Prophecy manifest
Commentary
One of the best known lines from the movie Jerry McGuire is "Show me the money!" The athlete for whom Jerry is agent wants to see the money that he thinks is his due. It is human nature to want to see proof of the words of promise that are made from day to day. Supermarket tabloids get swept off the shelf whenever they feature articles about prophecy fulfilled either now or in the immediate future. "Enquiring minds want to know," is the advertising phrase that has been used to appeal to more than our curiosity -- we really want to know if there is a larger scheme to the assortment of experiences we have on this planet. We really want to know if there is God behind the veil of the appearance of things.
The Barna Research Group conducted a survey recently (1997) of regular church attenders. (Mind you, the very ones who were most visibly active in pursuing the presence and promise and power of God!) They were asked if they had experienced the presence of God during the past year. A startling 48 percent said they had not. When asked if they had ever experienced the presence of God in worship, nearly two-thirds responded in the negative.
When we get to our Gospel text for today, we shall hear Philip request from Jesus that he "show us the Father." But, before we explore that exchange, there is a very important event happening in Acts that deserves our attention (for it will address Philip's concern, as well as the surveyed folks above); then, Paul shares in his letter to the Romans a very important explanation of our relationship with the God who is present for us. As we walk through these texts, and as we help our hearers to understand the profound truths contained in them, we shall be able to provide for enquiring minds the clues as to where they can indeed experience the Father, as well as the Son and also the Holy Spirit -- one God involved in the world in phenomenal ways.
Acts 2:1-21
The Day of Pentecost is reported in great detail after a brief prelude which recaps the ministry of Jesus, tells of his ascension, and assures the disciples of receiving a promised power from God. As the disciples waited for the promise to be fulfilled, they devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14) and restaffed with the addition of Matthias (Acts 1:15-26).
The feast of weeks (Pentecost, fifty days after Passover) celebrated the harvest with the offering of the first fruits to the Lord (Numbers 28:26; Leviticus 23:15-21). Recalling Jesus' words about a plentiful harvest but few laborers, it seems quite appropriate that the Holy Spirit would empower the laborers that Jesus had chosen and now send them out into the field of humanity to begin the harvest of righteousness unto faith (Acts 2:41).
In the synagogue it may be customary to sit in order to expound upon scripture, but in the streets of Jerusalem it is necessary to stand. Peter will be noticed by the crowds. He has a message to share and attention will be paid to it. Connecting the present with the past (which anticipated the future of futures), Peter cites the prophet Joel. Joel, whose name means "Yahweh is God," is the prophet of the plague. What a reference point at a time of harvest! If the crop is to be saved, action must be taken. God is taking the appropriate action to save his pleasant planting (see Isaiah 5:7). The locust of sin is everywhere. Salvation will not come from individual effort, out beating the individual pests that forage on our souls. More effective than the Orkin Man is the Man from God, Jesus, in whose name the world can indeed be saved (2:21).
Later in his message, Peter will make the connection between repentance, baptism, forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit and salvation (Acts 2:37-42). But, for now, so far in the text of his Pentecost sermon, Peter associates the ministry of Jesus and the witness of the Holy Spirit with signs of the day of the Lord, when the prophesied judgment of God will be manifest. What the prophets had announced as the ultimate action of God in terms of righteousness, justice, and judgment was now taking place in the life of the church through the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. This is consistent with what is recorded in John 16:7-11 about the convincing work of the Counselor.
It is no wonder that the disciples could not remain in their comfortable upper room, but had to burst out of the doors, scamper down the stairs, and dash into the streets with the news of what was happening in their very presence. There was no split decision about it either. They were in one accord, not only before the event in prayer, but also after the event in proclamation (Acts 1:14 and 2:14-15).
Romans 8:14-17
In his letters, Paul is a master at packing so much meaning into so few words. (He could have made a bundle in the ad world!) In this portion of his letter to the congregation in Rome, Paul is writing about life in the Spirit. The essential characteristic of this life is freedom. "... The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death," he writes earlier (Romans 8:2). In the words of our text for today, he lifts up the emotional stake that we have in all of this. Without this freedom from our two mortal enemies (sin, which separates us from God in time, and death, which is its consequence for eternity), we would naturally live in fear. Fear is an emotional state that everyone can relate to from some human experience. For example, the slave was in daily trepidation by being subject to the will and whim of the master.
