Highlighting the Bible, Part VII: The Acts of the Apostles (Acts)

A.Hanson, NYC 2014

The book of The Acts of the Apostles is part of a series with Luke's Gospel.  The title is quite informative, as the book does indeed refer to the actions of Jesus' apostles.  It tells the story of the growing Christian church from its very beginnings in Jerusalem.  We often only pay attention to Acts when the story of Pentecost is read (Acts 2:1-21) or perhaps the story of the Ascension (Acts 1:1-11).  This book traces the path that the first believers traced in their work of evangelism and many of the places mentioned in Acts will be found in letters that the apostle Paul writes.

The following passages from Acts do not appear in the lectionary:

Acts 1:18-20 (a commentary about the scriptures being fulfilled about Judas' betrayal)

Acts 3:1-10 (Peter heals a crippled beggar)

Acts 3:20-26 (commentary cited from Moses about the coming of a prophetic messiah)

Acts 4:1-4 (a description of the arrest of Peter and John because they were telling the story of the resurrection)

Acts 4:13-31 (The believers pray for boldness)

Acts 4:36-37 (a description of Joseph, called Barnabus, who sold some land and gave the proceeds to the apostles)

Acts 5:1-26 (Ananias and Sapphira, the healing of many by the apostles, and the persecution of the apostles)

Acts 5:33-42 (A pharisee named Gamaliel convinces the crowds not to arrest the apostles)

Acts 6 (Seven chosen to serve: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, also the arrest of Stephen)

Acts 7:1-54 (Stephen's speech to the council)

Acts 8:1-13 (Saul's persecution of the church, Philip preaching in Samaria)

Acts 8:18-25 (Simon offered to pay the apostles to lay hands on him and give him the holy spirit)

Acts 9:19-35 (Saul preaches in Damascus, Saul escapes from the Jews, Saul in Jerusalem, the healing of Aeneas)

Acts 10:1-33 (Peter and Cornelius)

Acts 11:19-30 (The Church in Antioch)

Acts 12:12-25 (Peter is released from prison and goes to visit Mary the mother of John.  No one believes he is alive; the death of Herod)

Acts 13: (Barnabus and Saul are commissioned; The apostles preach in Cyprus; Paul and Barnabus in Antioch of Pisidia)

Acts 14 (Paul and Barnabus in Iconium; Paul and Barnabus in Lystra and Derbe; The return to Antioch in Syria)

Acts 15 (The council at Jerusalem; The council's letter to gentile believers; Paul and Barnabus separate)

Acts 16:1-8 (Timothy joins Paul and Silas; Paul's vision of the man of Macedonia)

Acts 16:35-40 (the magistrates release Paul from jail in Phillipi)

Acts 17:1-21 (The uproar in Thessalonica; Paul and Silas in Beroaea; Paul in Athens)

Acts 17:32-22 (a few believers come to the church based on Paul's sermon at the Areopagus)

Acts 18 (Paul in Corinth; Paul's return to Antioch; Ministry of Apollos)

Acts 19:8-41 (The Sons of Sceva; The riot in Ephesus)

Acts 20 (Paul goes to Macedonia and Greece; Paul's farewell visit to Troas; The Voyage from Troas to Miletus; Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders)

Acts 21 (Paul's journey to Jerusalem; Paul visits James at Jerusalem; Paul arrested at the Temple; Paul defends himself)

Acts 22 (Paul tells of his conversion; Paul is sent to the Gentiles; Paul and the Roman Tribune; Paul before the Council)

Acts 23 (Paul before the Council; the plot to kill Paul; Paul sent to Felix the Governor)

Acts 24 (Paul before Felix at Caesarea; Paul's defense before Felix; Paul held in custody)

Acts 25 (Paul appeals to the emperor; Festus consults King Agrippa; Paul brought before Agrippa)

Acts 26 (Paul defends himself before Agrippa; Paul tells of his conversion; Paul tells of his preaching; Paul appeals to Agrippa to believe)

Acts 27 (Paul sails for Rome; The storm at sea; The shipwreck)

Acts 28 (Paul on the island of Malta; Paul arrives at Rome; Paul and Jewish leaders in Rome; Paul preaches in Rome

Sermon on Pentecost

Raptor Dove Parament
Credit Amy Clifford for Photograph
HFASS, Denver, 2013

Preached at Humble Walk Lutheran Church, May 19, 2013.  

Grace, Peace, and Mercy are yours from the Triune God.  Amen

Today is the day in the church year that we call Pentecost.  This festival occurs about fifty days after Easter and after the ascension of Jesus into heaven after his Resurrection.  Pentecost is the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into the world.  Up to this point, knowledge of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was limited to a select few.  In Pentecost, all of that is blown apart and the life and death of Jesus is for everyone.  Pentecost is a sending out of God’s people into the world.  It is the birth of the wildly diverse Body of Christ, the Church, on earth. 

  In today’s reading we hear that the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem. The eleven apostles who remained after Judas betrayed Jesus had just decided to elect Matthias to join their ranks and they were undoubtedly making a neat and orderly strategic plan for how to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  At this time there was much debate about who could be a part of this Jesus movement and who could not.  It was no doubt pretty ugly at times.  Peter remarks to the crowd, about 120 people, that the scriptures had been fulfilled and they were going go out into the countryside to bear witness to all that they had seen.  They were in the city at the same time that a huge Jewish festival called the Festival of the Weeks was occurring, and were in a crowd of thousands…  The Holy Spirit was about to show up and it’s not in her nature to adhere to the best-laid human plans. 

