This is a story about Pentecost, as told at our Family (Balloon) Service in June 2009. It explains what happened all those years ago. For the purists amongst you, I have to explain that this is a fictional account, but I like to think that this is what it might have been like to be there.
"My name is Gideon, son of Benjamin. I was born in Bethany and now live in Jerusalem. Before I tell you my story, let me tell you a little about Pentecost. Pentecost is one of the traditional Jewish festivals. It happens 50 days after the festival of Passover when we celebrate the escape of the Jews from their enslavement in Egypt. Pentecost actually means, "count fifty." It's also an agricultural festival because it coincides with the beginning of the wheat harvest when the first sheaf of wheat is offered to God as a sign of gratitude and with a prayer that the rest of the harvest may be gathered safely in.
But I don't want to tell you about history and tradition. I want to tell you about something that I saw with my own eyes. I want to tell you about a Pentecost that I will never forget. One that happened around 25 years ago. I was just a boy, about 9 or 10, but what happened on that day, that very special day, has stayed with me for the rest of my life.
It was a strange time. A few weeks earlier I'd seen Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The crowds were going wild shouting, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the lord." They were waving palm leaves and putting their cloaks down in his path. Many people thought that here was someone who would free us from the tyranny of the Romans.
But then it all went horribly wrong. Jesus was captured, imprisoned and crucified. It was as if the world had come to an end. The Romans had won. We had lost our teacher and our friend. And then everything changed. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead and for many weeks afterwards he was seen by the disciples and by many others, before he ascended into heaven.
My father and I were with the disciples on that morning. We were all in a room praying. I suppose that we were trying to keep a low profile. After all, what could we do next? It was true that Jesus had risen but the disciples seemed to lack confidence. After all, they were fighting the system and the system had already led to the death of Jesus.
All of a sudden we were hit by a whirlwind. There was a huge, powerful force moving within the room yet nothing fell over and no damage was done. We should have been terrified but strangely we weren't. Then the flames appeared. Flames that came from nowhere and which rested on the head of each of the disciples. These were flames without heat. Wind that didn't damage; flames that didn't burn. I'd never seen or felt anything like this before.
And then the faces of the disciples changed. Before they'd looked worried and concerned. Now they looked calm, confident and positive. They looked as though they'd found the answer to a question that had been troubling them for ages. We all felt happy, elated, wild and yet peaceful at the same time.
The disciples went out into the street where a crowd had gathered. People had heard the commotion and had come to find out what was happening. The disciples started talking, telling people about Jesus. The really strange thing was that everyone understood what was being said. There were people present from all parts of the Jewish world but each person understood what the disciples were saying in his or her own language.
Some were cynical and accused the disciples of being intoxicated but Peter spoke to the crowd. He explained that the disciples weren't drunk; after all it was only 9 o'clock in the morning. He told them about Jesus of Nazareth who had died and had risen. He explained how Jesus was now sitting at God's right hand and of how God had made Jesus our Lord and our Messiah.
The effect was electrifying, people wanted to be baptised and to follow Jesus. And baptised they were. I remember Peter telling my father that over 3,000 people were baptised on that memorable day. This was the real start of the Christian church. This small group of people had begun to change the world. The old world was coming to an end; the new world had begun."