Paul contrasts this with the position of the son in the household, who lives in the confidence of his inheritance. He likens this to the spirit of the Christian, who can approach God (Abba) with the same affection and boldness with which a child approaches the loving parent (Daddy, Mommy). In prayer, we know God (not about God), as we converse with the one true intimate of our heart, and God recognizes us as his children through Jesus.
This does not mean that everything is rosy -- just pop a few prayers when problems arise and go on one's way happily because everything will be just fine! No! Though the Holy Spirit is the paraclete, the comforter and counselor, the Spirit will not bring about the repristination of the world. That will not be done until Christ returns in glory to create a new heaven and a new earth. In the meantime, what the Spirit does do is to guarantee the promise of God's rule now and forever and to guarantee the life of the believer in the name of Jesus. That guarantee carries with it two provisos: first, there will be suffering; second, there will be glory. There will not be one without the other; as the German proverb puts it, Ohne Kreuz, keine Krone (Without the cross, no crown!). The Christian life will be a reflection of the life that Jesus led as the Son of God. We who are also children of God through faith can expect no less a life than one like that of Jesus. That life, remember, carried its cross, but also received its crown. That is why Jesus can say from the other side of his passion, resurrection, and ascension, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). He has been there -- done that! So, he can pass on his wealth of experience and accomplishment as an inheritance to those who follow him.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
It must have been a long meal that Passover night. Besides the eating, there was the washing of feet and a lot of conversation. Philip said to Jesus, "Show us the Father" (14:8). After three years of signs, Philip, probably voicing the concern of the rest of the disciples, wanted one more proof of Jesus' messiahship, "... and we shall be satisfied." Jesus knew all along that they were not getting it -- except that one time when he got all excited when Peter did, and he called him a rock for his solid understanding (Matthew 16:13-20)! He could see the betrayal coming. He could see the denial coming. So, knowing that the disciples needed to be reminded constantly of the truth that in him the very heart of God is revealed to the world, Jesus talks to them about how he and the Father are one. The words that he speaks and the works that he performs disclose the presence of the Father.
The preposition in is telling at this point. Jesus does not say that the Father is with him or around him or over him or ahead of him. Jesus is specific by identifying the Father's presence in him. (He expresses this personally and privately in prayer also, recorded in John 17:20-26.) He had told them before, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30); now, he needed to restate it for their dull understanding. When faith perceives this to be true, then the believer is prepared to receive the Holy Spirit, who will dwell "with you and will be in you" (14:17).
The intimacy of God with the world becomes greater as the divine works unfold through the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. One must be careful not to cross the heretical line of modalism here. Yet, one can talk of the historical intensifying of the divine economy through the particularity of Jesus' ministry and passion and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These touch points in time concretize what the Holy Trinity has always been up to from the foundation of the world. (See Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 4:3; 1 Peter 1:20.)
Jesus describes how the Holy Spirit will help the disciples. The Holy Spirit will instruct the disciples in the truth of who Jesus is and in the truth of what Jesus told them about life and purpose and being alive to God -- what Paul prayed for the Ephesians, namely to have "the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know..." (Ephesians 1:18). When the Holy Spirit confirms the work of Jesus for the believer, there will indeed be a peace that is beyond what the world can imagine, a peace that can calm the troubles and fears that believers and non-believers alike are customarily heir to.
Application
"What does this mean?" This is the question posed from the borders of "every nation under heaven." The Pentecost story is the church's open door to the world. Christians, preachers especially, should assume that the world is asking this all-important question: What does this mean? This question is the open door to the souls of mortals with the message of immortality. Peter seized the day and began the sermon that has been heard round the world. In one of his own letters he would make note later, "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15b).
For whatever worth statistics are (they can be as fickle as the fancy of the one who uses them!), the Global Evangelization Movement in its recent World Christian Encyclopedia reports that Christianity remains the world's biggest religion with just a bit over one-third of the world's population as adherents. That means at least two-thirds of the world's population is still asking, "What does this mean?"
