will continue through them.
In holy baptism, the Spirit rests on the heads of young and old alike. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the baptized have an old, old story to tell of Jesus and his love—and a new, new story of how God is birthing sudden, surprising, and unmerited new life all around us, every day. God is at work, here, now in the world through the lives of everyday Christians. Jesus’ work continues through the lives of all the baptized. We discover meaning from this Pentecost story today, not only for our own sake but for the sake of the world that so hungers for this life.