One of the last things Jesus said to his disciples was that they should wait in Jerusalem for his Spirit to come. So they waited, altogether, meeting in a large house, often eating together. But most of the time, they were waiting and praying.
I wonder what they thought they were waiting for? What would happen when the Spirit of Jesus would come?
They also spent most of the time hiding from the authorities who had persuaded Pilot, the Roman Governor, to allow they to kill Jesus. So whilst the disciples were thrilled that Jesus was alive again, they were still very scared of the religious authorities.
A number of days passed. How long were they to wait? Had they missed it?
There was a special and important feast in Jerusalem, called Pentecost. As well as being Harvest Festival, Pentecost was also a time when the Jewish people thanked God for giving them the Law (for example the ten commandments). It was exactly seven weeks after Passover, when Jesus had been killed. As at Passover, Jerusalem was packed with visitors.
The disciples began this special day by having a meeting to pray. They squeezed into this room in a house, about 120 of them!
As they were praying something strange and brilliant happened. If you had been there you would have said that a gale force wind suddenly blew through the house. Everybody noticed it. Everybody felt it. It swept through the room and everyone was .. well, a bit frightened and excited at the same time.
And then they saw what seemed like fire, but no one was frightened. It was like a fire .. but no one got burnt. Everyone of the disciples was touched in turn.
It was there. He was there. The Spirit of Jesus had arrived. They were so full of joy, not least because Jesus had kept his promise. And they began to sing and shout. Some danced. Some laughed. Many cried.
People passing the house stopped to look through the door.
"It's a party!" they said as they saw the disciples. "They look drunk to me!" said another observer. Peter staggered out of the house. He felt, well, on fire! He felt as thought his very heart would burst if he didn't tell someone there and then about God's gift. And as the other disciples spilled out the house, they too began to speak about God's great love.
And a great crowd gathered.
"They are drunk I tell you." grunted a passer by. "They can't be drunk," said another, "they are telling us about God!"
Peter found somewhere to stand where the great crowd could hear him.
"Everybody here, listen to me. Listen to me"
The crowd hushed and listened.
"We are not drunk! It is only 9 in the morning! But what you are seeing is what God promised. The prophet Joel, many years ago, told us that one day God's Spirit would be poured out on to men and woman everywhere. And this is it! Today is that day!"
The crowd listened even more intently.
"It is all because of Jesus, who was killed in this very city less than two months ago. Yes, he was killed, but God brought him back to life. We knew he was special, because of the wonderful things he did. But now we know who he really was. Who he really IS! Jesus is God's son.
The people were shocked. They could not believe that such a thing could have happened in Jerusalem. Some felt guilty, other ashamed.
"What shall we do?" they asked as they pushed forward to get closer to Peter.
"Say sorry to God, and believe that Jesus is God's son." And with that Peter and the other disciples went into the crowd. They prayed for people, talked to others. And once again, some were laughing, some crying, some even shouting God's praise as they were all touched by the very same spirit of God.
It was wonderful. It was the best ever Day of Pentecost. By the end of the day, at least 3000 people form that big crowd had joined the disciples. The very first church had just been born.
Monday, 12 May 2008
Sunday, 4 May 2008
You will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth!
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
This verse sets the program for the Christian life; we who are followers of the Risen Christ are also called to be his witnesses wherever we go.
What’s that? You say that this commission was just for the apostles? If that is so, the witnessing would have come to an end centuries ago. Do you think that Peter and John and James ever heard of Barnehurst? Oh, but then perhaps it’s the job of the bishops, the successors of the apostles to be witnesses? Or perhaps the role of witness is meant for all of the ordained clergy?
Think again, the commission is for all us. “You will be my witnesses.” The commission is for all us who are called to take part in the royal priesthood of all believers. Just as Jesus said, “Follow me,” he also said, “Be my witnesses.” So we had better be about doing just that!
But how are we, living in the 21st century, in a place that the apostles never even heard of, to be witnesses to something that happened 2,000 years ago, in a place most of us have never seen? Sure, we’ve read the Bible; we know the story, but does that make us witnesses? Can we give evidence? We weren’t even there!