The answer as proclaimed by the first generation of Christians is that "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (2:21). Such a message cannot really be heard apart from the confession of a "crooked generation" (Acts 2:40). Kierkegaard observed that without the consciousness of sin there can be no Christianity. It is only when there is the acknowledgment of one's position as judged before the Holy One, that there can be a readiness and an eagerness to hear the good news of salvation in Jesus. That is why Peter's sermon continues with the exhortation to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). This is the fulness of the day of the Lord: it is neither all damnation, nor cheap grace. It is the existential dread of each individual standing before the Almighty deserving condemnation, but receiving mercy, as one repents in "fear and trembling" (a la Kierkegaard; but, note Paul on sanctification in Philippians 2:12) and still asks with heart laid bare the question, "What does this mean?" How can this be? Such undeserved grace!
The underside of this question comes like archer's arrows aimed at the media, the message, and the messenger of the Christian witness. Regarding the media, street-corner evangelism is considered intrusive and televangelism is made fun of and track ministry is considered simplistic. Both modern scientism and post-modern relativism debunk the message faith claims as true. And, there is joy in Mudville, whenever the mighty have fallen, as evidenced by the feeding frenzy around notable religious personalities whose flaws have been exposed in recent years. The point is this: there will always be a sense in which Christians are "strangers in a strange land" and will be expected to give defense of ourselves, our message, and the means we use to convey it. (See Acts 17:16-21 for one more example of this.)
This is where the Holy Spirit comes to the church with gifts for such a challenge. Pentecost was an historical event that gave birth to the church, delivering it from the upper room incubation of waiting and wondering into the bright light of the streets to engage a humanity longing for new life. Pentecost still happens as a daily event, whenever and wherever the Holy Spirit manifests the power of God to equip God's people for the mission that has been given. The gifts of the Spirit can be named.
There is confidence, that God is indeed still with his people and has not left us desolate (John 14:18). We stand strong, not necessarily because we are together and numerous. There have been many battlefields deserted by a host in battle array. We stand strong because our champion stands with us. The Spirit gives witness to him and sets our sights on him, so that we can follow with confidence. This is the testimony of Revelation 19:11-16.
There is comfort, that whatever may befall us in our life, we are in the Lord's hands. This is what Paul means in Romans 14:8, where he writes, "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." In his letter to the Corinthian congregation (2 Corinthians 1:3-7), he encourages his fellow believers with the comfort that is from God in the midst of any and all afflictions. This is a treasured gift through which many a suffering Christian has found peace during the storms of life.
There is courage to be about the vital task of witnessing despite the dangers that may attend it. The many missionaries who embarked on their assignments during the nineteenth century were encouraged on their way by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Paul exhibits the courage of the Spirit as he faces imprisonment and afflictions in the cities he visits (Acts 20:22-24). The experience of the early disciples was that the Spirit gave them courage to speak before their accusers when the time came, whether that time was in the market place, in the synagogues, in the courts, in the arena, or at the stake.
Peter understood the prophecy in Joel to be fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that particular Pentecost. Yet, as with all biblical prophecies, there is an element that keeps begging the future, such that it may be more fruitful to speak of prophecy being manifest in one day and then another, always filling full new days with the promises of God, leading God's people forward into each tomorrow with hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Acts 2:1-21
In our previous lessons from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we have been journeying with the Apostle Paul. Now we backtrack to the time when the missionary enterprise of the church first began. In Acts 1:4-5, before he ascended to heaven, the risen Christ commanded his apostles to remain in Jerusalem until they were empowered for evangelism throughout the known world by the gift of the Holy Spirit from heaven. Similarly, in the last part of our Gospel Lesson for today, Christ promises that after his ascension he will send his Holy Spirit upon his disciples to teach them all things (John 14:25-26).
As our text opens, therefore, the disciples are all gathered together in one place on the day of Pentecost. That festival, which originally celebrated the wheat harvest, was the second of the three mandatory feasts of the Jews. It fell fifty days after the first day of Passover, which was celebrated in the spring, and some months before the fall festival of booths. Apparently the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem adopted Pentecost as part of their worship of God, and of course today, it is still observed in the church.
