Day 3

Readings and Thoughts for Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Acts 2:1-13 The Coming of the Holy Spirit

This is perhaps the most exciting moment in all of Acts, and possibly in the entire scripture. Jesus has ascended and the disciples are waiting for the power he has promised will come to them. It is the day of Pentecost (“pente” = 5, so “pentecost” = 50 days after the Jewish Passover, a date which coincides with the Jewish “Feast of Weeks.”). The festival means that “devout Jews of every nation under heaven” are in Jerusalem for religious ceremonies and celebrations. Suddenly there is a sound “like the rush of a violent wind” and “divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” The Holy Spirit had arrived! Miraculously, the Galilean disciples, all speakers of Aramaic, have the ability to communicate in many different languages, speaking to all those who have gathered in their own native speech. All are amazed. Well, mostly all; a few scoffers assume the followers of Jesus are just drunk.

Just as Luke told us many of the details of Jesus’ birth so that we would understand his significance and purpose from the beginning, Luke now includes many details of the birth of the church, and these details also tell us its significance and purpose. First, the power of the church is the power of the risen Christ sent from God; it is the Holy Spirit’s power. The tongues of fire remind us of the fire Moses saw at the burning bush. The disciples (apostles) do nothing on their own but wait and pray for God’s action, in which they take part. Second, the church is universal from its very inception. Barriers are broken down between women and men (as we have already seen) and between people of every nation. Jesus’ earthly ministry may have been local, but his ministry after ascension will be “to the ends of the earth.” The very first thing that God ever accomplishes through the church is to empower the followers of Jesus to tell others about Jesus in a way that they can all understand. Some will accept the message, and some will reject it, but our purpose is to carry it to everyone. This message-carrying is still the primary purpose of the church, and still the work that God empowers us to do.

Where do you see the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? With whom is the Spirit inviting you to share the story of Jesus as it has been revealed in your life?