Catching Fire:
Why Pentecost Still Matters
By Glenn Thomas Carson, Ph.D.

It doesn’t matter which translation you read it in, the words are enthralling.  “There appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire” (NKJV); “There appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves” (NASB); “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them” (NRSV); or, perhaps, the “flames were separated and stood over each person there” (NCV). Or how about J.B. Phillips? “Before their eyes appeared tongues like flames.” These words from the second chapter of Acts flow over us like lava rolling from the top of a volcano, because the writer has made so vivid the visual of fire coming into contact with people. The image is frightening and makes us want to turn away, and yet, we watch, and we wait. Because who knows what will happen next?

One of the things that make this scene so intriguing is that almost every religion of the ancient world used water, not fire, as the symbol of God’s purifying power. In fact, later in this same chapter of Acts the Apostle Peter proclaims baptism (water) as the way back to God. Many of the ‘Mystery Religions’ practicing in the first century included the ritual of water baptism in their initiation rites. And Mithraism, the popular religion that rivaled Christianity in its first few centuries, used both water and blood (from a bull) as forms of baptism that offered a cleansing from sin and a pathway to the divine.

Here, though, the imagery of fire takes precedence. Water will come later, but fire and flame are front and center. You will remember that John the Baptist shouted to his disciples that although he baptized them in water, there was one coming who would baptize them with fire. In the Gospels Jesus seems to speak of fire as an agent of destruction, but not as an agent of cleansing. And then immediately in the Book of Acts we are confronted with this hypnotizing image: fire dividing, fire touching, fire appearing, and fire standing. Yes there is the sound of rushing wind, and yes the strange experience of various languages will follow, but it is this primitive spectacle of fire that so mesmerizes us. The Holy Spirit’s fire descended from heaven, touched each person present, danced before their eyes, and transformed them with the power that only comes from God.

Is it this cleansing fire that Paul has in mind when he says (1 COR 3:13) that our work will be tested by fire, will be revealed by it? Imagine that, for our efforts on behalf of God’s kingdom to be revealed by the lightning power of the Holy Spirit. What of my work can pass the test? Which one of my actions will be illuminated by this heavenly light, so that the love and mercy of God can shine through? How can I position myself so that I am touched by that Pentecost fire?

One week before the day of Pentecost, the risen Christ stood on a mountain top and told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem, since it was there that they would receive power from God. Pentecost stands out from our other holy days because of this promise. At Christmas we experience the joy of the Savior coming into the world; Epiphany brings both the wise men and the baptism (water again) of our Lord; in the Lenten season we are invited to join Jesus in the desert for contemplation; Palm Sunday has us singing in the streets; and Easter shows the majesty of God with his authority over life and death. Each day has its place, and each brings its own solace. It is Pentecost, however, that gives power to God’s people. To us, Christ’s disciples, the day means that we are individually and corporately empowered to carry on the work of Jesus from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.

St. Augustine, in a prayer of gratitude, said “praise to you, my God, who gives the fire’s light to my heart.” With Augustine, we realize that the light within us is a gift from God. We know that we have been enlivened by the presence of the Spirit. We have felt the touch of flame that warms us, and brightens us, and infuses us with a power so overwhelming that we are humbled by its touch. With the Apostle Paul we hope that our work will be revealed by the glorious light that joins humanity and divinity. And with our sisters and brothers on that first day of Pentecost, we look expectantly for the arrival of God’s presence in a way that is unmistakably heaven-sent.

Pentecost is not lost in the pages of an ancient book. It is here now and it still matters. Because on that day we will feel the wind on our faces, we will speak out with new words of love and hope, and we will, each of us, be touched by a flaming Spirit that delivers all the power we need to love and serve our neighbor.

Let’s catch fire again. The day of Pentecost has fully come.

The Reverend Dr. Glenn Thomas Carson is President of Disciples of Christ Historical Society, a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)