The account recorded in Acts 2 is familiar to us all. We have heard and read it dozens of times. As the disciples are all together "in one place" in a house, there is the sound from heaven "like" that of a mighty wind -- a guarded description -- which fills the entire house. There "appear" tongues "as of" fire -- again careful language -- that rests on each apostle separately. And they are given the gift of the Spirit that enables them to begin to speak in other languages. The sound of the disturbance draws a crowd of devout Jews from the nations circling the eastern half of the Mediterranean -- from the Arabian peninsula and Mesopotamia, from Asia Minor and its coast, from northern Africa, and from the island of Crete -- the description circles around the Sea. Amazingly, each person in the whole motley assembly hears an apostle speaking in his language and telling of the mighty works that God has done through Jesus Christ. At the Tower of Babel, God had divided the languages of the nations, so that they could not understand one another or get along with one another as his judgment on them for their attempts to do without him (Genesis 11:8-9). Now that judgment and that division are overcome by the gift of the Spirit.
So perplexing is the phenomenon to the gathered crowd that some among them are sure that the apostles are drunk, but Peter arises to his feet and assures the crowd, in a rather humorous note, that such is not the case, since it's only 9 a.m. in the morning. Rather, declares Peter, the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32, which described the events that would take place before the final coming of the Kingdom of God in the last days at the end of history, is being fulfilled. As he promised in the words of the prophet Joel, God is pouring out his Spirit on all flesh, to give them the power to dream dreams and to see visions and to prophesy -- that is, the power to understand and to receive God's revelation of himself through his word. Before he comes in final judgment of his world, God in his Spirit is opening the human hearts of all to faith. He is giving every soul the power to believe and to be saved through faith in Christ.
What follows our text for the morning, then, is Peter's proclamation of the work of God in his Son and the crowd's repentance and acceptance in faith of God's gift of salvation in Christ (vv. 22-41).
The risen Christ had promised the disciples that he would send them his Holy Spirit. Now that promise is fulfilled -- not only on this Day of Pentecost, which has been called "the birthday of the church," but also for each one of us. Beginning with these first apostles and Christian Jews in Jerusalem, God has continued to shed his Holy Spirit upon his church. He has done that in the sacrament of baptism, when each one of us was baptized into the body of Christ, the church, and given the Lord's Holy Spirit, symbolized by the water poured upon us. So now you and I have had our hearts opened to receive the gift of faith, and we have been empowered to become Christ's disciples in our daily lives and in our evangelism both near and far. God gives us both the power to repent and believe and the power to be his witnesses to his work in Christ. And we exercise that power and that witness by the way we live our lives every day and by what we tell and do toward every person both near and far.
But what, or better who, is this mysterious Holy Spirit who has been given to us? "Spirituality" is a great fad these days; everyone wants to be more "spiritual." And by that, persons seem to mean a dozen different things, some of them very kooky, others very sober. If we ask someone to define the Holy Spirit for us we get everything from a "feeling" to a "presence" to a "ghost" to a vague "something" or "whatever." But our text in Acts and our Gospel Lesson in John are both very clear about who the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is the presence of the risen and reigning Christ with us. The Holy Spirit is Christ continuing his work in our midst through the third Person of the Triune God. The Holy Spirit is God in Christ, Immanuel, God with us, as he promised he would be. "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you," he told us (John 14:18). And he has come, and he is here in our midst, in all the power and the mercy and love of the one Holy Lord of heaven and of earth.
So now you and I are given the power, are we not, to receive that wondrous message that has been proclaimed to the church through the ages? Our sins are forgiven -- and heaven knows, the church and each one of us has done and said lots of them. Therefore, knowing that we are already forgiven, we can repent of our wrong, can't we? As for our doubts, now the Holy Spirit has given us hearts to believe and to receive the life-giving gift from God of faith, which is the source of all joy in the midst of turmoil and the certainty that cannot be shaken, though heaven and earth pass away. More than that, the Holy Spirit has now given us the love of Christ that we can exercise toward our neighbors and the mercy of Christ that we can extend as a witness to the world.
