The Pentecost story carries the excitement of a community realizing its purpose. The gathered disciples and the crowd with them have an electric sort of experience. Something like a rush of wind fills the house the disciples are sitting in, with visions of fire appearing upon them. Luke, sharing this story with us, describes them as being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking with new ability in other languages. Devout crowds gather, drawn by the sounds they have heard, and are astonished to find that they are able to hear and understand the Galileans in the variety of native languages represented in that throng. How can this be? Some reacted to this wonder with cynicism: they must have gotten into the wine. God’s Spirit seems to work both sides of the conversation here, equipping the disciples to speak in new ways and inspiring the crowds to gather and hear....