Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

• Acts 2:1-15

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

• John 16:12-15

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

• Acts 2:37-41

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs remodeled her great room.  She now has a sitting room area where she can serve tea, a kitchen and dining area where she can serve a meal, if there are just a few guests, and between the areas, two bookcases with a prominent cross between them.

This week, she was figuring out what she had to wear for Pentecost.  I was telling her that we could go to the store, but she thought she had some things to try on in her storage.

She wasn’t making as much noise as she did last week, but I noticed when she had stopped her search.  I then heard the steps coming down the stairs.  In making the upstairs a separate apartment, Morrie had added a wall between the entry way and the living room.  She knocked and I granted her entrance.  She was wearing a robe.

Babs said, “I found something that I think you might like.”

I nodded and smiled.  She then took off her robe to expose very naughty red lingerie.  I averted my eyes.

I huffed, “Babs, that is not appropriate attire.  Even with us being boyfriend and girlfriend.  No way should you wear that to church.”

Babs growled.  “Okay, wait a minute.”  I waited.  She said, “Now, look.”

I turned back.  She now had a nice red blouse and a pair of white slacks.

I asked, “Where is the naughty stuff?”

She scrunched her nose, “I am still wearing them.  Do you want to see?”  I shook my head.  She said, “I am getting mixed signals here.  Last week, you said you were waiting for the right time to pop a question.  Now, you don’t want a sneak peak of what you might be getting in the bargain.”

I sighed, “Babs, you are the one who wanted to do this the right way.  Let’s not rush things.”

Babs pouted, “But you did not get a close look.  I did like the young Babs did.  I sewed washcloths in the naughty places.  It’s like seeing me in a bikini.”

I walked over and put my arms around her.  “A bikini at your age?  But let’s take this slow.”

Babs huffed, “With you it’s been glacial.  In the real world, on average they get intimate around the third date.  You haven’t done any play tugs or roaming hands.  You know, act like you are interested.  I like the hugs and kisses, and our conversations are so interesting that I want to record them to play them back and see if I missed anything.  But I can only remember you nibbling on my ear one time.”

I defended myself, “But you said that tickled and I needed to stop.”

Babs looked at me cross-eyed.  “You were married for decades.  Do you know anything about women?”

I shrugged.  “I knew one woman a great deal, but maybe in some areas, I did not know her that well.  We had our set routines that she liked.  I knew I was safe doing those things.  And once she got sick, those things disappeared.”

Babs kissed me on the neck. “Okay, I will pretend that you are a boy who just got off the spaceship from planet nerdtopia.  When I said that it tickled and to stop.  You were supposed to switch to the other ear.  I was being playful, and you didn’t play along.”

I nodded, but she moved her kissing to my shoulder.  “Okay, I may need some road signs or you simply telling me what to do next.  I am kind of new to the dating game also.  I have no idea how they do it now.  But no nudity or really naughty things until after we are married.”

Babs asked, “When this courtship is over and we do get married, can I wear white?”

I moaned, “Technically, knowing what you used to do, the answer would be ‘no.’  But no one around here knows what you used to do except Eleanor.  Besides, you became a new creation when you accepted Jesus.  But really, the white gown has lost its meaning these days.”

Babs said, “I am glad you liked what I am wearing on Sunday.  And for your information, I will wear the same underwear – your eyes only.  But I am getting hot, can you help me with my blouse and pants.  I need to get them in the wash.”

I thought this was going to get very risky, or maybe just risqué.  She coached me through how to get her out of her clothing, but it was just the usual way.  She was enjoying being in charge of how to do things that were playful, but not going too far.  Then again, if I had seen my kids doing this, I would have said it was too far.  But I did get a better look and she had tan colored washcloths in the appropriate places.

Babs giggled, “Now, before I get all this in the washing machine, teach me why we wear red on Pentecost.”  She went over to the kitchen table in her slinky lingerie, and motioned for me to get my Bible.  This was going to be the most difficult lesson we would ever have, and not due to the subject matter.  It was due to the … ummm … distraction.  And Babs was loving it.

I read Acts 2:1-15.  I asked her, “What does Acts 2:1 say about what was going on?”

Babs took a finger to her lips.  “Hmmm.  The verb ‘to be’ in the past tense.  It’s plural.  Not much action in the verb ‘to be.’  So, I have to say not much going on.”

