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There was once a family of mice who lived in a piano. They loved the music which
flooded through their house day after day, but often wondered where it came
from. Some said that you only had to hear the beauty of the music to realise
that there must be a player who was making it. But others scoffed at the idea,
and came up with alternative theories of their own.
Then one say a brave and very daring mouse decided to find out for himself where
the music was coming from. He set out from their snug little den and explored
the great, dark recesses of the piano's interior. And there he discovered the
source of the music: it was the strings! He raced back to the family and told
them of his discovery. Now they knew - or did they? Because of course some
questioned whether the brave explorer was really right - indeed whether he was
telling the truth.
So a little while later another expedition set out, this time consisting of
several mice so that there could be no question of their honesty. Sure enough,
they found the strings which the first mouse had described. But they decided to
press on still further, and there they discovered the secret of the strings -
the secret behind the secret. For what really made the music in the piano was -
the hammers.
Now the mice understood everything. There was no longer any mystery about the
origin of the music. And they laughed at the elderly mice who sometimes still
told the old stories about the piano player. And, unseen by them all, the piano
player played on. [Simon Coupland,
A Dose Of Salts, p17f #9.]
Mystery. You think you've got it taped, and then you discover you haven't.
Sometimes you persist in thinking you've got something sussed, when the truth is
much greater and far more mysterious.
I think Pentecost is a little like that. We can't pin down the Holy Spirit, but
the language of his coming at Pentecost is mysterious and elusive, however
direct and powerful the experience of the Spirit is. Let's look at four areas
where that is found in Acts 2:1-13.
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