In the Washington, DC area where I live I often pass people begging on the street corners. They have signs that say "unemployed" or "veteran" and then the sign usually has "God bless you." The social service agencies in this area tell us we should not give to the people on the street. Agencies would rather get them into the social service system so that they can help them more long term. Knowing that doesn't make it any easier to pass by the "street people" especially when it is obvious that they have some physical disability. In Acts 3:1 - 4:13 we have the story of what happened when Peter and John decided not to pass by a crippled beggar. What did they do? "Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, 'Look at us!' So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them." No doubt Peter and John had passed by this man many times on their way into the temple to pray. But this time they stopped to actually look at him and for him to actually look them in the eye. Then Peter proclaimed the word of healing to the man by saying, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Peter gave him something much more precious than the money he was hoping to receive. Peter gave him a new life. And then Peter touched him. "Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God." For reflection: Who do I pass by and not notice? Can I look them in the eye? How can I share God's love with them? Can I touch them? People are waiting for us to notice them, to touch their lives with healing. Let us pray. Lord of Abundance, Lord of Healing, you have given me so much, help me to share your good news, your healing, your touch.
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What are we to make of the image of fire in Luke's account of the coming of the Holy Spirit? Wind and fire appear together frequently in the Jewish tradition to signify an appearance of God. In Exodus 19:14-19 Moses and the people experience thunder and lightening, a thick cloud, a trumpet blast, billowing smoke and fire. The whole mountain trembled. Of course, we have the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day to lead the Hebrew people in the desert. In Psalm 50:3, God "comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages." Speaking of the last judgment, Isaiah (66:15) proclaims, "See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." (See also Isaiah 4:4, 2 Samuel 22:16 and Jeremiah 30:23.) In these images the fire is the purifying fire of judgment. But that does not appear to be the case for Luke in the Pentecost account. It is not a time of judgment on the disciples. Luke speaks of "tongues of fire" in Acts 2:3 and "other tongues" in 2:4. These other tongues are enabled by the Holy Spirit. There is Jewish tradition for God speaking visibly, speaking from fire also. Recall Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3). We also have Deuteronomy 4:36, "From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire". (See also Habakkuk 2:1.) People could "see" God's voice. In Acts chapter 2 then, Luke really means some visible appearance of the voice of God manifesting to others through the disciples speaking in other tongues. For reflection: Have I seen the voice of God? Have I experienced the fire of Holy Spirit? Let us pray. "Summon your power, O God; show us your strength, O God, as you have done before. . . . Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power in in the skies. You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!" (Psalm 68:28-35). Authority without power is weak. Power without authority is just show. But when you put the two together, explosive things happen. Jesus gave the disciples authority to preach and baptize at the Ascension, just before he returned to his Father, when he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:18-20). They were authorized to do those things. Luke tells us Jesus also said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus gave them power when he sent the Holy Spirit. They now had authority and power. The word used for power in Acts 1:8 is the root of the word "dynamite" in English. The disciples began to preach with authority and to back it up with demonstrations of power, what you might call the gospel combination. Jesus had given them the authority and the power to do what he had called them to do - go out into the whole world to spread the good news, to do the things that they had watched Jesus do for several years. For reflection: What has God called me to do? Do I believe he has given me the gifts to do what he has called me to do? Let us pray. Jesus, giver of all good gifts, you sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples on Pentecost to enable them to be you on the earth, to continue to carry out your mission, to bring all peoples unto you. Thank you for giving me all I need to do what you have called me to do. Help me to use that dynamite power every day for you. In my last post I compared Pentecost to being hit by a freight train or a tornado. I wasn't trying to be prophetic, but this week in the U.S. we have a graphic example of what being hit by a tornado means. If you have been watching the news reports, the people of Oklahoma realize that what is gone is their "stuff" their "things". Those things can be replaced. What they mourn, of course, is the loss of life. Let's return to the disciples at Pentecost. Their normal, everyday lives are now gone. Peter doesn't go back to fishing; Matthew doesn't go back to being a tax collector. Instead, they can now speak in other languages as needed, preach to great effect, work miracles, and heal people. But the price is being hounded, whipped, imprisoned and killed. These are not normal lives for the likes of fishermen and tax collectors. They are now, as Paul says, ". . . a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Pentecost. For reflection: Do I want that sort of change in my life? Am I willing to let go of the old in order to have the new? If I were one of the people in Oklahoma who lost their home, what would be most important to me now? Let us pray. Lord Jesus, inspire us to be whatever help we can to the people who have lost everything or to other people around us who are in need. Bring the people of Oklahoma consolation and peace and the energy to begin again. Open me to change. Open me to more of the Holy Spirit's work in my life. I grew up in "tornado country" - the area of the U.S. where every spring we hid from tornadoes. Friends of my family had railroad tracks through their farm and whenever a freight train came through we kids would run to put our ear to the ground next to the tracks. The ground shakes and the roar drowns everything else. When you hear people say the sound of a tornado is like the sound of a freight train, they are telling the truth. They sound exactly alike. It is a fearsome noise. At Pentecost the disciples heard the sound of a violent wind. I imagine this to be like the noise of a tornado. "It filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2). Based on our knowledge of the disciples since the death of Jesus, and the noise of a tornado, one would expect the next sentence to be: And they were afraid. But it's not. Instead Luke says, "Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability" (Acts 2:3-4). They got hit by the freight train, the tornado of God. St. Luke gives us one more account of the Ascension of Jesus in the Acts of the Apostles (1:1-11). Luke summarizes very briefly what he wrote in his gospel then jumps right into the Ascension giving some details he did not put in the gospel. Jesus told them to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. . . . You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth." They cannot receive the power of the Holy Spirit until after Jesus returns to heaven. In the power of the Holy Spirit they will boldly go where no man has gone before to preach the good news, risking their lives to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. For reflection: Do I have the power of the Holy Spirit to spread the kingdom of God on earth? Am I using it fully? Let us pray. Jesus, you are a God of great abundance. With you there is always more. I want to receive more of the power of your Holy Spirit to do the things you call me to do. (Perhaps the following video will put a smile on your face so that you show the joy of the Holy Spirit to all who see you today. We should always be ready to explain the hope and the joy that we have.) |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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