I sighed, “Which one of you is doing the thinking?”

Babs pointed to her upper frontals and giggled, “These two only distract.  It’s the one in my head that came up with the answer.”

I groaned, “I was not talking about the action verb.  Who was there?”

Babs brightened, as if just getting an idea.  “All of them!”

I rolled my eyes, “And who is ‘all’?”

Babs finger went back to her lips.  Her left eye closed and her right eye was looking out into space.  “Should I go back to Acts 1 or just say the Twelve so we can get this thing rolling?”

I moaned, “If we went back to chapter one, we see that one hundred and twenty of the followers of Jesus were meeting in this upper room to see who would become the twelfth apostle.  You are right in that the word ‘all’ is not defined, but later on they were all talking and each group of people from at least fifteen countries heard the followers of Jesus speaking in their own language.  They were stunned since these people were obviously Galileans.  We can infer that the Jews of Jerusalem had a low opinion of the “country folk” from up North.”

Babs nodded and smiled.  Wow!  This was getting difficult.  She was enjoying being the center of attention.  She even looked younger.  I think it was her smile and the posture.

Then Babs asked, “So, if there were more than twelve countries represented, then more people than just the Twelve were talking.”

I smiled, “Or, the Apostles were speaking in God’s language, some language that we all know, but has been lost since the Tower of Babel.  There is no way to know, but then in verse 14, it’s only Peter who is talking until roughly three thousand people accept Jesus in verse 41.  Since these people were there to worship on Pentecost, then Peter could have been talking in Hebrew or even Aramaic.  When they talk about all the people hearing their own language, we can probably conclude more than the Twelve were talking.  Speaking in tongues seemed to be the order of the day in the upper room for more than the Twelve.  And when they went to the temple, they had everyone talking.  Remember what Paul says about speaking in tongues, it must be interpreted, and what better way than to tell people who have spoken that language since birth.”

Babs asked, “Where does it say the speaking in tongues must be interpreted?”

I replied, “1 Corinthians 14:27-28.  If there is no one to interpret, you should remain silent.”

She rocked her shoulders back and forth.  I asked if she was trying for a wardrobe malfunction.  She said, “I am an expert at that stuff.  If you want a wardrobe malfunction, I can deliver.  Nope, I am just happy to be in the presence of a man who knows his Bible.”  Then she started giggling.  My goose was cooked.  I had no chance at this point, but I was determined to see this Bible study through to its conclusion.

I added, “But the key here is that Jesus promised them that the Spirit of truth would come.  Whether they spoke in tongues and had people interpreting what they said or they spoke in a tongue that we do not know that we know and everyone heard and understood or any other mechanism, they heard the truth and they believed.  They were eager to repent, get baptized, and join the one hundred and twenty.  And if we had a church of 120, how do you think they would feel if their congregation grew by 2500 percent in one day, and the growth was not even done yet?”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “If I was the evangelism leader, I would be jumping up and down.”  I begged her not to demonstrate.  “But if I was the property guy, I would be begging the worship guy to switch to several services, all day Saturday and all day Sunday.”

I snickered, “You have an amazing grasp of church politics, and you have not been here a year.”

Babs giggled, “Nope, barely six months.”

I smiled, “But Babs, that was the birth of the church.  The church grew from there.  Sometimes, the book of Acts gives a number.  Sometimes, the text simply states that they continued to grow.  And at this early point, there are no recorded cases of Gentiles becoming Christians.  The people from these various countries are Jews who had scattered.  Only the Romans that were there are identified as Jews and people who had converted to Judaism.  So, maybe not ethnically a Jew, but still a Jew.  You can imagine how quickly the church grew once the Gentiles started pouring in, but 2500 percent in one day?  Only God can pull that off, and as the size of the church kept growing, it makes that percent increase harder to accomplish.  So, now you know why we were red.”

Babs scrunched her nose.  “Nope, other than your face turning red, you never mentioned red.”

