Today we celebrate a special occasion in the church that we call Pentecost Sunday. The word Pentecost simply means 50th because it is 50 days since Easter Sunday. It is considered to be the birth day of the Church as Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preaches the first sermon to the people that had gathered at Jerusalem. The significance of Pentecost is reconciliation and bringing unity. On that day of Pentecost something very special happened. There were many nations and languages gathered in Jerusalem. This was Peter’s opportunity to share the resurrection miracle with them. But how could he and the other apostles do that? There was no common language. But then the miracle of Pentecost occurs. All of the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. They were able to speak in a language that everyone understood to the amazement of the people gathered there. Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
The confusion of languages goes back to The Tower of Babel because God wanted to spread out the population as the people had disobeyed God’s command to fill the earth. And so the way to do that was to separate people by their languages. And as we know, this separation of languages has also been the source of much division in our world with things like racism, poverty in under-developed countries with wealthier countries looking after their own. Pentecost and the Christian faith is all about – reconciliation – bringing people back together through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is now the task we have been given as children of God – to bring reconciliation between God and humanity. St Paul in 2 Corinthians says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We live in a world that is very divided, and today that division is very harmful whether it’s debates on the Voice to Parliament, Stan Grant walking away from the ABC or booing at the football. It is divided by race – by religion – by political viewpoints – you’re either on the left side or right side of politics and our attacks on each other are very harmful. And, sadly, the church is not immune to division as we well know. Reconciliation is about seeing past things that divide us to what unites us. Again St Paul says that in Christ there is no division – no Jew or Gentile – no slave or free – no male or female. And yet humanity seems to find things to divide us to the point of hatred and violence which is really sad because we are all one – all created in God’s image regardless of our gender or skin colour or anything.
In the church there are distinctions, as Paul points out – There are varieties of gifts, there are varieties of services, there are varieties of activities. But, in each distinction he says – it is the same Lord and same Spirit. He lists the various gifts in the church – To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
In each case – differences but all for the common good – not division.
As we go through life, we often encounter conflict and hurt that is brought about by divisions. It may be with family members, friends, work colleagues – complete strangers – but sadly, also, in the church. These conflicts can leave deep wounds, causing pain and bitterness that can linger for years. And in the church they can cause separation and even a loss of faith.
But Christians are called to a higher standard. We are called to love one another as Jesus loves us. And the standard that Jesus has left us is to even love our enemies just as the Good Samaritan looked past his division with the Jew who had been robbed and left for dead. And this means that we must be willing to seek reconciliation when conflicts arise rather than continue it. And that can be really hard as sometimes it means giving up our rights for our own justice or our own points of view to achieve reconciliation. We are called to bridge the divide that separates us and to restore relationships that have been broken.
There are many examples of reconciliation in the Bible. Perhaps the most famous is the story of Joseph and his brothers. After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph rises to a position of power in Egypt. When his brothers come to him for help during a famine, Joseph has the opportunity to seek revenge. Instead, he forgives them and restores their relationship. And there is the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were hated by the Jews and mistreated. And when a Samaritan comes across a Jew who has been severely hurt he stops and helps him at his own expense rather than take pleasure in his hurt.
These stories remind us of the power of reconciliation. The ability to look past what divides us to what unites us. As we read in Paul’s letter – the Holy Spirit is given by the one God and Spirit to all with difference gifts – likewise this same God loved the world so much that he sent his one and only Son to unite us to him in salvation through reconciliation. This act of reconciliation by God shows us that forgiveness and mercy can heal even the deepest wounds. And they give us hope that we too can be reconciled with those who have hurt us.
Reconciliation is not always easy. It requires humility, vulnerability, and a willingness to let go of our pride. But the rewards of reconciliation are immeasurable. When we seek to reconcile with others, we are following in the footsteps of Christ. We are embodying his love and his grace in the world. And we are creating opportunities for healing, for growth, and for new beginnings. So let us consider where reconciliation may be needed in our own life.
Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to ask for forgiveness from? Is there a relationship that needs to be restored? May we be a people who seek reconciliation, who live in peace, and who embody the love of Christ in all that we do.