            Imagine for a second the situation that we hear about in today’s text. The disciples are all gathered in one place, probably a fenced courtyard of some type, because they were afraid of the crowds in the city.  Crowds that were hostile towards them and what they believed. They were trying to keep some semblance of order, and out of nowhere, they hear a rush of violent wind, imagine a tornado or a particularly spectacular thunderstorm, and then tongues of fire.  An inferno that engulfs each one of them.  Then an uproar of speaking in other languages. Absolute chaos.  And it gets worse.

            The devout Jews who are in Jerusalem for this particular festival are drawn to the spectacle.  They are astonished at the sights and sounds and in particular, that this strange group of people is speaking many languages.  And the content of this speech is about what God is up to in the world.  This violent in-breaking is the very spirit of God coming into the world and smashing apart every distinction of language and ethnicity and every possible flimsy construction we have for understanding who God is.  The Holy Spirit is wild and unpredictable and dangerous.  She brings together people who wouldn’t be associating with one another in a million years.   She breaks down walls of misunderstanding and builds up something even stronger in their place. The onlookers think that this can’t possibly be for real, and try to explain it away saying, “They are drunk, not to mention probably crazy.” 

            Old reliable Peter, who is never at a loss for words, remarks, “they are not drunk, it is only 9:00 in the morning.  No, all of this was foretold by the prophet Joel: God declares ‘I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams…and on and on...and then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  The prophet Joel’s words galvanize the people to go out into all the lands and talk about Jesus Christ and that is how the church was born.  Forever and ever.  Amen.  The End. 

            And that is how we understand Pentecost most of the time.  This quaint little idea of The Birthday of the Church.  Something that happened once, a very long time ago.  We take the wildly unpredictable movement of the spirit and domesticate it into a neat and tidy little understanding of what it means to be church and do church.  

  I think it is worth exploring a different idea of what Pentecost is.  Let’s consider that Pentecost is not a one-time event that happened a really long time ago.  Maybe it is something that happens over and over again.  The Holy Spirit is moving about right now, right here in this room. Breaking us open and forming and reforming us, the body of Christ, the church, every single day.  In fact, the second that we think we have the spirit pinned down into a neat little box of our own understanding, it is blown apart and positively incinerated. 

I think that we all sometimes operate under the mistaken assumption that when the Holy Spirit enters into our lives and starts remaking us, it is going to feel good.  The Holy Spirit not only forms and reforms us as a church, it also forms and reforms us as individuals.  I am not sure where we get the idea that the Holy Spirit is a gentle dove that is guiding our way, because the Holy Spirit that we hear about in today’s reading is downright terrifying.  Flames and noise and confusion.  But this Spirit…she speaks truth.  The truth is often painful to hear and might not be what we want. Just as the Holy Spirit gathers together an improbable collection of people in today’s text to form the body of Christ, she continues to do so even today.  What if Pentecost is less about the establishment of the institutional church and more about being broken open and baptized by a fire of truth over and over again? 

            In just a few minutes we are going to all get up and work on creating a visible representation of Pentecost. But before we go to it, I want to share a story with you about how I experienced the Holy Spirit this week.  In the heartbreakingly truthful way that she often works upon us.  I spent most of last Monday at the capital building as we awaited the results of the vote for marriage equality in our state.  I was with friends, surrounded by at least a thousand others chanting and singing. You could feel the spirit move as we implored our senators to “be on the right side of history” and “make the right choice” and generally we all got caught up in the joy and excitement. I went outside to get some fresh air and that is where the Holy Spirit really got me.  In the midst of a sea of orange t-shirts and rainbow flags was a lone middle-aged man wearing a polo shirt and khakis sitting on the steps holding a pink “Vote No” sign.  It was clear that he was fearful and uncomfortable.  I really wanted to dislike this guy because he was invested in the idea that people like me and so many of those whom I love should not be allowed to marry.  Instead of hatred, I only felt compassion.  This man was trying to be faithful in the best way that he knew how, just as I was attempting to do the same thing.  And believe me, I am not a good enough person to pull this off on my own.  The Holy Spirit is behind this one.  It would have felt good to be angry with this guy, even to hate him, and instead, my eyes met his and I felt my heart break.  Even though I didn’t want to claim this guy as a fellow worker in the Kingdom of God, an integral part of the Body of Christ, he’s most certainly a part of it, and it’s not my job to decide whether he is in or out and not something I can do on my own.  THIS is what the Holy Spirit will do to you. 

This very Spirit is God coming into the world and smashing apart every human judgment and every disagreement and every possible flimsy construction we have for understanding who God is.   The church that was created on Pentecost is not a building and not a denomination and not a place you go on Sundays, but a body of wildly diverse people who are continually being made and remade in the image of God.  And we need each other.  That is what we celebrate with Pentecost.  Thanks be to God.  

Credit Aram Haroutunian

The Pentecost Tree we created in worship yesterday