All are children of God

Pentecost, June 8, 2025: Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:14-17; John 14:8-17, (25-27); Psalm 104:25-35, 37

“Each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.”

The miracle of Pentecost was that the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, were able to be understood by all those in Jerusalem, people from all parts of the vast Roman empire. The gift of the Spirit, it turns out, is comprehension. Peter, in explaining that those speaking are not drunk, turns to the words of the prophet Joel.

I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

Joel was describing an upside down world, which is a signal that Pentecost too turns things upside down. The spirit comes, and the message is for everyone. And everyone can understand it. Everyone can hear. All in the room received the spirit, all in the crowd could understand. Paul tells us that all are children of God. The upside down part of Pentecost is that the spirit is for everyone. It is not exclusive. The Spirit cannot be contained.

And let’s face it, in this day and age, a message of complete inclusion is indeed radical. We live in a society where even those who speak the same language, and claim to follow the same Jesus, cannot understand each other. We do not hear each other. As Episcopalians, we preach radical inclusion: we welcome everyone. But to be welcomed fully, you have to be willing to accept everyone. So maybe we don’t welcome everyone?

This is not, of course, a problem unique to the church. It is a challenge for those who believe in free speech: is it acceptable to use your free speech to silence others? The questions of what can be said, who can say it, and who hears what, are pressing political as well as theological questions. So the Holy Spirit is a necessary presence!

Pentecost ushers in an upside down world, where we can all understand each other and the spirit is for everyone. Too often we try to contain the Holy Spirit, so only what we want to hear is heard. May we let the Holy Spirit run wild, and turn the world upside down. Then we will all hear and understand each other.