By Rev. Thomas Eggold

If you’re new to the story, Pentecost can feel like a strange day to celebrate. After all, Christmas has a baby in a manger, Epiphany has the Wisemen, and Easter has an empty tomb. But Pentecost? Pentecost features wind and fire, strange languages, and people accusing the disciples of public intoxication. So, what is Pentecost, and why do we celebrate it?

In Acts 2, the risen Christ keeps His promise. The disciples are gathered together when “a sound like a mighty rushing wind” fills the house, and “divided tongues as of fire” rest on each one of them. They are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they begin to speak in other languages so that people from many nations hear “the mighty works of God” in their own tongue (Acts 2:1-21).

That last detail matters. The miracle of Pentecost isn’t simply that the disciples speak in unfamiliar languages. The miracle is that the Gospel is heard. Here, God is doing what He always does. He’s giving His Word so that sinners may be forgiven and faith may be created.

Pentecost is often called the “birthday of the church.” It is no accident that Pentecost happens in Jerusalem during one of Israel’s great feasts — when crowds have gathered from around the world. The Lord is gathering a people from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). But Pentecost is not only about fire. It is also about water.

This may surprise us because we usually picture Pentecost in the reds and oranges of fire. Yet, Jesus Himself links the coming of the Spirit to “living water.”

In John 7, Jesus stands up during “the great day” of the Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths) and cries out: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me … ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). John immediately explains that Jesus is talking “about the Spirit” (John 7:39).

The setting makes the words even sharper. During the Feast of Tabernacles, the people remembered God’s care during the wilderness wandering, and their worship included a vivid ritual where water was poured out as the people prayed and sang of God’s salvation. It was here that Jesus stood up, and, just as the people were asking to be filled from “the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3), He announced that the true fulfillment is found in Him. And then He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me” (John 7:37).

And here is the Pentecost connection. The Spirit is never given as a “free-floating” spiritual experience that is detached from Jesus. The Spirit is given because Jesus has been crucified, risen, and ascended, and now the Spirit comes to deliver what Jesus accomplished. The Holy Spirit’s work is always to reveal Christ, to glorify Christ, and to bring the living water of salvation to thirsty sinners.

The Holy Spirit works through Word and Sacrament. In this way, Pentecost is not just a one-time event. Pentecost continues wherever Christ’s Gospel is spoken and heard. The Spirit is “poured out” where sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name, where Baptism joins people to Christ’s death and resurrection, and where the church eats and drinks Christ’s true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

So, just as in Peter’s sermon from Acts 2, Pentecost always asks, “Are you thirsty?” Do you recognize where your life is dry? Do you acknowledge the ways your heart is wilting under sin, guilt, fear, and bitterness? And these questions are so important because Jesus does not say, “If anyone has it together, let him come to me.” He says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” And then He gives the promise that, “Whoever believes in me … ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38).

When Christ Jesus gives living water to the thirsty, eternal life begins.

The Rev. Thomas Eggold is the senior pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., and serves as a guest pastor on “Worship Anew” for May 24, Pentecost.