Acts 2:1-21; Pentecost and the Uses of Confusion II

What fascinates me about the confusion on the Day of Pentecost is that it happened only when things were clear. That is, the crowd was "bewildered" when they heard the Apostles speaking to them in their own language. Once they understood what was being said, they became confused. After all, Luke takes pains to enumerate all the countries and lands from which the hearers came. In the huge list of people in 2:9-11, we have five basic categories: (1) people from the East--as far as Persia; (2) people from Asia Minor; (3) those from North Africa; (4) visitors from Rome; and (5) "miscellaneous" Jews from some parts of Arabia. When you put all these together you have Babel in one place, even though the people gathered together were co-religionists. No one, not even the (former) Vatican Secretary, who was once reputed to know 40 languages, could have spoken to all these people in a language with which they were familiar. But then they heard these unlettered men speaking to them about "God's deeds of power" (2:11). Things finally were clear to them. And, they became confused. Confused by the clarity. Blinded by the light (just as Saul would become in a few chapters).

This situation is instructive and illustrative for us in our lives today. We live in confusion about so many things. Sometimes we are not even aware of the things of which we are confused. Even with a thorough media investigation, we really don't know what is happening in the War in Iraq, much less the War in Afghanistan. I suppose we could learn lots of things about if we were interested, but we are confused about the wars. We are confused about how the international financial system works; we are confused about how to interpret the language of other professionals who speak with us. Our lives are quests for meaning, and there is often a considerable gap between what we think we understand and the true "facts on the ground."

Then, in the midst of our confusion, light sometimes dawns. We run into someone who finally can give an explanation of something that has confused us. I know that when this happens to me my first reaction is, figuratively speaking, to sell all my possessions and go follow the person who can remove my confusion. My first reaction is not unlike those on the day of Pentecost--how is it that this person is in the position to remove my confusion? So, even though I might have the tendency to follow after the person, I usually "catch" myself and assume a tone of studied skepticism. Rather than clarity bringing my immediate gratitude it sometimes meets with my skepticism. 'Well, that sounds like it would be a good explanation of things,' I think, 'but I don't think I will go there yet.'

From Confusion to Interpretation

So it was that for these Jews. The first clear words that the people from all over the Jewish world heard created a bewildering confusion in them. In the moment of confusion, Peter steps in. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but even more, confusion abhors its condition. It seeks someone who can lend a word to remove the uncertainty. Peter is there to do so. What Peter does it to try to explain what is happening by connecting it with a familiar source (the prophet Joel) and the expectation of the Day of the Lord that he writes about. What follows is an unusually long quotation from Joel, and then an exhoration to "call on the name of the Lord" and be saved.

There are voices galore out there which try to remove our confusion about so many things in life. Some of them promise easy wealth through a few simple steps. Others promise love that will result by following a few principles. Others still tout a sure-fire method of weight loss, even though if this was the case there would be little reason for our national obesity problem. Interpreters to remove our confusion are all around us. How do you relate to the interpreters?

I think that if I had been in the crowd on this first Pentecost day that I wouldn't have been one who responded joyfully or eagerly to the message brought by Peter. That is, I would have probably been intrigued by hearing someone speak in my language, and I would even have sought an explanation for it (or further insight into it), but I don't think that this would necessarily have made me more "open" to the message of the Gospel. In fact, I think that most of us aren't convinced in crowds. That is, we know the psychology and fickleness of crowds and, in fact, are sometimes a little afraid of them. They can surge like an unruly sea back and forth and be rather immune to the appeals to thought or fairness or compassion. So, if I heard voices telling me things in a language which was uniquely mine, and those things made sense, I would certainly try to figure out what the person was saying, but I think I would go to that person rather than a general interpreter of the event. But even if I did listen to the interpreter, I would probably be skeptical about his explanation. I think, frankly, that I would have had a hard time understanding how the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus had anything to do with my being able to hear someone speaking my language.

Conclusion

You may have been a "first generation" believer--i.e., you might be much more willing to throw your support to someone who can explain the confusion and tell you about Jesus. You might have been one who hung on every word Peter said that first Pentecost. As for me, however, I think I would have wanted to consult an ancient linguist or a psychologist who could have explained the phenomenon I had just witnessed. But then I have a big problem, don't I? How can the living God break through to me when all I want are explanations from human authorities? How can I become convinced of the message I write about daily when I don't think I would have been convinced when it was first proclaimed? That, is perhaps my biggest confusion of all. Well, come to think of it, it is not a bad place to be on Pentecost.

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