Since the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God operates within His people, with eternal ramifications. The Apostle Paul outlines the ministry of the Spirit in us for regeneration, sanctification, and assurance.
In Acts 13, the Apostle Paul and Barnabas are sent out of the church he co-pastored in Antioch. Although the church sent them, these leaders would return to Antioch as their home church.
What we believe about God and the Bible matters. But not everything matters equally. In Acts 15, church leaders decided it was more important to remove barriers to the Gospel than to get everyone to agree. by the time Paul gets to Athens, he’s ready to use their pagan altar to point to Jesus. There’s only one way to the Father, but the paths we take to find Jesus are many. Who do we exclude from our community based on differing views or opinions?
Saul’s conversion represents something that is almost unbelievable: not that a sinner can find grace, but that judgmental, religious minds can be transformed by an encounter with Jesus. Like Ananias, can we overcome disgust for the self-righteous and extend hope for them, too?
The miraculous manifestations of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost call back to Old Testament moments that represented failure. The pillar of fire that led the people into the wilderness is now the flame that leads each believer in the world. The scattering at Babel is remedied with the Gospel spoken in every language on the streets of Jerusalem. The 3,000 lost in the wilderness rebellion are juxtaposed to the 3,000 saved when the Holy Spirit is poured out. If God can rewrite those endings, what might he do for us today?
The final words Jesus shared with his disciples before his arrest spoke of a mysterious gift: the Holy Spirit. Jesus is leaving; the Holy Spirit is coming. The Holy Spirit will be in them, doing in them what Jesus did among them.
When Cleopas and his friend leave Jerusalem, they leave behind their hope that Jesus was the chosen one. Their mysterious walking companion patiently meets them on their turf: walking them through the law and the prophets and, in the process, reignites their hope. Their story gives us hope that skeptics can still encounter Christ and be re-enchanted by the mystery, even on the way out of faith.
What sounded like nonsense was news too good to be ignored: The crucified Jesus was alive!
A reading from Luke 22:66-71, 23:1-5, 13-2, 32-56
We veil our faces before your glory, O Holy and Immortal One, and bow before the cross of your wounded Christ. With angels and archangels, we praise you, our Mercy, and we bless you, our Compassion, for in our brokenness you have not abandoned us. Hear us as we pray through Jesus, our high priest: heal all division, reconcile the estranged, console the suffering, and raise up to new life all that is bound by death. Amen.
