Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. Acts 2:3, GNT

 

When I was a child, this verse always sounded a bit creepy to me. I imagined things like the tongues of people settling on the people celebrating Pentecost. When I was a bit older, I had a completely different picture of what happened that day. Making a fire with dry camelthorn wood is very satisfying. The tongues of fire licking at the air is a beautiful sight. I started to imagine that was how it looked at Pentecost. It was only when I started struggling with the Greek language that I realised the word for tongue and for language is basically the same. The tongues of fire were a sign of the message about Jesus that was to be “spoken”.

 

Yesterday, when we were celebrating Pentecost, it came to me that the church of Jesus is never only a fellowship of saved people, but always a fellowship of people with a mission. We are people with “tongues” to tell the world about the salvation through Christ our Lord. It is a shame that we are so often afraid to witness. It is probably all too human to feel like that. We are afraid that people will ridicule us, think we are fanatical and we might say something wrong.

 

The believers in the early church were also afraid of the Jews, to the point that they gathered behind locked doors, even after the resurrection. How is it possible that only 50 days later, they were openly witnessing in the streets? In his message on the day of Pentecost, Peter referred to the prophet Joel who said, “Afterwards I will pour out my Spirit on everyone: your sons and daughters will proclaim my message”. (Joel 2:28). This can also be translated as prophecy. Every one of us has received the Spirit and, thus, the gift of prophecy. This does not mean that we can predict the future, but that we are able to speak about “the great things that God has done”. Unfortunately, we use this gift far too little. Let us pray and ask God to make us bold enough to witness wherever we are.

 

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I confess my inability to be a witness every day. Please help me to be bold. Amen