“Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” — Acts 1:18
Note what Jesus could have said when he was leaving them at the beginning of the Book of Acts. “…And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem.” Period. Witnesses only in the city they were familiar with, and to people they knew. Not to people in rural Judea. Not to the Samaritans. And, heaven help us, definitely not to those paganous Gentiles living in paganous, end-of-the-earth, places.
From the very beginning, the Holy Spirit is commissioned as the great status-quo disturber. That’s why the early church grew astronomically in its early centuries. Those Christians were just crazy-bold as they proclaimed the Good News of Jesus and dared love unconditionally, just as he loved/loves.
The mantra of those Holy-Spirit-filled believers was, “Hey, Carol has a new mission idea. Let’s pray and reflect, and if we agree, let’s go for it!”
Somewhere along the way, of course, that mantra was adapted. “Hey, Carol has a new mission idea. However, we’ve never done anything like that before. Let’s refer it to a committee, and talk about it again in six months.”
The work of the Holy Spirit is hard. Just look at the violence, hate, and discrimination we see today. Why should we make the Spirit’s work more difficult by wanting to play it safe, stay where we are, and think that simply lamenting will change things?
It’s impossible to take Jesus seriously and not be prodded repeatedly to do something new and perhaps risky. It might be something personal, like reconciling a broken relationship by reaching out and being vulnerable. It might be something justice related, like joining others in advocating for migrant needs and rights. Or it might be something simply humane, going to unfamiliar places and helping with tornado relief.
Funny thing about following that nagging Holy Spirit prod. In taking the risk, life opens up in broader, deeper, and more colorful ways. That sure beats staying in the prison cell of “We’ve/I’ve never done that before.”
Such thinking could change the world.
I believe we need a booster shot both individually and collectively to motivate us to do more in promoting the teachings of the Christian Way of life.
Greg, I love the old mantra of the Holy Spirit believers! I truly wish we could resurrect it today…Reaching out in Faith IS risky, to say the least…but each of us has the opportunity to Choose…to be Good, not just nice…to be Holy & ask the Holy Spirit to empower us as needed to be Christ’s disciples in our aching world. 🙏💕