Let’s look more closely at what Jesus says, “you will be my witnesses.” Our testimony is about him, not just about what happened long ago and far away. We are to give evidence about what we ourselves have heard, seen, experienced. We can’t be witnesses unless we have met the Risen Christ—unless our lives have been transformed by him.
This is something that we, as Christians, probably do a lot more often than we know. St. Francis of Assisi said it well: “Proclaim the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” How many persons in your own life have been witnesses, silent or otherwise, to you?
Probably we don’t think of ourselves in that way. Nevertheless, if the Lord Jesus calls us to be witnesses, we’d better not think of this as something optional. But what we do? How can we get started? It would appear that two things are necessary.
First of all, of course, we can do nothing through our own power. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” Jesus said. As we await the glorious feast of Pentecost next Sunday, let us pray earnestly for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all of us, both corporately and individually.
The second thing that we must do is spoken of in Acts: “All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer,” The communal prayer and harmony reflected in the stories from the Acts of the Apostles should serve as a model for our own church community. Any disunity in the Body of Christ will always be an obstacle to the effectiveness of the witness we bear. As the Lord Jesus prayed on the night before he died that we might all be one, so we must pray and act as one.
In the Baptismal Service say, “God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and has given us a place with the saints in light. You have received the light of Christ;
walk in this light all the days of your life. Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.” We must be wholehearted in this commitment, in order to be his witnesses.
Let us pray: May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself; may the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us is his service; may the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls, and may we be his witnesses wherever we may be. Amen.
This verse sets the program for the Christian life; we who are followers of the Risen Christ are also called to be his witnesses wherever we go.
What’s that? You say that this commission was just for the apostles? If that is so, the witnessing would have come to an end centuries ago. Do you think that Peter and John and James ever heard of Barnehurst? Oh, but then perhaps it’s the job of the bishops, the successors of the apostles to be witnesses? Or perhaps the role of witness is meant for all of the ordained clergy?
Think again, the commission is for all us. “You will be my witnesses.” The commission is for all us who are called to take part in the royal priesthood of all believers. Just as Jesus said, “Follow me,” he also said, “Be my witnesses.” So we had better be about doing just that!
But how are we, living in the 21st century, in a place that the apostles never even heard of, to be witnesses to something that happened 2,000 years ago, in a place most of us have never seen? Sure, we’ve read the Bible; we know the story, but does that make us witnesses? Can we give evidence? We weren’t even there!
Let’s look more closely at what Jesus says, “you will be my witnesses.” Our testimony is about him, not just about what happened long ago and far away. We are to give evidence about what we ourselves have heard, seen, experienced. We can’t be witnesses unless we have met the Risen Christ—unless our lives have been transformed by him.
This is something that we, as Christians, probably do a lot more often than we know. St. Francis of Assisi said it well: “Proclaim the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” How many persons in your own life have been witnesses, silent or otherwise, to you?
Probably we don’t think of ourselves in that way. Nevertheless, if the Lord Jesus calls us to be witnesses, we’d better not think of this as something optional. But what we do? How can we get started? It would appear that two things are necessary.
First of all, of course, we can do nothing through our own power. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” Jesus said. As we await the glorious feast of Pentecost next Sunday, let us pray earnestly for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all of us, both corporately and individually.
The second thing that we must do is spoken of in Acts: “All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer,” The communal prayer and harmony reflected in the stories from the Acts of the Apostles should serve as a model for our own church community. Any disunity in the Body of Christ will always be an obstacle to the effectiveness of the witness we bear. As the Lord Jesus prayed on the night before he died that we might all be one, so we must pray and act as one.
In the Baptismal Service say, “God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and has given us a place with the saints in light. You have received the light of Christ;
walk in this light all the days of your life. Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.” We must be wholehearted in this commitment, in order to be his witnesses.
Let us pray: May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself; may the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us is his service; may the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls, and may we be his witnesses wherever we may be. Amen.
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