Main news for 28 May 2024

Today's reading tells us about that triumph of the Kingdom which Jesus promised His disciples. And this triumph proved to be nothing other than the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, described by the evangelist in such detail (vv. 1-4). At first glance, this description contains all the traditional elements characteristic of the Old Testament prophetic tradition: in ancient times the action of the Spirit of God at times manifested itself as the blowing of wind (2 Sam. 5:22-24), and the presence of God, usually called "glory" in the Bible, often resembled fire or light (Exod. 40:34-38). But now this presence touches not only those who were in the room. It spreads also to those who listened to the apostles in the streets of Jerusalem. And they perceive the apostles' preaching as though the apostles were speaking in the native languages of the pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the feast from many different countries (vv. 5-13).

The point, of course, is not that the apostles suddenly acquired some supernatural ability with foreign languages. Even if this had been so, in the streets of Jerusalem during the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) so many nations and languages were represented that the apostles would not have been able to preach to everyone at once, even if each of them had actually begun speaking some foreign language: in the list given by the evangelist, which is plainly incomplete, there are clearly more than twelve. The point, it appears, is that those who listened to the apostles also found themselves in the Kingdom, where there are no language barriers. Here meanings are perceived not through the word but directly, from heart to heart, while their embodiment takes place already in the listener's soul, which naturally expresses what has been received in the words of its native language. Thus the Savior's words about the Kingdom and the Spirit, spoken to the apostles during the Ascension, were fulfilled (Acts 1:8).

But Pentecost was only the beginning of the history of the Kingdom entering the world, and now the apostles understood this perfectly. Thus Peter, on the one hand, speaks of the end of time, which has already come (vv. 14-21), and on the other hand, of the new era that began after the Savior's resurrection (vv. 25-36). The main meaning of his preaching is that it is still not too late to turn and accept the crucified and risen Messiah; although the last day has already arrived, the gates of the Kingdom are still by no means closed. On the contrary, they are thrown wide open for everyone who is ready to enter (vv. 37-40).

Such witness was extremely unusual: according to traditional ideas, only judgment was associated with the end of time, and there was no talk of conversion; it was thought too late to repent on the day of judgment. But now it turned out that the history of salvation was, in essence, only just beginning, and that everyone had a chance for it, even those who were directly or indirectly involved in the death the Savior had to die on the cross (vv. 36-38). Thus earthly history ended and the history of the Kingdom entering the world began.

Today is a special feast for God: after passing through the horror of losing Her Bridegroom, His Resurrection, and His return to heaven, the Church receives the long-awaited Comforter. This is the birthday of the Church, the Bride of Christ. The newborn Bride fills the world with a loud voice full of joy. How exactly the psalmist described today's events: "Clap your hands, all peoples, shout to God with a voice of joy; for the Lord Most High is awesome, a great King over all the earth (...) God has gone up with shouts, the Lord with the sound of the trumpet (...) God has reigned over the nations, God has sat upon His holy throne; the princes of the peoples have gathered to the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth are God's; He is highly exalted over them" (see Ps. 46). Today the Lord fulfills His promise: "Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:38).

Today these streams pour out upon the world. The joy that fills the apostles overflows; such a thing is impossible and must not be kept inside oneself. The strong wind that filled the upper room where the disciples had gathered continues to blow into the world. And everyone who "heard them speaking in his own language" understands that in the miracle taking place practically before his eyes, there is a place for him too. The fire sets the people around the apostles aflame. And "about three thousand souls were added" to the Church that day (Acts 2:41). This is how, and only how, the living "transmission" of faith happens: the Holy Spirit sets us aflame, and we are amazed and astonished at the great works of God (see Acts 2:7, 2:11).

It has become commonplace to point to the day of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. This is absolutely true. But what, in fact, are we talking about? Most often people speak of the apostolic community, upon which the Holy Spirit descended, making it the Church, the first church community on earth. That, of course, is true. But with this view the Church is still somewhat limited. It becomes a community, even if an extraordinary one, headed by the risen Christ Himself and led by the Holy Spirit, yet still a human community.

Indeed, pointing to the headship of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, many say: a divine-human community. But even that definition still limits the Church. It is more exact to say that the Church is not a community. Not a society of people. It is a process. A spiritual process. A stream of God's breath, into which people are brought when they have received this breath into their hearts. On the day of Pentecost it, God's breath, bursts into the world. That "as if a wind" that burst into the room where the apostles and those of one mind with them had gathered was not an ordinary physical wind.

God's breath is sometimes indeed felt as a light breeze; references to this appear in the biblical books. But here it is no light breeze; here it is a strong wind, almost a hurricane, bursting into the house. This is how the Kingdom, its breath, enters the world. As if the door of the Kingdom had opened and it poured in here, to us. Exactly so: not simply into the gathering of the faithful, but into the world. All gatherings, however many there will be in church history, are only derivative of this process. And that process itself, this very stream of the Kingdom in the world, is the Church proper. This breath of the Kingdom gathers people into assemblies, and the Greek word used for church in the New Testament books is translated as "assembly."

It makes them a church. And the Church with a capital C as well. Even those who happen to be nearby as if by chance, like the people in the street who listen to Peter's preaching. They hear not the words; the apostles did not know as many languages as the author of Acts lists, and there are more of those languages than there were apostles. They hear what is behind the words. Only an inhabitant of the Kingdom can hear in that way. And this means that all who listened to Peter then became, for a time, inhabitants of the Kingdom. And therefore part of the Church.

How long they remained in the Kingdom, and therefore in the Church, is another question. The "tongues of fire" mentioned by the author of the book do not overshadow each person who was then in the room by accident. Each person has his or her own light of God's presence. And the Presence itself is also given to each person personally. Its measure and its constancy depend not only on God, but also on the person. This is what determines the measure of a particular person's participation in the life of the Kingdom. But that is already a question of that person's spiritual path. The Kingdom has entered the world. The door is open. And everyone stands before this door. Whether to enter or not depends only on the person.