I cleared my throat.  “Okay back to the beginning of Acts 2.  Verse one, they are all together.  Verse two, there was a violent wind.  Verse three, there is something like a tongue of fire, then the fire separates and rests upon each of them.  The Holy Spirit appeared as a tongue of fire.  Red is usually the color people think of when talking about fire.  So, that is where the red comes from.  But it does not say they each have a tongue of fire.  The Holy Spirit may have looked like a candle flame on top of their heads.  The point is that this flame, regardless of how it looked, affected their tongues, in that they spoke in tongues.  Thus, the mind could have played tricks on them, and they described the flame as a tongue.  I am thinking the flame really looked like a tongue to signify what was about to happen.”

Babs nodded.  “And now you have explained why we wear red, but what happens between us, my red-faced man?”  She leaned in close and kissed me.

I took in a deep breath and sighed, “Babs, I want that romantic moment.  Right now, I feel like eloping with you and getting this tension in the room over with.  But if you pull a similar stunt, I may not contain my emotions.  So, let’s move forward with all the planning.  You can buy the wedding dress.  That may be what takes the most time.  Then, we can decide where.  We can ask people to be part of a wedding party, maybe extras in case they are not available on the day we select.  While this is my second, it is your first.  What are you going to say to people?”

Babs sighed, “I haven’t thought of it other than a modified truth.  I was so into making small films. films that no one has probably ever seen, that marriage never came up.  If no one pries any further, that may satisfy them.”  I nodded.  She continued, “We have our little church as an option.  For us being older than your average bride and groom, you may not want a big fuss made, but this is my only chance.  We could ask Pink Lady about the availability of the Crystal Mountain.  That has become a great alternative to the local churches.  And how about Morrie and Willie as best man and matron of honor?  Maybe some people that help out with the food bank and the FHAT for the rest of the wedding party.  And oh, oh!  What about the Painters? And Eleanor, just to keep her for telling folks what I used to do for a living…”

While Babs leaned in to kiss me again, the door opened.  It was Willie.  She shrieked.  She said, “What? Ummm.  Oh!  Wow!  Mom and Dad, what are you doing?”

I asked, “Mom? We are not married.”

Willie said, “With Mom dressed like that, you better be!”

Babs said, “Sweetie, it shows less than a bikini shows.”

Willie stuttered, “But … but … but, it is so suggestive.”

Babs giggled, “I know, and it almost worked.  It worked well enough for the two of us to start shopping for a wedding dress.  Are you up to it?”

Willie asked, “It almost worked, but you are ready to buy a dress?  And why are you wearing this anyway?”

Babs snickered, “This is what I am wearing to church for Pentecost Sunday.”

Willie said, “I hope you are kidding, and if you are not kidding, I hope you do not come to our church that way.”

Babs pointed to the clothing that was sitting on a nearby chair.  “I don’t have a red dress, but I have that blouse.  But since I have been living in Tracy, I either wear my workout clothing or dresses when I leave the house.”

Willie shook her head, “But why are you dressed in that?  Did you do a strip tease?”

Babs snickered, “No, although sort of.  I had your Dad take my outer clothing off.”  Willie exhibited shock. “I was telling him what to do.  I was following your suggestions that I needed to do something daring, but within the rules.  Maybe this was a low blow, but he said we can start planning so that if we want a quick wedding, we can arrange things quickly.  Not overnight, but within a few weeks.  I need the dress, and I need to stay in shape.  The other arrangements might change depending on the time of year.”

Willie said, “Dad, you dog, I am a bit ashamed of you.  This is not the slow-moving glacier that you have been portraying, but Mom, let’s go shopping.  We can do some initial style ideas, maybe try on some things.  And then, buy you a red dress for Sunday.  I agree, if you have not gone to church in pants, let’s not start on Sunday.”

By the time she had said that, Babs had put the red blouse and white pants back on.  They headed for the door.

“Hey!” I shouted, “You are not leaving without giving me a kiss.”  Willie came over and gave me a peck on the cheek.  I rolled my eyes and growled.

Babs came over and kissed me for about ten Mississippis.  She giggled, “No more than that or we will have to cut our shopping short.  And you will not want me to wear a short wedding dress.”

I winked, “I don’t know.  You still have the legs for it.” And then I started laughing. What happens when they go to the boutiques and Willie says they are there to search for wedding dresses, and the proprietor starts eying her up and down, and then Babs protests that she is the bride? Knowing those two imps, they will have fun with that.

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

My wife was not immune to such trickery, but she did not pull out the lingerie until after the wedding and honeymoon.

I was so tempted to have red lingerie as the photo…

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.