Bold in Spirit -- Acts 2:1-21 (Pentecost Sunday)

Artwork: Pentecost installation by Virginia Thibeaux

To listen to the sermon, you can click here.

When we read about the disciples in the Gospels, they always seem to be a bit bewildered. And I don’t blame them. They are following Jesus, seeing miraculous things – people getting healed, and raised from the dead. They have been hearing teachings that don’t always make sense – teachings that claim that the powers are being brought down, and the poor, the prisoner, and the oppressed are being lifted up. And as the crowds gather and grow, there’s tension in the air because the authorities are right there breathing down their necks.

It is... bewildering. And the disciples – those who follow Jesus – never quite seem to get it. They ask the wrong questions, shrink away from the answers Jesus gives – particularly answers that ask that they give something up or do something that goes against the rules. They are so off the mark that in the middle of the Last Supper – when Jesus is pouring his heart out – they argue amongst each other as to which of them is the greatest. And when things get tough, they want to run and hide.

They do run and hide. It’s all bewildering.

So I guess what I’m saying is that when we read about these disciples – these followers of Jesus – in the Gospels, they feel relatable. “Yeah – that could be me.”

And. Here they are at Pentecost – these same disciples – all of them (except for Judas) – the rest of the Twelve and everybody else – women and men – all gathered in one place.^[1](Now, when we talk about the disciples from Pentecost forward, we are talking about this larger and growing group – those who follow the Way of Jesus.)

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they begin to speak in languages they didn’t know they knew. And no matter what language is being spoken, everyone understands what is being said – they understand each other – for the first time in... forever. They rise up, spill out of the house, and Peter begins to proclaim the Good News that got Jesus killed – and not only that, he calls out the corrupt authorities who were complicit in the crucifixion. He calls out the powers.

These are the folks who just a few days ago were cowering in a locked room for fear of the authorities, and here they are, taking it to the streets. And so I have this question to ask:

Who are these people?

Where did they come from?

Where were they when Jesus needed them?

What do they have now, that they didn’t have then?

Well one thing: Courage.

The Spirit that comes upon them at Pentecost isn’t a gentle breeze on a sunny day – it is a spirit of boldness – that fills them with courage – for the living of their days. And from this moment – they will move out from here – and face down the authorities – again and again – and work together to change the world – no matter the cost. They will be bold in Spirit – they will live bold in Spirit.

A few weeks ago, some of us went to the Marin Interfaith Prayer breakfast, and we had the honor of hearing Dr. Melba Beals speak – and I can’t get her courage out of my mind. Dr. Beals is one of the Little Rock Nine – the nine young people, who back in 1957, dared to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.^[2] Dr. Beals is connected to a number of local faith communities: St Andrew Presbyterian in Marin City, a Buddhist community, and a Christian Science community. She’s quite remarkable.

At the interfaith prayer breakfast, Dr. Beals told of growing up in segregation, a child told that she couldn’t drink at white water fountains, or use white restrooms, or go to white schools. She spoke of growing up in a world where the adults lived in fear and apprehension.^[3] Her mother had been one of the first students to integrate the University of Arkansas – had endured the abuse heaped on her – and graduated. As a child, Dr. Beals had watched on the news as the first student to integrate the law school had been allowed to go to class, but they had erected a white picket fence around his desk in the classroom.

And even so, when one day at school, the teacher asked who wanted to sign up to attend the until-then all-white Central High School. The teenage Melba Beals signed up. She says she sat down in the playground at school and signed her parents’ names – she figured the adults had enough to worry about, she’d take care of this.

What followed were bomb threats and death threats – as the 15 students who originally signed up became 9 students – the Little Rock 9. The first day they went to school – they were chased away by an angry mob – some carrying ropes. The Governor deployed the National Guard to keep them out; President Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airborne to get them in.

