Day of Pentecost, Year B

¹ Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³ Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. ⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. ⁶ When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” ¹² They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.” ¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. ¹⁵ For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸ Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. ²¹ It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

²⁴ O LORD, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. ²⁵ There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals. ²⁶ There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there. ²⁷ These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. ²⁸ You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good. ²⁹ You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust. ³⁰ You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground. ³¹ Let the LORD’s glory endure forever. Let the LORD rejoice in his works. ³² He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke. ³³ I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being. ³⁴ Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the LORD. ³⁵ Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!

²² For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. ²³ Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. ²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered. ²⁷ He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.