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One of the Confirmations that still stands out for me was an early one I helped prepare for. We had a small group of mixed ages, some who were related even. They were a good calm group and fun to work with.
Now there was one confirmand, we’ll call him Christopher, reminded me a lot of my own journey through confirmation. He clearly had a great understanding of all the material we were covering. His answers were always thoughtful and insightful.
My own confirmation had been a life changing experience for me. I remember experiencing the presence of the Spirit as my Bishop laid his hands on my head. Because Christopher had such a deep resonance with everything we were going through, I expected him to have a similar experience.
When I talked to our confirmands afterwards it was a different person who had a life changing experience. It was Christopher’s sister in fact, who we’ll call Samantha, who had this experience. I could tell just from her face how much her Confirmation meant to her. She left with a sense of hopeful wonder afterwards.
The Holy Spirit acts in ways we do not expect. It surprises us all the time. That is what I have learned in my own life. It is what our lessons teach us. It is what this Day of Pentecost is really all about.
In Numbers, we see God’s Spirit being poured on the Elders. These were people who were called to help Moses in his ministry. Even back in Moses’ day ministers, mainly Moses, were stretched thin. To help him deal with the often complaining Israelites, God poured the Holy Spirit on those who could help Moses. So they all gathered together and as a sign of the Spirit coming upon them, they started to prophesy, though only very briefly.
That is, all the 70 Elders were gathered except 2: Eldad and Medad. These two elders were still in the camp, for remember the Israelites were still wandering in the wilderness at this point. Something strange happened though. Even though they weren’t with everyone else, they two received the Spirit. They two started prophesying, though in the camp with the rest of the people.
Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant and later heir to his leadership role, sees that this is out of the norm. He immediate reports it to Moses.
Yet Moses realizes there is joy in this occurrence. His wish is that all might be able to receive this Spirit. Then Israel would be better served with a multitude of leaders.
Now the Elders only experienced the gifts of the Spirit temporarily. Something similar would happen later when Saul was anointed King of Israel. There are some who believe this is what John refers by saying before Jesus’ Resurrection there was, as of yet, no Spirit. At this point, there was no continual, permanent residing of the Spirit. What Jesus is saying about the Spirit at this point would not have been understood because the people, as of yet, had not experienced God’s full working in this world.
Then we see the Spirit working on the Day of Pentecost in Acts of the Apostles. Now we see the Spirit resting on the Apostles in a new and unexpected way. These Apostles in their prophesy will do so again. The tongues they speak in are even later referenced as one of the common gifts of the Spirit by Paul in 1 Corinthians.
Even more miraculous, the Spirit’s manifestation in the Apostles is one that reaches out to others, enticing them to come closer to God, enticing them to one day too receive this same Spirit. Everyone present, no matter where they are from, hears the Apostles each in their own native tongue. Everything the Apostles speak is fully understood.
What the people don’t understand is how this is even possible. They blame “new wine” because there is nothing else they can think of that would begin to explain what is going on.
As our Psalm reminds us, though, God is One of mystery and wonder. God creates many and mysterious things, like the myriad of creatures we are still not fully aware of under the sea and large behemoths like the Leviathan.
At the same time too, what God is doing has been foretold, we just didn’t understand it at the time. As Peter tells the people gathered at Pentecost, the Prophet Joel spoke of a day when the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh. That day has happened now.
This Spirit, as our Psalm tells us, will “renew the face of the earth.” Through the Spirit, God is constantly working something new. God is creating and recreating, mending and restoring.
We don’t know how the Spirit will work in the world. We cannot predict God’s actions. That is what our lessons teach us today. That is what our experience teaches us, if only we will listen. We don’t always know how God will act, and that is okay for we are the better for it, as Moses and the Elders show us as well as what we see in the very Day of Pentecost itself. God doesn’t always fit into our plan, which is good since God has a better one. God isn’t confined to our parameters, and that is okay because God far exceeds out limits.
The Day of Pentecost is about surprises. It is about what God is doing that is new and unexpected. It is up to us to keep our eyes and ears open to pay attention. Otherwise we will miss what God is doing, for God’s work is unpredictable and new. We can never expect to know or anticipate what it is that God might be working in us and in the world.