Divine Dynamite
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
"You will receive power ..." (Acts 1:8). Here was a ragtag bunch of people with no power, no position, no influence, no clout, being given the promise of their risen Lord that things were about to change for them. Not in the way that they might have wished, to be sure. After all, the power they were about to get was not political (even though that is what they wanted) -- there was no promise of an earthly kingdom. Just divine power. And we celebrate the coming of that power every year on Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came on that little band of believers in a unique way and sent them off on a mission that changed the world.
Most of us who come from the mainline tradition will freely admit that the church cannot live without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, but in our heart of hearts, we wonder whether we can live with the Spirit either. We sing "Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; wean it from earth; through all its pulses move."1 In the second stanza of that hymn, it is made clear: "I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, no sudden rending of the veil of clay." Yes, we want the Spirit, as long as the Spirit does not upset the orderliness of our lives or the church. We are wary and with good reason.
Think about it. The experience that most of us have had in questions concerning the Spirit have had to do with the religious fringes. We turn on the television and see people with faces turned to heaven, eyes tightly closed, hands in the air, and shouting gibberish. We see others coming down to a stage to meet a faith healer who claims the power of the Spirit as his own but who is also well known as a charlatan. We are sometimes confronted by folks who are convinced that this is the only kind of Christian experience that is legitimate, and we are even accused of not really being Christian if we do not agree. Those sorts of things embarrass us. No wonder we are wary.
A note here about the word "power." The Greek that stands behind it is the same root from which we get our word "dynamite."
On that day before his ascension, Jesus was not promising the boost of 9-volt battery to his disciples; he was offering his people something akin to a nuclear blast, something absolutely explosive. Come Pentecost, they would find out what he meant.
You remember the story. Jesus had told them to go to Jerusalem and wait, a hard task for anyone, much less people who were convinced that they had a mission to fulfill. As they waited they prayed together, talked about what had happened in their lives over this extraordinary past month and a half -- seeing their master tortured and murdered on a Roman cross but then returning to life just three days later. They prayed some more, chose a replacement for Judas, prayed still more. For ten solid days this went on. Then it happened. "You will receive power ... dynamite...."
We should not be surprised that something incredible occurred. Christians are always saying how much we believe in the power of prayer, but when was the last time you saw 100% of a congregation turn out for a prayer meeting, just for an hour? What do you think would happen to a church in which everyone would gather together for 240 hours of prayer? Wow!
As that marathon prayer meeting progressed, a strange violent wind-like sound penetrated the room. Eyes that had been closed in reverence opened up and saw what appeared to be tongues of flame dancing about the heads of the others. There was excited and ecstatic talk.
The noise from the room was loud enough to attract attention on the street below -- people gathered outside the house, curious as to what was going on. The foreigners in town for the annual Pentecost celebration at the temple were hearing their own languages being spoken and they paused to find out about it, just as we would do if we happened to be in a far country and suddenly heard someone conversing in our tongue. Some wondered what was happening. Others did not wonder -- they figured it was just a party and the whole bunch was snockered.
That was not the case, of course. Peter came out on the balcony overlooking the dusty street and made that clear. "We are not drunk," he said. "It is only nine o'clock in the morning" (Acts 2:15). No, this is something directly from God ... power ... divine dynamite. It is what was promised through the prophet Joel centuries ago.
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions ... I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth ... everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved....
-- Joel 2:28-32a
That is something important to remember about this divine dynamite, this power that God provides. The power is directed to a task, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Joel 2:32a). When Jesus promised power to his disciples he made it clear that the power was being given to accomplish a particular aim: "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8 RSV). Divine power is not provided willy-nilly; it is provided for the fulfillment of a divine commission.
Peter went on to explain about Jesus, his wondrous life, his cruel and unjust death, and finally his miraculous resurrection and ascension to glory. He concluded with a call for repentance and the offer of forgiveness of sins. The result? Three-thousand people joined the church that day. Dynamite! It was too powerful to ignore.
Granted, most people would prefer that. After all, an explosion does not leave things as they were, and there are not many who are comfortable with change and particularly a change in matters of religion. After all, there are enough changes in our lives without touching the one seemingly solid foundation that we have. We would rather not allow any questions to arise concerning expressions of faith. That is why folks talk about our church rather than the Lord's church; in their heart of hearts, they would just as soon that he leave well enough (or even bad enough) alone. No rushing mighty winds needed here, thank you.
But on that Pentecost and in the days that followed the Lord did not leave well enough alone. Some marvelous things occurred, things I believe could occur again if Christians really wanted them to.
There was genuine communication. For the first time since the confusion of the Tower of Babel, the ways people expressed themselves was no longer a problem. People could actually understand what one another said.
There was a real concern for growing in the faith. As the story in Acts has it, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42 RSV). They did not assume that because they were Christians now they had spiritually arrived; they wanted to grow.
One more thing should be noted -- the people became exceedingly generous. There is power for you. When people can actually be touched in their pocketbooks for unselfish reasons, you know that something is going on. As Acts recounts it, "they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need" (2:45). Spirituality meant more to these folks than dreaming of pie in the sky, bye and bye; it meant taking care of other people, providing for their needs. And it meant the opposite as well -- not being overly concerned about their own needs, being content in the understanding that the Lord would provide for them just as through them, others were being providing for.
Yes, the Holy Spirit did some incredible things for that early church and would do them again for us if we were the least bit open to the prospect. "You will receive power ... dynamite." The Spirit of God blasts through our world and blows down the comfortable walls we hide behind -- walls of suspicion, walls of self-righteousness, walls of fear. God's Spirit blows us right out into the dusty, threatening streets where we have no idea what we might find. The Spirit of God does not always waft gently into our lives; sometimes we are confronted with a divine tornado that huffs and puffs and blows our houses down only to rebuild them into one glorious house, the house of God!
Divine dynamite. Can we handle it?
____________
1. "Spirit Of God, Descend Upon My Heart," words by George Croly, 1854. In the public domain.
Most of us who come from the mainline tradition will freely admit that the church cannot live without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, but in our heart of hearts, we wonder whether we can live with the Spirit either. We sing "Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; wean it from earth; through all its pulses move."1 In the second stanza of that hymn, it is made clear: "I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, no sudden rending of the veil of clay." Yes, we want the Spirit, as long as the Spirit does not upset the orderliness of our lives or the church. We are wary and with good reason.
Think about it. The experience that most of us have had in questions concerning the Spirit have had to do with the religious fringes. We turn on the television and see people with faces turned to heaven, eyes tightly closed, hands in the air, and shouting gibberish. We see others coming down to a stage to meet a faith healer who claims the power of the Spirit as his own but who is also well known as a charlatan. We are sometimes confronted by folks who are convinced that this is the only kind of Christian experience that is legitimate, and we are even accused of not really being Christian if we do not agree. Those sorts of things embarrass us. No wonder we are wary.
A note here about the word "power." The Greek that stands behind it is the same root from which we get our word "dynamite."
On that day before his ascension, Jesus was not promising the boost of 9-volt battery to his disciples; he was offering his people something akin to a nuclear blast, something absolutely explosive. Come Pentecost, they would find out what he meant.
You remember the story. Jesus had told them to go to Jerusalem and wait, a hard task for anyone, much less people who were convinced that they had a mission to fulfill. As they waited they prayed together, talked about what had happened in their lives over this extraordinary past month and a half -- seeing their master tortured and murdered on a Roman cross but then returning to life just three days later. They prayed some more, chose a replacement for Judas, prayed still more. For ten solid days this went on. Then it happened. "You will receive power ... dynamite...."
We should not be surprised that something incredible occurred. Christians are always saying how much we believe in the power of prayer, but when was the last time you saw 100% of a congregation turn out for a prayer meeting, just for an hour? What do you think would happen to a church in which everyone would gather together for 240 hours of prayer? Wow!
As that marathon prayer meeting progressed, a strange violent wind-like sound penetrated the room. Eyes that had been closed in reverence opened up and saw what appeared to be tongues of flame dancing about the heads of the others. There was excited and ecstatic talk.
The noise from the room was loud enough to attract attention on the street below -- people gathered outside the house, curious as to what was going on. The foreigners in town for the annual Pentecost celebration at the temple were hearing their own languages being spoken and they paused to find out about it, just as we would do if we happened to be in a far country and suddenly heard someone conversing in our tongue. Some wondered what was happening. Others did not wonder -- they figured it was just a party and the whole bunch was snockered.
That was not the case, of course. Peter came out on the balcony overlooking the dusty street and made that clear. "We are not drunk," he said. "It is only nine o'clock in the morning" (Acts 2:15). No, this is something directly from God ... power ... divine dynamite. It is what was promised through the prophet Joel centuries ago.
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions ... I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth ... everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved....
-- Joel 2:28-32a
That is something important to remember about this divine dynamite, this power that God provides. The power is directed to a task, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Joel 2:32a). When Jesus promised power to his disciples he made it clear that the power was being given to accomplish a particular aim: "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8 RSV). Divine power is not provided willy-nilly; it is provided for the fulfillment of a divine commission.
Peter went on to explain about Jesus, his wondrous life, his cruel and unjust death, and finally his miraculous resurrection and ascension to glory. He concluded with a call for repentance and the offer of forgiveness of sins. The result? Three-thousand people joined the church that day. Dynamite! It was too powerful to ignore.
Granted, most people would prefer that. After all, an explosion does not leave things as they were, and there are not many who are comfortable with change and particularly a change in matters of religion. After all, there are enough changes in our lives without touching the one seemingly solid foundation that we have. We would rather not allow any questions to arise concerning expressions of faith. That is why folks talk about our church rather than the Lord's church; in their heart of hearts, they would just as soon that he leave well enough (or even bad enough) alone. No rushing mighty winds needed here, thank you.
But on that Pentecost and in the days that followed the Lord did not leave well enough alone. Some marvelous things occurred, things I believe could occur again if Christians really wanted them to.
There was genuine communication. For the first time since the confusion of the Tower of Babel, the ways people expressed themselves was no longer a problem. People could actually understand what one another said.
There was a real concern for growing in the faith. As the story in Acts has it, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42 RSV). They did not assume that because they were Christians now they had spiritually arrived; they wanted to grow.
One more thing should be noted -- the people became exceedingly generous. There is power for you. When people can actually be touched in their pocketbooks for unselfish reasons, you know that something is going on. As Acts recounts it, "they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need" (2:45). Spirituality meant more to these folks than dreaming of pie in the sky, bye and bye; it meant taking care of other people, providing for their needs. And it meant the opposite as well -- not being overly concerned about their own needs, being content in the understanding that the Lord would provide for them just as through them, others were being providing for.
Yes, the Holy Spirit did some incredible things for that early church and would do them again for us if we were the least bit open to the prospect. "You will receive power ... dynamite." The Spirit of God blasts through our world and blows down the comfortable walls we hide behind -- walls of suspicion, walls of self-righteousness, walls of fear. God's Spirit blows us right out into the dusty, threatening streets where we have no idea what we might find. The Spirit of God does not always waft gently into our lives; sometimes we are confronted with a divine tornado that huffs and puffs and blows our houses down only to rebuild them into one glorious house, the house of God!
Divine dynamite. Can we handle it?
____________
1. "Spirit Of God, Descend Upon My Heart," words by George Croly, 1854. In the public domain.