The Holy Spirit is our Lord Jesus Christ, dwelling with us, living in us, working through us, to make us Christians and to transform the earth by the power of the gospel, until this world truly becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. What one of us wants to neglect such a gift? What greater love could the Father show us?
The Barna Research Group conducted a survey recently (1997) of regular church attenders. (Mind you, the very ones who were most visibly active in pursuing the presence and promise and power of God!) They were asked if they had experienced the presence of God during the past year. A startling 48 percent said they had not. When asked if they had ever experienced the presence of God in worship, nearly two-thirds responded in the negative.
When we get to our Gospel text for today, we shall hear Philip request from Jesus that he "show us the Father." But, before we explore that exchange, there is a very important event happening in Acts that deserves our attention (for it will address Philip's concern, as well as the surveyed folks above); then, Paul shares in his letter to the Romans a very important explanation of our relationship with the God who is present for us. As we walk through these texts, and as we help our hearers to understand the profound truths contained in them, we shall be able to provide for enquiring minds the clues as to where they can indeed experience the Father, as well as the Son and also the Holy Spirit -- one God involved in the world in phenomenal ways.
Acts 2:1-21
The Day of Pentecost is reported in great detail after a brief prelude which recaps the ministry of Jesus, tells of his ascension, and assures the disciples of receiving a promised power from God. As the disciples waited for the promise to be fulfilled, they devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14) and restaffed with the addition of Matthias (Acts 1:15-26).
The feast of weeks (Pentecost, fifty days after Passover) celebrated the harvest with the offering of the first fruits to the Lord (Numbers 28:26; Leviticus 23:15-21). Recalling Jesus' words about a plentiful harvest but few laborers, it seems quite appropriate that the Holy Spirit would empower the laborers that Jesus had chosen and now send them out into the field of humanity to begin the harvest of righteousness unto faith (Acts 2:41).
In the synagogue it may be customary to sit in order to expound upon scripture, but in the streets of Jerusalem it is necessary to stand. Peter will be noticed by the crowds. He has a message to share and attention will be paid to it. Connecting the present with the past (which anticipated the future of futures), Peter cites the prophet Joel. Joel, whose name means "Yahweh is God," is the prophet of the plague. What a reference point at a time of harvest! If the crop is to be saved, action must be taken. God is taking the appropriate action to save his pleasant planting (see Isaiah 5:7). The locust of sin is everywhere. Salvation will not come from individual effort, out beating the individual pests that forage on our souls. More effective than the Orkin Man is the Man from God, Jesus, in whose name the world can indeed be saved (2:21).
Later in his message, Peter will make the connection between repentance, baptism, forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit and salvation (Acts 2:37-42). But, for now, so far in the text of his Pentecost sermon, Peter associates the ministry of Jesus and the witness of the Holy Spirit with signs of the day of the Lord, when the prophesied judgment of God will be manifest. What the prophets had announced as the ultimate action of God in terms of righteousness, justice, and judgment was now taking place in the life of the church through the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. This is consistent with what is recorded in John 16:7-11 about the convincing work of the Counselor.
It is no wonder that the disciples could not remain in their comfortable upper room, but had to burst out of the doors, scamper down the stairs, and dash into the streets with the news of what was happening in their very presence. There was no split decision about it either. They were in one accord, not only before the event in prayer, but also after the event in proclamation (Acts 1:14 and 2:14-15).
Romans 8:14-17
In his letters, Paul is a master at packing so much meaning into so few words. (He could have made a bundle in the ad world!) In this portion of his letter to the congregation in Rome, Paul is writing about life in the Spirit. The essential characteristic of this life is freedom. "... The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death," he writes earlier (Romans 8:2). In the words of our text for today, he lifts up the emotional stake that we have in all of this. Without this freedom from our two mortal enemies (sin, which separates us from God in time, and death, which is its consequence for eternity), we would naturally live in fear. Fear is an emotional state that everyone can relate to from some human experience. For example, the slave was in daily trepidation by being subject to the will and whim of the master.
