Pentecost Sunday – First Reading – 05/24/2026

Happy birthday!  It’s Pentecost, the birth of the Church.  This is an electrifying reading with lots of exciting action.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lector. I'm Bob. The purpose of this podcast is to inspire Catholic lectors to bring their proclamation of God's Word to life. This episode is for the May 24th, Sunday Mass's first reading. It's Pentecost Sunday, year A. A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise, like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused, because each one heard him speaking in their own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear him in their native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. Yet we hear him speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God, the word of the Lord. Happy birthday, y'all! It's Pentecost Sunday, the birth of the church. This is an electrifying reading with lots of exciting action. So let's get to it, shall we? How we start my own lecture practice with preparation, which is not the external proclamation, but the internal discernment of the message. What is God saying to us? What is his purpose? What is the meaning of this reading? Because if it doesn't mean anything to us, how can we as lectures make it mean anything to the congregation before us? This reading is a narrative of the astonishing events of Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church. One of the really cool things about this feast is its overlay with the Jewish feast of Pentecost, so-called because it's celebrated on the 50th day after Passover. It's also known as Shavuat, which celebrates God's delivery of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It's one of three pilgrimage feasts. See Deuteronomy 16, 16. Israelite men, if they were able, were required to travel to Jerusalem for this feast. What do you learn from this reading? We begin. When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. The opening clause is a reference to the Jewish Pentecost, but it represents a fulfillment of God's plan as he overlays the Pentecost of the New Covenant over the Pentecost of the Old Covenant. In the Old Covenant, God delivered his word carved on tablets of stone on Mount Sinai with flashes of fire. See Exodus 19, 18. In the Pentecost of the New Covenant, He delivers His Spirit to human hearts in an upper room with tongues of fire. Use a tone of voice and facial expression of grounded confidence as you read when the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, then shift to a soft and intimate tone denoting unity when you read, They were all in one place together. Emphasize time fulfilled and together. The next segment. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise, like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Pivot from the prior tone of soft intimacy to one of surprise, but without increasing the volume of your voice. As you finish, and suddenly there came from the sky. Act confused when you say a noise between like and a strong driving wind. Pretend you're stumbling to search for the right words to describe what is happening, trying to make sense out of something that baffles your eyes and ears. Use a tone and expression of utter amazement as you finish the sentence with, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Stress suddenly came, sky, noise, strong driving wind, filled an entire house. Insert small pauses after suddenly, sky, noise, and like. Next we have, then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. The word them appears six times in this reading. If you want a more informal, conversational, and accessible style of presenting, drop the th sound and say M. Do what's most natural and authentic for you. When you say the word tongues, act confused, again as if you're trying to make sense of the events before you, presenting a real-time eyewitness account to your listeners. Imagine the confusion of the apostles and disciples in this room. Again, mimic a brief awkward silence as you grasp for the right words before you stumble upon as of fire. Highlight tongues, fire, and parted. Insert small pauses after them, tongues, and parted. Then there's, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Use a quiet awe as you read this sentence. Place emphasis on filled and speak. Insert a small pause after spirit and a full pause after proclaim. Then now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. This is of course the case, because this is one of the mandatory pilgrimage feasts set under Jewish law. This explains why the city was filled with foreigners, all part of God's plan to make sure the message is spread far and wide. Read this straight through without any pauses. Next, at this sound, they gathered in a large crowd. But they were confused, because each one heard him speaking in their own language. This is a deeply moving metaphor and illustration of how God comes to us as we are, where we are, and in our own language. Let the momentum build naturally as you read this sentence. When you read, but they were confused. Speak as if you too are confused. Stress sound, gathered, large crowd, confused, each speaking and own language. Insert a small pause after confused. Next we have, they were astounded, and in amazement they asked, Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in their native language? When the crowd refers to the apostles as Galileans, this is not a compliment. Galilee was a backwater region, but this is a classic example of our God in action, where he takes a vagabond group of fishermen, tax collectors, zealots, and misfits, and turns them into world-changing missionaries. When you read this segment, use a tone of voice and facial expression of amazement, mirroring what the crowd themselves were feeling. Emphasize astounded, amazement, all Galileans, how each, and native language. Next up is we are Parthians, Medes and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. Don't rush this segment, but use high energy. Let it feel like a procession or graduation, where you are calling people name by name. This is humanity being gathered to witness the mighty acts of God. Highlight Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Rome, Cretans, plus Arabs. Insert a small pause after Arabs. We close with, yet we hear him speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God. Act as if you yourself are in this crowd, feeling and expressing this very same wonder, trying to make sense of what makes no sense. Emphasize speaking, own tongues, and mighty. Insert very small pauses after speaking and tongues. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening. My hope is these ideas will help you find your authentic voice, so your proclamation of God's word will transform your listeners, whether they're in pain and broken or just going through the motions, because the good news deserves great delivery. Visit us on the web at bobthelector.org and we'll see you at the ambo. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much.