Tongues of Fire

If you're reading the Bible in an hour or less (see post of July 3/05), you will come to Acts 2. Strange territory. The followers of Jesus are huddled in a room waiting for... Well, we don't really know what they were waiting for. Jesus had told them to expect the arrival of the Holy Spirit, but they weren't sure what they'd see or hear when he came. It says:

On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus' resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (New Living Translation)

Spooky stuff. Flames above their heads and suddenly they can speak in other languages. We could dismiss it as legend, but this was the beginning of something that's come down to today - faith in Jesus Christ, the risen one. The message about it was for everyone, thus the many languages. It boiled down to this:

Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles--all who have been called by the Lord our God." (New Living Translation)

Sins. Not a good term. It needs explanation, which I've tried to do in my upcoming book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Meaning of Everything. In a nutshell, we've all distanced ourselves from God, thinking he made himself distant from us. We're cut off, and it makes us live selfishly. The solution is to go back to him and find forgiveness and new life.

I know it sounds like one of those frightening fundamentalist churches down the street (which is more a fantasy in the mind of those who've never set foot in one than a real fear). But it's not about narrow-minded condemnation.

It's about hope.