Theme: The gift of the Holy Spirit, as told by Luke (Acts 2:1-11) and John (the Gospel). The Roman Catholic and Episcopal lectionaries have the Acts passage as the First Lesson, while the Lutheran lectionary has it as the Second Lesson. The 1 Corinthians 12 text has to do with the gifts of the Spirit in the Church and the Lutheran First Lesson (Joel 2:28-29) is the passage referred to by Peter in his Pentecost sermon.

COMMENTARY

Lesson 1: Acts 2:1-21 (C); Acts 2:1-11 (RC, E)
The promised Spirit comes upon the church in the midst of the throngs of pilgrims that were making their way to the temple to celebrate the Jewish festival of Pentecost. The believers in Christ received the Spirit in dramatic and visible form, as tongues of flame and the ability to speak in other languages. This is …