When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
The Father’s promise is fulfilled and the disciples’ waiting comes to an end. The Holy Spirit descends with a roar and rests on each of the disciples, filling them. This is a great event because the Apostles are now equipped to fulfil the mission entrusted to them by the Risen Lord. Moreover, the event was accompanied by a significant miracle which confirmed it. The Apostles began to speak in foreign tongues. This fact is a prophetic sign that the Gospel will be taken to the whole world.
In fact, the Word of God has been translated into countless languages, and work is still being done to translate it into lesser-used tongues so that the message of salvation will be spread far and wide. Today it is estimated that the books of the Bible have been published in more than 700 languages.
The descent of the Holy Spirit did not go unnoticed in the public arena. In those days, pious men from all nations lived and prayed in Jerusalem. When they heard the sound that accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit – the Scriptures describe it as a “rush of a mighty wind” – they gathered there and were amazed at what was happening: how was it possible for each one to hear the Apostles from Galilee in his own language? They did not even know the languages of all those gathered, and yet they were speaking to them in their own tongues. So they were “amazed and wondered” at what was happening before their eyes and could not understand it.
These men from different nations were confronted with a great miracle, and what they heard the apostles say in their respective tongues was not trivial, let alone incoherent, but they heard them praising the greatness of God. The Holy Spirit had immediately begun the work of evangelization, the soul of which is Himself.
The people were to hear from the lips of the apostles what His coming meant and what He had testified. The apostles were not full of must, as some scoffed; it was the promised Holy Spirit who had taken up His abode in them!
Not only had He confirmed the apostles by this miracle of tongues, but He also enlightened Peter to speak to the crowd and begin to interpret to them what was happening:
“Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day. And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Acts 2:14-21).
In the light of the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to identify, interpret and explain what was happening by relating it to Joel’s prophecy. We see that the Holy Spirit has already become the guide and teacher of the disciples, on whom they can always rely in the future. Peter brings his discourse to the point where he will be able to proclaim Jesus Christ. After the Ascension of the Lord, the great work of evangelisation began in Jerusalem and will continue until the end of time and to the ends of the earth.
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Meditation on the day’s reading:
Meditation on the day’s Gospel:
