Wait here for the baptism of the Holy Spirit
Commentary
Object:
The thrust of the scriptures for Ascension is on the reliance of the early Christians on the power and direction of the Holy Spirit once Jesus had left the earth. Not all of the followers of Jesus had been present at the Ascension, and there was much doubt as to whether he had actually risen from the dead, even among the Twelve.
In Luke's gospel, Jesus' charge to the apostles is preceded by the story of the walk to Emmaus. In that story, two of the wider circle of disciples are walking along, grieving the loss of Jesus on the cross. It is evident that they don't understand how Messiah, who could call on legions of angels to fight, had been crucified by the hated Roman occupiers. A stranger joins them and asks what it is they're talking about, and they tell him the story of their leader. The stranger begins to discuss the scriptures that the apostles had -- that is, what we call the Old Testament -- and taught them the necessity of the death of the Christ (Messiah). They did not recognize him on the road, but when he broke the bread at supper that evening and gave thanks for it, they realized who this 'stranger' was -- only to have him disappear before their eyes.
That story is followed directly by another appearance of Jesus in the midst of doubting disciples. His sudden appearance terrifies them. Is he a ghost? But he asks for a piece of fish and eats it while they watch. Rather than a ghost, he is solid flesh and blood. And not only flesh and blood, but still their teacher. Because in the gospel selection for today (vv. 44-53) he tells them that they have a mission: to preach to bring about the repentance of the people, but also to assure them of the forgiveness of sins to all nations, starting in Jerusalem.
This mission is made easier by the power of the Holy Spirit, for which they are to wait in Jerusalem. That Spirit, he assured his disciples, will give them courage. It will also give them the ability to heal and care for the well-being of others in the name of Jesus. In this way, what they preach will be under-girded by their compassionate care of those who are listening. Notice that the emphasis of these passages is on compassion -- literally, the ability to feel what another person is feeling and to care for them in their need.
The work of the Spirit, according to Paul in today's reading from Ephesians, will be to instill hope and wisdom in those who are called to this ministry. How does this happen? It happens because people put their trust in God, and God, "the glorious Father," as Paul puts it, gives this gift and "the eyes of their hearts" will be opened. In other words, their understanding of the message and their compassion for others will be so enlarged that they will have, not worldly wisdom, but as James 3:17 says, "The wisdom that comes from heaven [which is] first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."
In today's churches, we get a good deal of preaching about the need for repentance, of accepting Christ as our personal Savior, and of the need to be "born again" but little preaching on the need for Christians to have the Holy Spirit, to reach out to others in love, to use what has been given to us to speak wisdom to those in power. This unfortunate lack leads to little preaching of the work of a Christian in the wider world. Where there is no preaching of the need for the Holy Spirit, and no preaching of the power that the Holy Spirit confers on the followers of Christ, there is no preaching on our need to deliver our message to the nations. When this happens, our view of what it means to be a Christian tends to narrow. Instead of spreading the message of the Resurrection (that God loves us and intends the best for us), the emphasis becomes centered on the crucifixion alone, and a message of fear of God. When we focus only on our own salvation, we are missing two thirds of what Jesus asks of his disciples.
This is why Paul says that the gift of the Holy Spirit produces holy wisdom and compassion. When we claim the power of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to preach what our neighbors -- and even our enemies -- need to hear: that God loves them and intends that we all live in harmony and love for one another. Preaching a message of judgment and hate is never the way of God. It is only when we look for the Holy Spirit that we can love one another as Christ has loved us, without fear.
This is a message that people desperately need to hear today. Most of our parishioners are fearful -- afraid of their hours or their pay being cut, afraid of losing their benefits, afraid that their jobs will be shipped overseas, afraid of their pensions and Social Security simply disappearing. Recent events at the Boston Marathon have once again raised the specter of fear of terrorists, and indeed all followers of Islam. Unfortunately, when we are afraid, we easily hate those who are "different" from us. As the TV journalists were questioning the relatives of the bombers after the event, we could hear the fear in their voices as one of them said, "This terrible act on the part [of the brothers] has brought shame on our family, and really on all of our people. Now people are blaming us for what they did. And we did not do this horrible thing." Nothing could be truer in today's world. When we are fearful, we look for someone to punish, to make us feel safer. And when the perpetrators are dead, many get frustrated, having the opportunity of revenge removed, and so they look for others to punish.
But for the Spirit-inspired Christian, hope is stronger than fear. The Spirit makes us strong enough to love our enemies and to trust in God for our lives in the face of violence. This is what happened to the disciples, and it is the meaning of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is what the term "sanctification" means. It is the continuing work of God in the company of Christians, as those who have been baptized in water are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Just as the first is the culmination of justification (the washing away of sins and the renewal of the human soul), so the second is the preparation of the soul for the spread of the kingdom of God on earth.
Acts 1:1-11
The Acts of the Apostles is the second of two books written by Luke, who was a Gentile doctor [the "Beloved Physician" referred to in Colossians 4:14], and one of Paul's coworkers [see 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24]. As we can see from the introduction, this book is a sequel to Luke's gospel. While his gospel focused on the work and teaching of Jesus up to his ascension into heaven, Acts is focused on the apostles and how they lived and worked after Jesus had ascended.
The story overlaps the last episode of the gospel: with Jesus leaving his disciples, telling them to stay put in Jerusalem so that they will be present for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The apostles immediately ask him if this is the time when he will restore the kingdom to Israel -- in other words, will he fulfill all of their expectations of an earthly monarchy, driving out the Romans and establishing Jewish rule over all the earth? What Jesus says in reply is as important for us today as it was for his disciples. "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power... [to] be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth."
This was no small question to those who were reading Luke's work. Some time had passed. Paul had been converted from Judaism in the midst of an attempt by the authorities to stamp out Christianity, which was seen as a dangerous heresy among the Jews in Judea. We know that his conversion took place several years after the ascension that begins the book of Acts, and that he took seven years of study and preparation before he began to preach. So if Luke was a companion to Paul later in Paul's ministry, it could be close to a generation after Jesus' life was over as Luke is writing all of these stories for the early church. Many of the converts to Christianity, even including Paul, were expecting the immediate return of Christ. Many of the original twelve had hope that Jesus would return to earth before they were dead, and that had not happened. The question of "When, Lord?" was no small question to Jewish Christians who found themselves driven out of the synagogues, forced to leave their homes and even Jerusalem. As they traveled to other cities of the ancient world where Jews had settled (called the Diaspora) those Jews who converted were also waiting for Messiah to restore Israel.
On the other side of the question, Christian converts were increasingly Gentiles, rather than Jewish, and choices were being made about what it meant to be Christian in the light of these cultural differences. This is reflected in Luke's address in the first line of Acts: to Theophilus, which is Greek for "one who loves God." As to whether this is an actual person, or a way to address anyone who might be reading the book, we don't know, but we could say it is addressed especially to us: non-Jewish Christians who came to the faith after Jesus' life on earth was over and whose faith, therefore, has to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
In Luke's gospel, he has already told us that their preaching is to focus on "repentance and forgiveness of sins," and that message is to be "proclaimed... to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" as we see in today's gospel selection. Later in Acts, Peter is described as doing exactly that, and as we will see in the reading from Ephesians, Paul says, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."
This is to be the role of Jesus' disciples. They are not to establish an earthly kingdom. They are learning that when Jesus talked about "the kingdom of God" he was not speaking of a monarchy on earth. That phrase, basileia tou theou, does not refer to a king like earthly kings, nor does it mean a kingdom that has boundaries and the usual hierarchy or bureaucracy of earthly countries. Instead, Jesus was talking about a way of thinking and of life that would establish a community whose first priority would be to set people free from seeking honors and promotions, and from the fears that bind us. The kingdom that Jesus is talking about is more like a confederation of those who willingly serve, and whose service is one of love.
The disciples have been promised the presence of God's Holy Spirit, even as the Old Testament prophets had. The Spirit will give them wisdom and strength to preach not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well, "to the ends of the earth." As Jesus completes his commission to them, he disappears "into a cloud," which is a way of saying that he gradually disappeared, as happens when a fog is forming. Although many artists have portrayed this scene with Jesus literally rising up from the earth, we need to be careful with this language in a day where we have thousands of satellites rotating around the earth, and an understanding that the stars are not literally "up there," where the light of heaven shines through the dome of the sky. Today's listeners have been treated to Hubble's photographs of the far reaches of the galaxy and will understand that this ascent of Jesus is a poetic way of saying that he disappeared in front of their eyes.
One last note about this passage: Luke adds "two men in white robes" to this account of the Ascension that were not there in the gospel. This is the same language he used at his story of the Resurrection, where "two men in dazzling clothes stood beside" the women at the tomb. We recognize this as his way to describe two angels, who bring an important message: "Why are you standing around, looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who has disappeared, will be back the same way you saw him go."
It's a word to modern-day disciples, as well. Are we standing around staring at the heavens? Are we sitting around waiting for Jesus to come back? Are we waiting for God to fix things for us? Or are we preparing to do the work of Jesus entrusted to the followers of Christ? As Luke continues his story, we understand that this is the way the disciples were before the Holy Spirit empowered them to go forth in the name of Christ. It is only after the Spirit enters into them that they suddenly have the courage and power to go out and preach Jesus resurrected to people who didn't believe that any more than so-called "scientifically minded" people today are open to the idea of someone rising from the grave. And most especially, they were no more open to the idea that love not only conquers all, but has already done so.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Ephesus was the Roman capital of Asia Minor, and one of the earliest centers of Christianity. In Acts, it is the home of Priscilla and Aquilla and Apollos, and followers of John the Baptist were found here as well. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and protector of young women, and therefore a pilgrimage site for most of the Roman Empire. It was here that Paul is described as getting into conflict with the well-established business of votive carvings in honor of the goddess. As to whether Paul wrote this letter or it was written by some other early Christian writer under the pen name of Paul, is uncertain. The writing style is very Hellenistic, which is unlike Paul's writings. It also says that the church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets," which contrasts with Paul's declaration that the church is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Finally, the opening words of this passage seem to indicate that the writer has not directly experienced the faith of the Ephesians.
As to the church itself, Ephesus is one of the seven churches of Asia Minor that are featured in the book of Revelation. This is the church that is praised for its patience and ability to uncover false apostles, a task that might be difficult, at best, in such a cosmopolitan city. But the need to bear up under such difficult circumstances has taken a toll on their ability to love joyfully. So this is the congregation to whom this letter is apparently written.
The writer here says that he has been giving thanks to God for their faith and love, so we can see that this letter was written before they had become tired of their surroundings. He seems to know how hard their lives have been and will be, witnessing to Christ in this most important city to those who worship Artemis. He tells them that he has asked God to give them "a spirit of wisdom and revelation (what we today call the Holy Spirit)" so that they will continue in their compassion for others. This is the meaning of the phrase "the eyes of your heart" -- the ability to see life as others see it.
This prayer for the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit is important for today's Christians. So many of our churches are closing because the congregation failed to reach out and embrace their neighbors, inviting them to church and integrating them into the life and work of the congregation. American Christians seem to have missed the idea that each congregant is responsible to reach out to the community, invite people to worship the Lord with them, and help them to grow in their experience of the love of Christ. As neighborhoods have changed, churches neglected to reach out to new neighbors and make them welcome to worship. We have squabbles over the style of worship and music, often splitting congregations over the number of hymns in a worship service and the fading away of organ music in favor of small bands, complete with drum sets, keyboards, and words projected on a screen. And when culturally diverse congregations share the same building, there are hard feelings over scheduling the various rooms and the volume at which music is played.
It takes serious reliance on God and yielding to one another in love to prevent such problems from destroying mutual ministry. With the help of God's Holy Spirit, "the eyes of our hearts" can open, giving us an ability to see others with love rather than judgment, and an ability to suffer with one another rather than being critical with each other. Sanctification is a process of becoming more and more like Jesus, who touched the diseased, healed a woman in the middle of the congregation of men, and insisted on the value of a little child and the stranger in the midst of the congregation of the faithful.
To talk about the work of the Holy Spirit is to talk about the call to holiness. To the Jews, the prophets were called to be holy, to do special work on behalf of God. We can think of Nathan, coming to King David to confront him about his relationship with Bathsheba, the wife of another man, whom David arranged to have killed in battle. But to the first Christians, they all were called to be holy. Every Christian had special work to do for God. There was a message entrusted to them, and they could not hold it in.
This brings us to a final question: Is there still a holy calling for every Christian or have we retreated to the point where the only call to holiness is to those who become worship leaders, teachers, and counselors? Do we still have a message that is worth taking risks to proclaim?
Many years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of a group of Christians who were invited to visit a variety of ministries supported by our denomination in the northern part of the island. One of the places we visited was a seminary up in the highlands, where young men and women were being educated together. Every weekend, the students were sent out into the jungle to find villages where they had never heard the Christian story. Week after week they went out and talked to people, teaching them about the power of Jesus to free them from their fears, to tell them that God loved them and to pray for healing and joy for the people to whom they ministered.
We were surprised to hear that these young people traveled alone through jungles that are filled with wild animals, snakes, poisonous vines, and people who might be hostile to newcomers. We were astounded to know that this was required of the young women as well as the young men. The teachers could not imagine that we were afraid on behalf of the women. After all, Christ looks after us all, both men and women. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts of power to both men and women. Why were we afraid for the young women?
Even more surprising, the young seminarians related to us stories of healings such as we read about in the Bible. They expected that the signs that the first apostles were able to perform would also accompany their own preaching, if they were faithful to Jesus. The leaders of the seminary were a bit embarrassed as the students told these stories. These seminarians were not as sophisticated as we Americans, they explained. But why should they be embarrassed to tell us what they are accomplishing? That the signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit followed them wherever they preached the gospel?
Perhaps it is we who should be embarrassed that we no longer see such healings. Should we apologize to God that we no longer expect the power of the Holy Spirit? What might we be able to accomplish if we waited for the Holy Spirit to enable us, like those first apostles? Who knows but that we might be able to be at peace with Islamists, Hindus, and others if we were to expect the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
In Luke's gospel, Jesus' charge to the apostles is preceded by the story of the walk to Emmaus. In that story, two of the wider circle of disciples are walking along, grieving the loss of Jesus on the cross. It is evident that they don't understand how Messiah, who could call on legions of angels to fight, had been crucified by the hated Roman occupiers. A stranger joins them and asks what it is they're talking about, and they tell him the story of their leader. The stranger begins to discuss the scriptures that the apostles had -- that is, what we call the Old Testament -- and taught them the necessity of the death of the Christ (Messiah). They did not recognize him on the road, but when he broke the bread at supper that evening and gave thanks for it, they realized who this 'stranger' was -- only to have him disappear before their eyes.
That story is followed directly by another appearance of Jesus in the midst of doubting disciples. His sudden appearance terrifies them. Is he a ghost? But he asks for a piece of fish and eats it while they watch. Rather than a ghost, he is solid flesh and blood. And not only flesh and blood, but still their teacher. Because in the gospel selection for today (vv. 44-53) he tells them that they have a mission: to preach to bring about the repentance of the people, but also to assure them of the forgiveness of sins to all nations, starting in Jerusalem.
This mission is made easier by the power of the Holy Spirit, for which they are to wait in Jerusalem. That Spirit, he assured his disciples, will give them courage. It will also give them the ability to heal and care for the well-being of others in the name of Jesus. In this way, what they preach will be under-girded by their compassionate care of those who are listening. Notice that the emphasis of these passages is on compassion -- literally, the ability to feel what another person is feeling and to care for them in their need.
The work of the Spirit, according to Paul in today's reading from Ephesians, will be to instill hope and wisdom in those who are called to this ministry. How does this happen? It happens because people put their trust in God, and God, "the glorious Father," as Paul puts it, gives this gift and "the eyes of their hearts" will be opened. In other words, their understanding of the message and their compassion for others will be so enlarged that they will have, not worldly wisdom, but as James 3:17 says, "The wisdom that comes from heaven [which is] first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."
In today's churches, we get a good deal of preaching about the need for repentance, of accepting Christ as our personal Savior, and of the need to be "born again" but little preaching on the need for Christians to have the Holy Spirit, to reach out to others in love, to use what has been given to us to speak wisdom to those in power. This unfortunate lack leads to little preaching of the work of a Christian in the wider world. Where there is no preaching of the need for the Holy Spirit, and no preaching of the power that the Holy Spirit confers on the followers of Christ, there is no preaching on our need to deliver our message to the nations. When this happens, our view of what it means to be a Christian tends to narrow. Instead of spreading the message of the Resurrection (that God loves us and intends the best for us), the emphasis becomes centered on the crucifixion alone, and a message of fear of God. When we focus only on our own salvation, we are missing two thirds of what Jesus asks of his disciples.
This is why Paul says that the gift of the Holy Spirit produces holy wisdom and compassion. When we claim the power of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to preach what our neighbors -- and even our enemies -- need to hear: that God loves them and intends that we all live in harmony and love for one another. Preaching a message of judgment and hate is never the way of God. It is only when we look for the Holy Spirit that we can love one another as Christ has loved us, without fear.
This is a message that people desperately need to hear today. Most of our parishioners are fearful -- afraid of their hours or their pay being cut, afraid of losing their benefits, afraid that their jobs will be shipped overseas, afraid of their pensions and Social Security simply disappearing. Recent events at the Boston Marathon have once again raised the specter of fear of terrorists, and indeed all followers of Islam. Unfortunately, when we are afraid, we easily hate those who are "different" from us. As the TV journalists were questioning the relatives of the bombers after the event, we could hear the fear in their voices as one of them said, "This terrible act on the part [of the brothers] has brought shame on our family, and really on all of our people. Now people are blaming us for what they did. And we did not do this horrible thing." Nothing could be truer in today's world. When we are fearful, we look for someone to punish, to make us feel safer. And when the perpetrators are dead, many get frustrated, having the opportunity of revenge removed, and so they look for others to punish.
But for the Spirit-inspired Christian, hope is stronger than fear. The Spirit makes us strong enough to love our enemies and to trust in God for our lives in the face of violence. This is what happened to the disciples, and it is the meaning of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is what the term "sanctification" means. It is the continuing work of God in the company of Christians, as those who have been baptized in water are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Just as the first is the culmination of justification (the washing away of sins and the renewal of the human soul), so the second is the preparation of the soul for the spread of the kingdom of God on earth.
Acts 1:1-11
The Acts of the Apostles is the second of two books written by Luke, who was a Gentile doctor [the "Beloved Physician" referred to in Colossians 4:14], and one of Paul's coworkers [see 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24]. As we can see from the introduction, this book is a sequel to Luke's gospel. While his gospel focused on the work and teaching of Jesus up to his ascension into heaven, Acts is focused on the apostles and how they lived and worked after Jesus had ascended.
The story overlaps the last episode of the gospel: with Jesus leaving his disciples, telling them to stay put in Jerusalem so that they will be present for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The apostles immediately ask him if this is the time when he will restore the kingdom to Israel -- in other words, will he fulfill all of their expectations of an earthly monarchy, driving out the Romans and establishing Jewish rule over all the earth? What Jesus says in reply is as important for us today as it was for his disciples. "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power... [to] be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth."
This was no small question to those who were reading Luke's work. Some time had passed. Paul had been converted from Judaism in the midst of an attempt by the authorities to stamp out Christianity, which was seen as a dangerous heresy among the Jews in Judea. We know that his conversion took place several years after the ascension that begins the book of Acts, and that he took seven years of study and preparation before he began to preach. So if Luke was a companion to Paul later in Paul's ministry, it could be close to a generation after Jesus' life was over as Luke is writing all of these stories for the early church. Many of the converts to Christianity, even including Paul, were expecting the immediate return of Christ. Many of the original twelve had hope that Jesus would return to earth before they were dead, and that had not happened. The question of "When, Lord?" was no small question to Jewish Christians who found themselves driven out of the synagogues, forced to leave their homes and even Jerusalem. As they traveled to other cities of the ancient world where Jews had settled (called the Diaspora) those Jews who converted were also waiting for Messiah to restore Israel.
On the other side of the question, Christian converts were increasingly Gentiles, rather than Jewish, and choices were being made about what it meant to be Christian in the light of these cultural differences. This is reflected in Luke's address in the first line of Acts: to Theophilus, which is Greek for "one who loves God." As to whether this is an actual person, or a way to address anyone who might be reading the book, we don't know, but we could say it is addressed especially to us: non-Jewish Christians who came to the faith after Jesus' life on earth was over and whose faith, therefore, has to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
In Luke's gospel, he has already told us that their preaching is to focus on "repentance and forgiveness of sins," and that message is to be "proclaimed... to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" as we see in today's gospel selection. Later in Acts, Peter is described as doing exactly that, and as we will see in the reading from Ephesians, Paul says, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."
This is to be the role of Jesus' disciples. They are not to establish an earthly kingdom. They are learning that when Jesus talked about "the kingdom of God" he was not speaking of a monarchy on earth. That phrase, basileia tou theou, does not refer to a king like earthly kings, nor does it mean a kingdom that has boundaries and the usual hierarchy or bureaucracy of earthly countries. Instead, Jesus was talking about a way of thinking and of life that would establish a community whose first priority would be to set people free from seeking honors and promotions, and from the fears that bind us. The kingdom that Jesus is talking about is more like a confederation of those who willingly serve, and whose service is one of love.
The disciples have been promised the presence of God's Holy Spirit, even as the Old Testament prophets had. The Spirit will give them wisdom and strength to preach not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well, "to the ends of the earth." As Jesus completes his commission to them, he disappears "into a cloud," which is a way of saying that he gradually disappeared, as happens when a fog is forming. Although many artists have portrayed this scene with Jesus literally rising up from the earth, we need to be careful with this language in a day where we have thousands of satellites rotating around the earth, and an understanding that the stars are not literally "up there," where the light of heaven shines through the dome of the sky. Today's listeners have been treated to Hubble's photographs of the far reaches of the galaxy and will understand that this ascent of Jesus is a poetic way of saying that he disappeared in front of their eyes.
One last note about this passage: Luke adds "two men in white robes" to this account of the Ascension that were not there in the gospel. This is the same language he used at his story of the Resurrection, where "two men in dazzling clothes stood beside" the women at the tomb. We recognize this as his way to describe two angels, who bring an important message: "Why are you standing around, looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who has disappeared, will be back the same way you saw him go."
It's a word to modern-day disciples, as well. Are we standing around staring at the heavens? Are we sitting around waiting for Jesus to come back? Are we waiting for God to fix things for us? Or are we preparing to do the work of Jesus entrusted to the followers of Christ? As Luke continues his story, we understand that this is the way the disciples were before the Holy Spirit empowered them to go forth in the name of Christ. It is only after the Spirit enters into them that they suddenly have the courage and power to go out and preach Jesus resurrected to people who didn't believe that any more than so-called "scientifically minded" people today are open to the idea of someone rising from the grave. And most especially, they were no more open to the idea that love not only conquers all, but has already done so.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Ephesus was the Roman capital of Asia Minor, and one of the earliest centers of Christianity. In Acts, it is the home of Priscilla and Aquilla and Apollos, and followers of John the Baptist were found here as well. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and protector of young women, and therefore a pilgrimage site for most of the Roman Empire. It was here that Paul is described as getting into conflict with the well-established business of votive carvings in honor of the goddess. As to whether Paul wrote this letter or it was written by some other early Christian writer under the pen name of Paul, is uncertain. The writing style is very Hellenistic, which is unlike Paul's writings. It also says that the church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets," which contrasts with Paul's declaration that the church is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Finally, the opening words of this passage seem to indicate that the writer has not directly experienced the faith of the Ephesians.
As to the church itself, Ephesus is one of the seven churches of Asia Minor that are featured in the book of Revelation. This is the church that is praised for its patience and ability to uncover false apostles, a task that might be difficult, at best, in such a cosmopolitan city. But the need to bear up under such difficult circumstances has taken a toll on their ability to love joyfully. So this is the congregation to whom this letter is apparently written.
The writer here says that he has been giving thanks to God for their faith and love, so we can see that this letter was written before they had become tired of their surroundings. He seems to know how hard their lives have been and will be, witnessing to Christ in this most important city to those who worship Artemis. He tells them that he has asked God to give them "a spirit of wisdom and revelation (what we today call the Holy Spirit)" so that they will continue in their compassion for others. This is the meaning of the phrase "the eyes of your heart" -- the ability to see life as others see it.
This prayer for the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit is important for today's Christians. So many of our churches are closing because the congregation failed to reach out and embrace their neighbors, inviting them to church and integrating them into the life and work of the congregation. American Christians seem to have missed the idea that each congregant is responsible to reach out to the community, invite people to worship the Lord with them, and help them to grow in their experience of the love of Christ. As neighborhoods have changed, churches neglected to reach out to new neighbors and make them welcome to worship. We have squabbles over the style of worship and music, often splitting congregations over the number of hymns in a worship service and the fading away of organ music in favor of small bands, complete with drum sets, keyboards, and words projected on a screen. And when culturally diverse congregations share the same building, there are hard feelings over scheduling the various rooms and the volume at which music is played.
It takes serious reliance on God and yielding to one another in love to prevent such problems from destroying mutual ministry. With the help of God's Holy Spirit, "the eyes of our hearts" can open, giving us an ability to see others with love rather than judgment, and an ability to suffer with one another rather than being critical with each other. Sanctification is a process of becoming more and more like Jesus, who touched the diseased, healed a woman in the middle of the congregation of men, and insisted on the value of a little child and the stranger in the midst of the congregation of the faithful.
To talk about the work of the Holy Spirit is to talk about the call to holiness. To the Jews, the prophets were called to be holy, to do special work on behalf of God. We can think of Nathan, coming to King David to confront him about his relationship with Bathsheba, the wife of another man, whom David arranged to have killed in battle. But to the first Christians, they all were called to be holy. Every Christian had special work to do for God. There was a message entrusted to them, and they could not hold it in.
This brings us to a final question: Is there still a holy calling for every Christian or have we retreated to the point where the only call to holiness is to those who become worship leaders, teachers, and counselors? Do we still have a message that is worth taking risks to proclaim?
Many years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of a group of Christians who were invited to visit a variety of ministries supported by our denomination in the northern part of the island. One of the places we visited was a seminary up in the highlands, where young men and women were being educated together. Every weekend, the students were sent out into the jungle to find villages where they had never heard the Christian story. Week after week they went out and talked to people, teaching them about the power of Jesus to free them from their fears, to tell them that God loved them and to pray for healing and joy for the people to whom they ministered.
We were surprised to hear that these young people traveled alone through jungles that are filled with wild animals, snakes, poisonous vines, and people who might be hostile to newcomers. We were astounded to know that this was required of the young women as well as the young men. The teachers could not imagine that we were afraid on behalf of the women. After all, Christ looks after us all, both men and women. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts of power to both men and women. Why were we afraid for the young women?
Even more surprising, the young seminarians related to us stories of healings such as we read about in the Bible. They expected that the signs that the first apostles were able to perform would also accompany their own preaching, if they were faithful to Jesus. The leaders of the seminary were a bit embarrassed as the students told these stories. These seminarians were not as sophisticated as we Americans, they explained. But why should they be embarrassed to tell us what they are accomplishing? That the signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit followed them wherever they preached the gospel?
Perhaps it is we who should be embarrassed that we no longer see such healings. Should we apologize to God that we no longer expect the power of the Holy Spirit? What might we be able to accomplish if we waited for the Holy Spirit to enable us, like those first apostles? Who knows but that we might be able to be at peace with Islamists, Hindus, and others if we were to expect the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
