Pentecost II

In the last post we looked at the unifying gift of the Spirit - allowing the disciples to be understood by people who were different than them. In Acts 2, the writer of Luke's gospel tells us that, in the Spirit, the disciples were declaring the wonders of God (v. 11). This outpouring of the Spirit caused people to gather and listen. We understand Pentecost to be the birth of the church. The disciples were empowered to work in unity of purpose to meet the needs of the community, the body (v. 45).

After the crucifixion the disciples were afraid - afraid of meeting the same fate as Jesus. Then they saw Jesus appear before them, eat with them. They were encouraged. Before his ascension, Jesus had to tell them to wait to receive power. They had encountered the risen Christ, and realized that to meet the same fate as Jesus wasn't anything to fear. When they then experienced the Holy Spirit, and began to understand that the same power that had been in Jesus was now in them, their joy and enthusiasm could not be contained.

In verses 41-47, those who accepted Peter's message on the day of Pentecost were baptized. They regularly listened to the teachings of the apostles. They ate, prayed and supported each other together. They grew. In number and in faith, they grew. It was all they could do. It was the only thing they could do.

What if we really understood that the same power that was in Jesus is in us? What if we realized that we don't need to prove the gospel to anyone? We should just BE the gospel. We can love, we can forgive, we can trust God. We can use our gifts for the good of all. We can grow.