Paul contrasts this with the position of the son in the household, who lives in the confidence of his inheritance. He likens this to the spirit of the Christian, who can approach God (Abba) with the same affection and boldness with which a child approaches the loving parent (Daddy, Mommy). In prayer, we know God (not about God), as we converse with the one true intimate of our heart, and God recognizes us as his children through Jesus.
This does not mean that everything is rosy -- just pop a few prayers when problems arise and go on one's way happily because everything will be just fine! No! Though the Holy Spirit is the paraclete, the comforter and counselor, the Spirit will not bring about the repristination of the world. That will not be done until Christ returns in glory to create a new heaven and a new earth. In the meantime, what the Spirit does do is to guarantee the promise of God's rule now and forever and to guarantee the life of the believer in the name of Jesus. That guarantee carries with it two provisos: first, there will be suffering; second, there will be glory. There will not be one without the other; as the German proverb puts it, Ohne Kreuz, keine Krone (Without the cross, no crown!). The Christian life will be a reflection of the life that Jesus led as the Son of God. We who are also children of God through faith can expect no less a life than one like that of Jesus. That life, remember, carried its cross, but also received its crown. That is why Jesus can say from the other side of his passion, resurrection, and ascension, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). He has been there -- done that! So, he can pass on his wealth of experience and accomplishment as an inheritance to those who follow him.
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
It must have been a long meal that Passover night. Besides the eating, there was the washing of feet and a lot of conversation. Philip said to Jesus, "Show us the Father" (14:8). After three years of signs, Philip, probably voicing the concern of the rest of the disciples, wanted one more proof of Jesus' messiahship, "... and we shall be satisfied." Jesus knew all along that they were not getting it -- except that one time when he got all excited when Peter did, and he called him a rock for his solid understanding (Matthew 16:13-20)! He could see the betrayal coming. He could see the denial coming. So, knowing that the disciples needed to be reminded constantly of the truth that in him the very heart of God is revealed to the world, Jesus talks to them about how he and the Father are one. The words that he speaks and the works that he performs disclose the presence of the Father.
The preposition in is telling at this point. Jesus does not say that the Father is with him or around him or over him or ahead of him. Jesus is specific by identifying the Father's presence in him. (He expresses this personally and privately in prayer also, recorded in John 17:20-26.) He had told them before, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30); now, he needed to restate it for their dull understanding. When faith perceives this to be true, then the believer is prepared to receive the Holy Spirit, who will dwell "with you and will be in you" (14:17).
The intimacy of God with the world becomes greater as the divine works unfold through the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. One must be careful not to cross the heretical line of modalism here. Yet, one can talk of the historical intensifying of the divine economy through the particularity of Jesus' ministry and passion and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These touch points in time concretize what the Holy Trinity has always been up to from the foundation of the world. (See Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 4:3; 1 Peter 1:20.)
Jesus describes how the Holy Spirit will help the disciples. The Holy Spirit will instruct the disciples in the truth of who Jesus is and in the truth of what Jesus told them about life and purpose and being alive to God -- what Paul prayed for the Ephesians, namely to have "the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know..." (Ephesians 1:18). When the Holy Spirit confirms the work of Jesus for the believer, there will indeed be a peace that is beyond what the world can imagine, a peace that can calm the troubles and fears that believers and non-believers alike are customarily heir to.
Application
"What does this mean?" This is the question posed from the borders of "every nation under heaven." The Pentecost story is the church's open door to the world. Christians, preachers especially, should assume that the world is asking this all-important question: What does this mean? This question is the open door to the souls of mortals with the message of immortality. Peter seized the day and began the sermon that has been heard round the world. In one of his own letters he would make note later, "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15b).
For whatever worth statistics are (they can be as fickle as the fancy of the one who uses them!), the Global Evangelization Movement in its recent World Christian Encyclopedia reports that Christianity remains the world's biggest religion with just a bit over one-third of the world's population as adherents. That means at least two-thirds of the world's population is still asking, "What does this mean?"