And still, somehow, these young people found deep reserves within them and from the community surrounding them, and they kept going back. Her grandmother found her one day crying – she let her cry it out, and then said, OK, that’s the last time you cry. Pull yourself together and read the 23^rd Psalm.”^[4] Dr. Beals says that, in those days, she “became an instant adult, forced to take stock of what I believed in and what I was willing to sacrifice to back up her beliefs.” She says, “The experience endowed me with an indestructible faith in God.”^[5]

At Pentecost, the once-cowering disciples, spill out onto the street, and Peter says, “These are not drunk. This is what the prophets said, this is what Jesus said, the one you crucified, who God has raised into life. God is saving us from every power that seeks to do us harm. The promise is for you and for your children, and to all who are far off.”

And those who are filled with that spirit will move forward, and over the course of the Book of Acts, they will be imprisoned, some will be killed. The Apostle Paul will begin as one persecuting this revolutionary movement, but then see the light, and become one of the movement’s most ardent advocates. The book that begins with Pentecost, will end with Paul in chains headed to prison in Rome, into the heart of the Empire.

On that day of Pentecost, they are filled, with a spirit of courage.

It is a spirit of courage, and it is a spirit of generosity. The Pentecost event itself is generous beyond comprehension – just look at all those “alls” and “everyones.”  All the people were gathered together in one place. The Spirit comes to rest on each of them. All of them are filled with the spirit. Each of them hears and understands what everyone else is saying. God pours out God’s spirit on all flesh – elders and youth, women and men, all people – the gift of the Spirit is generous beyond measure – it is for everyone – it knows no barrier or separation.

I was struck by Dr. Beals’ generosity. After she shared with us, detail upon detail, of what she had suffered.... She said that people often ask her, “After all that, do you hate white people?”^[6] And in response, she told this story: Things got so bad in Little Rock, that the Little Rock Nine had to be evacuated – they had to move out of state. That’s how Dr. Beals came to live in California. The NAACP worked nationally to find safe places, safe schools where these courageous young people could live and thrive. And so the NAACP found Melba Beals a home in Santa Rosa. 

Dr. Beals tells of how she got off the plane at SFO not knowing what to expect. She knew that there would be NAACP people to meet her – so she imagined that she would be greeted by distinguished African-American folks in their Sunday best. And she stood there in the airport and she looked and she looked, but didn’t see anyone who fit the bill. Eventually, she did notice a group of white people – moving in her direction, with a good bit of energy. She says she stepped out of the way so they could get to wherever they were going – until she realized that this group of white folks were heading toward her. She realized that they were the Santa Rosa chapter of the NAACP. Dr. Beals was welcomed into a Santa Rosa family whom she now calls her white family, and graduated from Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa.

Dr. Beals’ answer to the question: “After all that, do you hate white people?” Her response, that story was full of generosity and grace. For those of us in the room, who are white, it didn’t let us off the hook. It left space for us to still see the ways that we continue to participate in the racist systems of this nation, with an invitation to do better. It offered scope forthe imagination so that we all could see together a better way of living – and our place to work for that world – for a world that embraces everyone – for the dignity of all people.

From that day of Pentecost, the Spirit continues to pour forth in generous and generative abundance. From Pentecost, those filled with the Spirit will move out in ever-expanding circles of embrace. With courage and conviction, they will transcend barriers of separation. An Ethiopian eunuch – a Black African who is sexually different – will show up and will claim his baptism – his place in the family of God – and everyone else’s too. Paul will hear a clear call to become apostle to the Gentiles – carrying the good news farther than anyone had previously thought proper. Women will become leaders in the early church. At Pentecost, the Spirit is poured out into – and lives and breathes in all flesh.

It is a Spirit of courage, and of generosity. And it is a Spirit of real and lasting community. It is not just for one moment of ecstatic revelation. That’s what Peter stands up and says to the crowd. This Spirit isn’t just for any one moment in time – not just for one day long alo. It’s what God has been doing all along. It’s what the prophets said: In those days, in these days, God will pour out God’s Spirit on all people. Your children will prophesy; your elders will see visions; your youth will dream dreams – on down through the generations.

