From the Pastor…
As the entire month of March was spent making our way through the season of Lent, so now in May we will find ourselves in the heart of our Easter celebration- from the 1st through the 31st and a bit beyond that.
In place of the usual Old Testament reading as the First Reading, we are given passages from the book of Acts on the Sundays of Easter. In its entirety, Acts steers us through the life and growth of the very early church- from Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to Paul’s arrival in Rome, a span of roughly thirty years.
The book of The Acts of the Apostles (its full title) is often referred to as the early church’s history book. It was written between 80-90 AD, by the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke.
We skip around a bit during the Sundays of Easter, but we see Peter emerge as the rock Jesus knew him to be; we read of Stephen’s faith and martyrdom; we see Paul venture into Athens and dare to give shape to the “unknown god” of the Athenians.
All the texts lead up to the “eighth day,” the eighth Sunday- Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth and last day of the “official” Easter season. The week of weeks culminates in the weirdness and wonder of Pentecost (June 4), when the Advocate Jesus promises does indeed make itself known, in Jerusalem.
It might be easy to treat this Advocate- the Holy Spirit- as a thing. Sort of mysterious, other-worldly, elusive. But it is the third person of the Trinity. It is God who comes to us as the Sustainer.
Sustenance is good. Think of the Spirit as comfort, encouragement, support, company. Think of it as Jesus who is still with us- because this is who it is!
The source of Peter’s strength, the source of Stephen’s faithfulness, the catalyst for Saul’s (who is Paul) “180” is the Spirit’s presence and power. This is the same Spirit who empowers us. We can do nothing apart from it.
The book of Acts is sometimes referred to as The Book of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit facilitates everything and everyone involved in the growth of the church- from the days of Peter and Paul and Priscilla down to us here in the present day.
As our Easter celebration unfolds, may we be mindful of promises fulfilled, promise kept. Jesus died and is risen. The Spirit was promised, has come, and is still active in the world.
God is good.
Peace,
Pastor Jeff
Leave a Reply