The answer as proclaimed by the first generation of Christians is that "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (2:21). Such a message cannot really be heard apart from the confession of a "crooked generation" (Acts 2:40). Kierkegaard observed that without the consciousness of sin there can be no Christianity. It is only when there is the acknowledgment of one's position as judged before the Holy One, that there can be a readiness and an eagerness to hear the good news of salvation in Jesus. That is why Peter's sermon continues with the exhortation to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). This is the fulness of the day of the Lord: it is neither all damnation, nor cheap grace. It is the existential dread of each individual standing before the Almighty deserving condemnation, but receiving mercy, as one repents in "fear and trembling" (a la Kierkegaard; but, note Paul on sanctification in Philippians 2:12) and still asks with heart laid bare the question, "What does this mean?" How can this be? Such undeserved grace!
The underside of this question comes like archer's arrows aimed at the media, the message, and the messenger of the Christian witness. Regarding the media, street-corner evangelism is considered intrusive and televangelism is made fun of and track ministry is considered simplistic. Both modern scientism and post-modern relativism debunk the message faith claims as true. And, there is joy in Mudville, whenever the mighty have fallen, as evidenced by the feeding frenzy around notable religious personalities whose flaws have been exposed in recent years. The point is this: there will always be a sense in which Christians are "strangers in a strange land" and will be expected to give defense of ourselves, our message, and the means we use to convey it. (See Acts 17:16-21 for one more example of this.)
This is where the Holy Spirit comes to the church with gifts for such a challenge. Pentecost was an historical event that gave birth to the church, delivering it from the upper room incubation of waiting and wondering into the bright light of the streets to engage a humanity longing for new life. Pentecost still happens as a daily event, whenever and wherever the Holy Spirit manifests the power of God to equip God's people for the mission that has been given. The gifts of the Spirit can be named.
There is confidence, that God is indeed still with his people and has not left us desolate (John 14:18). We stand strong, not necessarily because we are together and numerous. There have been many battlefields deserted by a host in battle array. We stand strong because our champion stands with us. The Spirit gives witness to him and sets our sights on him, so that we can follow with confidence. This is the testimony of Revelation 19:11-16.
There is comfort, that whatever may befall us in our life, we are in the Lord's hands. This is what Paul means in Romans 14:8, where he writes, "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." In his letter to the Corinthian congregation (2 Corinthians 1:3-7), he encourages his fellow believers with the comfort that is from God in the midst of any and all afflictions. This is a treasured gift through which many a suffering Christian has found peace during the storms of life.
There is courage to be about the vital task of witnessing despite the dangers that may attend it. The many missionaries who embarked on their assignments during the nineteenth century were encouraged on their way by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Paul exhibits the courage of the Spirit as he faces imprisonment and afflictions in the cities he visits (Acts 20:22-24). The experience of the early disciples was that the Spirit gave them courage to speak before their accusers when the time came, whether that time was in the market place, in the synagogues, in the courts, in the arena, or at the stake.
Peter understood the prophecy in Joel to be fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that particular Pentecost. Yet, as with all biblical prophecies, there is an element that keeps begging the future, such that it may be more fruitful to speak of prophecy being manifest in one day and then another, always filling full new days with the promises of God, leading God's people forward into each tomorrow with hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Acts 2:1-21
In our previous lessons from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we have been journeying with the Apostle Paul. Now we backtrack to the time when the missionary enterprise of the church first began. In Acts 1:4-5, before he ascended to heaven, the risen Christ commanded his apostles to remain in Jerusalem until they were empowered for evangelism throughout the known world by the gift of the Holy Spirit from heaven. Similarly, in the last part of our Gospel Lesson for today, Christ promises that after his ascension he will send his Holy Spirit upon his disciples to teach them all things (John 14:25-26).
As our text opens, therefore, the disciples are all gathered together in one place on the day of Pentecost. That festival, which originally celebrated the wheat harvest, was the second of the three mandatory feasts of the Jews. It fell fifty days after the first day of Passover, which was celebrated in the spring, and some months before the fall festival of booths. Apparently the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem adopted Pentecost as part of their worship of God, and of course today, it is still observed in the church.
