Am I supposed to feel different? More holy? More…forgiven? This is a big thing. Ten days from Ascension Day, the disciples waited for this promise of God. As per Sunday’s sermon (last post for reference), with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, we are in Phase Four, out here in the ends of the earth. To read Acts 2, it is an earth-changing, church-founding thing that has happened.
What
exactly did the disciples feel? Is there
something there that can be a guide as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and seek anew to discern the spirit within
ourselves? We know a few things about
the disciples.
- They’ve been in the apostle-apprenticeship program with Jesus for 3 years. They have baptized; watched; listened; received small-group instruction; been sent out 2 by 2; been stumped in how to feed thousands; experienced first hand the Last Supper; watched Jesus die; and when Jesus appeared after His resurrection, they were in the room when it happened.
- The one who inspired the writing of the Bible has inspired the disciples on how they need to READ the Bible. Many will be inspired to write MORE Bible.
- Jesus has made some specific statements about this Holy Spirit. One is that this is what is promised by the Father, the All-Father, the All-Powerful Creator of Everything. The second is that Jesus himself carries on with the disciples in the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Counselor (John 11), the Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9).
From all of that, since we Presbyterians are often teased about being God's Frozen Chosen, we might explain that the disciples, upon receiving the Holy Spirit as per Acts 2, became a 'trifle enthusiastic’ under the Spirit's influence. So, to answer the question that opens this blog post, “Am I supposed to feel different?”, I believe it is fair to say that the disciples certainly did. So, for us? Yes.
Well, we know they have done ‘hands-on’
ministry with Jesus. They baptized, for
example. The gospels are clear that Jesus
did NOT baptize with water. Their
thoughts and words have been all about the ministry with Jesus. One theologian, in surveying the gospels, says that Jesus spent more time alone or with the disciples in small group
study than he did with the crowds. We
know from the last 40 days that Jesus inspired their very souls, setting them
aflame as they open the Scriptures.
I believe what we call the Holy Spirit activating within them underplays what they knew in their hearts. I believe that they recognized Jesus in the Holy Spirit, in their hearts. Jesus’ followers know Him in a way that we, as yet, do not. We sing about Jesus in our hearts. We talk about having a personal relationship with our Savior. The disciples had that with Jesus Incarnate, Jesus the human, and I believe they recognized that same Jesus as the Holy Spirit came upon them. Jesus returned, Spiritually.
This is some next level stuff that
has happened. I believe the followers of
Jesus received a whole body sense that they recognized as Jesus. They have eaten, prayed, and loved with the
Lord for three years. And this was different, it was more. Where Jesus had been their
Master and their Friend, now Jesus is recognizably integrated into their very
being, in ways and means that they can recognize as new and different from whom
they were before.
So what does that mean for us? How about this? When there is love in our actions, in our
words, in our thoughts, in our souls, love for God and Neighbor, there Jesus is
within us. Paul elaborates in Galatians
5 with the ‘fruit of the Spirit’, from verses 22 and 23, “love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.” There, we touch the heart
of Jesus in our own hearts.
From there, we have a lifelong
journey of coming to know Jesus ever more wonderfully each day as we live into
Him as Our Way, Our Truth, and Our Life.
Peace,
Pastor Peter
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