In chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit comes to — and into — the disciples of Jesus and enables the disciples to speak in such a way that others, no matter where they come from or what language they speak, can understand.
That same Spirit is at work today, whether you’ve experienced it or not, and I believe we can still feel the power and unity of that moment. That same Spirit is the power that affirms for us the worthiness we are so often denied and reminds us that we are loved. It gives us the power to cry out for justice in the face of oppression, to make a claim for human rights as our God-given inheritance, and to grow in our care of other s. When we cry out in protest, we hear, see, and feel the Spirit moving.
We read in chapter 2 of Acts that when the Holy Spirit came in this way to the disciples, they are mocked and called drunkards. Yet they carry a life-affirming message, and through their unity, they are filled with the Holy Spirit who sustains them. Peter steps forward to oppose the lies being told about this free movement of the Holy Spirit. He reminds everyone there that the disciples are fulfilling what has been proclaimed: that in God’s kingdom, young and old, men and women, and especially the poor will prophesy. To prophesy is to carry a message of the mind of God to a particular situation. To prophesy is to hold up a mirror of God’s mind, a mind of God that is always focused on justice, always focused on ending of oppression, always focused on fully living. This empowerment, which carries God’s unmistakable message, is exactly what happens when movements for liberation take root.
Our world tries to shame us, silence us, and divide us, but the Holy Spirit unites us and gives us the ability to deliver a message of God. We will not be divided, ridiculed, or vilified. We all have messages of God to share, messages about defending life — messages that God wants others to hear. The Holy Spirit is always moving and alive in our midst.
Some of the greatest manifestations of the power of God comes when we work together to find ways to be together and to do justice together, and to love together and to stand together. But the power of the Spirit of God lies not so much in the external manifestations of speaking in tongues and healings but in the miracle of black and white people worshipping together, men and women preaching together and decrying racism and sexism by their very presence in one place. The power of the Spirit of God lies in ending the horrific and most tragic was in Ukraine. Pray, dear friends, pray that the Spirit of God will continue to move us all past our prejudices and differences and hatred of one another. It is pathetic that Putin describes his personal rationale for the war in Ukraine as his right to reclaim land and territory that was lawfully and freely annexed by people who chose to live as Ukrainians!
Please pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to put an end to the war in Ukraine.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” 2 Timothy 1:7.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” Ephesians 3:20.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” Acts 1:8.
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness” Romans 8:26.
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