The account recorded in Acts 2 is familiar to us all. We have heard and read it dozens of times. As the disciples are all together "in one place" in a house, there is the sound from heaven "like" that of a mighty wind -- a guarded description -- which fills the entire house. There "appear" tongues "as of" fire -- again careful language -- that rests on each apostle separately. And they are given the gift of the Spirit that enables them to begin to speak in other languages. The sound of the disturbance draws a crowd of devout Jews from the nations circling the eastern half of the Mediterranean -- from the Arabian peninsula and Mesopotamia, from Asia Minor and its coast, from northern Africa, and from the island of Crete -- the description circles around the Sea. Amazingly, each person in the whole motley assembly hears an apostle speaking in his language and telling of the mighty works that God has done through Jesus Christ. At the Tower of Babel, God had divided the languages of the nations, so that they could not understand one another or get along with one another as his judgment on them for their attempts to do without him (Genesis 11:8-9). Now that judgment and that division are overcome by the gift of the Spirit.
So perplexing is the phenomenon to the gathered crowd that some among them are sure that the apostles are drunk, but Peter arises to his feet and assures the crowd, in a rather humorous note, that such is not the case, since it's only 9 a.m. in the morning. Rather, declares Peter, the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32, which described the events that would take place before the final coming of the Kingdom of God in the last days at the end of history, is being fulfilled. As he promised in the words of the prophet Joel, God is pouring out his Spirit on all flesh, to give them the power to dream dreams and to see visions and to prophesy -- that is, the power to understand and to receive God's revelation of himself through his word. Before he comes in final judgment of his world, God in his Spirit is opening the human hearts of all to faith. He is giving every soul the power to believe and to be saved through faith in Christ.
What follows our text for the morning, then, is Peter's proclamation of the work of God in his Son and the crowd's repentance and acceptance in faith of God's gift of salvation in Christ (vv. 22-41).
The risen Christ had promised the disciples that he would send them his Holy Spirit. Now that promise is fulfilled -- not only on this Day of Pentecost, which has been called "the birthday of the church," but also for each one of us. Beginning with these first apostles and Christian Jews in Jerusalem, God has continued to shed his Holy Spirit upon his church. He has done that in the sacrament of baptism, when each one of us was baptized into the body of Christ, the church, and given the Lord's Holy Spirit, symbolized by the water poured upon us. So now you and I have had our hearts opened to receive the gift of faith, and we have been empowered to become Christ's disciples in our daily lives and in our evangelism both near and far. God gives us both the power to repent and believe and the power to be his witnesses to his work in Christ. And we exercise that power and that witness by the way we live our lives every day and by what we tell and do toward every person both near and far.
But what, or better who, is this mysterious Holy Spirit who has been given to us? "Spirituality" is a great fad these days; everyone wants to be more "spiritual." And by that, persons seem to mean a dozen different things, some of them very kooky, others very sober. If we ask someone to define the Holy Spirit for us we get everything from a "feeling" to a "presence" to a "ghost" to a vague "something" or "whatever." But our text in Acts and our Gospel Lesson in John are both very clear about who the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is the presence of the risen and reigning Christ with us. The Holy Spirit is Christ continuing his work in our midst through the third Person of the Triune God. The Holy Spirit is God in Christ, Immanuel, God with us, as he promised he would be. "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you," he told us (John 14:18). And he has come, and he is here in our midst, in all the power and the mercy and love of the one Holy Lord of heaven and of earth.
So now you and I are given the power, are we not, to receive that wondrous message that has been proclaimed to the church through the ages? Our sins are forgiven -- and heaven knows, the church and each one of us has done and said lots of them. Therefore, knowing that we are already forgiven, we can repent of our wrong, can't we? As for our doubts, now the Holy Spirit has given us hearts to believe and to receive the life-giving gift from God of faith, which is the source of all joy in the midst of turmoil and the certainty that cannot be shaken, though heaven and earth pass away. More than that, the Holy Spirit has now given us the love of Christ that we can exercise toward our neighbors and the mercy of Christ that we can extend as a witness to the world.
The Holy Spirit is our Lord Jesus Christ, dwelling with us, living in us, working through us, to make us Christians and to transform the earth by the power of the gospel, until this world truly becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. What one of us wants to neglect such a gift? What greater love could the Father show us?
