Musings on the Daily Lectionary

I've always thought that the Acts account of Pentecost was both funny and confusing. Peter's defense against the charge of drunkenness? It's too early in the morning. "I'd never be drunk by 9:00." And which is it, by the way? At one point Acts says, "Each one heard them speaking in the native language of each... All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" So it seems that everyone heard the disciples speaking in his or her native language, and all of them were amazed. And yet Acts also says, "But others sneered and said, 'They are filled with new wine.' " Well, which is it?

Acts almost seems to describe two different events, the first a remarkable undoing of the Tower of Babel story from Genesis 11, and the second some sort of ecstatic blubbering that is mistaken for drunkenness. One describes gifts of the Spirit that will assist the Church in taking its message to others. The second describes an exuberant frenzy that is unintelligible to outsiders.

Reading this passage literally, as modern people so tend to do, one can't really reconcile the two depictions in the story. But then again, what need does the Bible have to abide by our modern sensibilities.

I'm by no means an expert in this area, but as I gradually gain some small measure of spiritual maturity, I discover that figuring out exactly what happened rarely gets me to the meaning and purpose, to the truth of the Bible. The truths in Scripture are sometimes much more evident when I let go of the modern notion that truth means getting the facts straight.

Lord, open me and guide me to your truth.

Click here to learn more about the Daily Lectionary.