Fire’s Revelation and Commandment, Shavuot and Pentecost

Sunday, June 8, 2025, Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21

Light, Love, and Healing in the Command to Transform the World

I’d like to thank Rabbi Howard Avruhm Addison for the inspiration for this sermon. We co-led a “Prelude to Pentecost What is Ours to Do?” worship at the Haden Institute Summer Dream & Spirituality Conference on May 31 in Hendersonville, NC. I told him I wished I had a rabbi in the pulpit with me every Sunday!

 

Today we gather – and wear our red! – to celebrate Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, igniting their hearts and empowering them to spread the message of Christ’s love to the world. But as we stand in the glow of this holy day, let us also turn our hearts toward the inspiration for and foundation of Pentecost: Shavuot, the Jewish Pentecost festival that commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Shavuot and Pentecost are intimately connected through calendar, symbolism, theology, and purpose. Both festivals feature the image of fire—not as a force of destruction but as divine revelation and a source of light, love, and healing that commands us to go forth and transform the world.

Shavuot, the Jewish Pentecost, is celebrated fifty days after Passover and marks the moment when God revealed the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) to the Israelites. It is a day commemorating divine encounter, a day when the heavens opened and God’s voice thundered across Mount Sinai. Exodus 19 gives us vivid imagery of this event: “Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.”

The fire atop Mount Sinai was more than a physical phenomenon; it was a spiritual revelation.

The fire symbolized God’s presence—powerful, transformative, and illuminating. It was a fire that did not consume; rather, it gave life and direction, inscribing commandments that would guide the Israelites in their covenant relationship with God. The fire of Shavuot (Pentecost) revealed the heart of God’s love and justice, calling God’s people to be a holy nation, a light unto the world.

Fast forward to the Christian story, and we find a second Pentecost occurring fifty days after Christ’s Easter resurrection. This isn’t accidental. The writer of Acts purposely places this revelatory event on the same day as the revelation of the Torah in the Jewish calendar. In the Christian story, the disciples are gathered together in Jerusalem, uncertain and afraid. But suddenly, the Holy Spirit descends upon them, and “tongues of fire” rest on each of them (Acts 2:3).

Just as the fire on Sinai revealed God to the Israelites, the fire of Pentecost reveals God’s Spirit in a new and transformative way. God’s Spirit is no longer confined to a mountain or a set of stone tablets; it has now come to dwell within the hearts of believers.

This fire didn’t just inspire—it empowered. The disciples, once timid and confused, were now bold and eloquent, proclaiming the Gospel in languages they had never spoken before. The fire gave them the courage to step out into a broken world and begin the work of healing and restoration. It was a fire of love, a fire that illuminated the truth of Christ, and a fire that sent them forth to bring light to the dark corners of the earth.

Both Shavuot and Pentecost teach us that fire is a powerful symbol of God’s revelation. But what does this mean for us today? Let’s reflect on three key aspects of fire as revelation: light, love, and healing.

Light

Fire brings light, and light reveals what is hidden. The fire of Shavuot illuminated the path of righteousness through the commandments, guiding the Israelites in their relationship with God and their treatment of one another. The fire of Pentecost illuminated the truth of Christ’s resurrection, empowering the disciples to spread the message of salvation.

In our lives, God’s fire continues to bring light.

It exposes our sinfulness and fears, but it also shows us the way to redemption and hope. It is a light that calls us to walk in truth and to reflect God’s glory in all that we do. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Love

Fire warms and comforts. The fire of Shavuot revealed God’s love for God’s people, a love so deep that God entered into a covenant with them and gave them the gift of the law. The fire of Pentecost revealed God’s love in a new and profound way—as the love of Christ, who was resurrected after his execution so that we might have eternal life.

This fire of love is contagious. It fills our hearts and spills over into our relationships, our communities, and our world. It’s a love that drives out fear, heals wounds, and builds bridges. It’s a love that commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to see Christ in the faces of the least among us.

Healing

Fire also refines and purifies. Just as gold is refined by fire, so too are our hearts and minds refined by the fire of God’s presence. The fire of Shavuot called the Israelites to holiness, to live lives that reflect God’s justice and compassion. The fire of Pentecost called the disciples to heal the brokenness of the world through the power of the Gospel.

We are called to be healers in this world. The fire of God’s revelation purifies us, but it also sends us forth to bring healing to others. Whether it is through acts of kindness, words of encouragement, or the pursuit of justice, we are commanded to be instruments of God’s healing power.

What does Pentecost ask of us? Both the Jewish and Christian Pentecost end with a command. At Sinai, the Israelites were called to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests who would reflect God’s light to the world. In Jerusalem, the disciples were sent out to proclaim the Gospel and to be witnesses of Christ’s love and resurrection.

This command is for us as well. The fire of God’s revelation is not meant to be kept to ourselves; it’s meant to be shared. We are called to go forth, to bring light to the darkness, love to the lonely, and healing to the broken. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ, transforming the world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate Pentecost today, let us remember the fire of Shavuot and the fire of Pentecost. Let us allow God’s fire to illuminate our path, warm our hearts, and refine our spirits. And let us go forth with courage, knowing that this fire will never burn out. It is the eternal flame of God’s presence, a flame that will guide us, comfort us, and empower us to heal the world.

May the fire of God’s revelation burn brightly in our hearts today and always. Amen.