And remember – in those first days – they live out community like they never have before – where they share all they have – face down the powers – and keep moving in ever-expanding circles of embrace. The Spirit breathes life not only into each of them, but into all of them together – life for them, and for their children, and for all who are yet far away.

When she spoke at that Prayer Breakfast, Dr. Beals did not speak only of the past. Far from it, Dr. Beals has lived that life of courage ever since, and she spoke that morning with urgency for today. Because you see, those things that she and countless others worked for, suffered for, some died for – equal protection of the law, the full blessings of citizenship for everyone, and voting rights – those things are under attack in our day. She was speaking around the time earlier this month when the Supreme Court issued its disastrous decision dismantling the Voting Rights Act – about the time they let loose a wave of racist gerrymandering. And she asked: What will you do? What will we do? For the living of these days.

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde writes of courage in her book How We Learn to Be Brave.^[7] Looking at the examples of others who have lived lives of courage like Melba Beals, Bishop Budde writes that courage is something that shows up at decisive moments – moments of conscious decision where we choose – for the good – specific paths of potential consequences. Sometimes, it’s in moments where we decide to go, or to begin, or to persevere. Sometimes it’s when we know we have the skills that are needed for the moment. Sometimes, it’s when we feel inadequate to the task, but we have learned “to trust a power greater than ourselves acting through what we do have to offer.”^[8]  “Our acts of daily faithfulness and perseverance,” Bishop Budde says, “are part of a larger arc of courage and resilience through which the power and the grace of God are at work.”^[9]

So what happened to those followers of Jesus at Pentecost – those once-cowering disciples, now in boldness setting out to change the world?

Well, at the very beginning, Jesus had said it plain: “The Spirit is upon me to bring good news to the poor; healing to every hurt; release to the captive; freedom to all who are oppressed; and the forgiveness of every debt.” And then from the experience of Resurrection, the Risen Christ says to the disciples: “I am sending this same Spirit to empower and accompany you.”

It is that Spirit that comes on them at Pentecost – to empower them now to do the things that Jesus did. It is a spirit of boldness – of courage, and of generosity, and of real and lasting community.

In the Gospels, the disciples are relatable – in their questions and in their bewilderment. In their experience of Pentecost, they are just as relatable, because that very same spirit poured out into them is poured out into us... in all the ways that we are alive in this world. This is what the prophets said, and Jesus too: In those days, and in these, God will pour out God’s spirit on all people – your elders will have visions, your youth will dream dreams.

As I thought about how to close this sermon, I thought I should probably give Dr. Melba Beals the last word – and so I went to her book, where she tells the story of the Little Rock 9 – and there at the end, this is what Dr. Beals says: “If my Central High School experience has taught me one lesson, it is that we are not separate... The task that remains is to see ourselves reflected in in every other human being and to respect and honor our differences.”^[10] And then she closes with: Namaste (the God in me sees and honors the God in you)

At Pentecost, God breathes out the very Spirit of Christ into those gathered in that room – and then, breathes that Spirit into their children, and their children’s children: into those who are far off and those who are near: into all flesh, into all creation, in every place, and in every time – all the way down to us. The Spirit is now upon us to bring Good News to the poor; release for the prisoner; freedom for all who are oppressed; and the forgiveness of every debt.

What is ours to do – is to breathe that Spirit in in –

this Spirit of boldness – and to live.

© 2026 Scott Clark

^[1] For general background on this text and the Book of Acts, see Justo L. González, Acts (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001); Paul W. Walaskay, Acts (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998); Robert W. Wall, “The Acts of the Apostles,” New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. x (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002);

^[2] Dr. Beals also recounts this story in her amazing book Warriors Don’t Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High (1994; Simon & Schuster/ Tantor eBooks edition, 2007).

^[3] See id. pp.1-13.

^[4] See id. p.46.

^[5] See id. pp.2-3.

^[6] This story is remembered with the help of notes from her presentation.

^[7] See Mariann Edgar Budde, How We Learn to Be Brave (New York, NY: Penguin Random House, 2023).

^[8] See id. p.109.

^[9] See id.p.178.

^[10] See Beals, pp.312-13.