The birth of The Way

There are many rhythms and practices we can implement to keep us grounded and aligned with God and our faith. Some of us observe the liturgical seasons throughout the church year, while others curate their own practices and routines that are unique and personal.

One such practice I like to do at this time of the year is to ensure I read through the Book of Acts. After reading the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Passion Week through the Easter season, I linger in the post-resurrection stories for a while, imagining sitting on the beach having breakfast over an open fire with the risen Christ, or walking a desert road in my own despair, before Jesus saunters up and completely reframes my understanding and perception of the larger story. Then, perhaps I’ll linger on my reflections on the Ascension, Jesus returning to the place of honour and authority that he holds. And then this week the Christian church will celebrate Pentecost, the birth of the Church. We remember the scene, the friends of Jesus huddled away, feeling the ebb and flow between fear of persecution, and excitement for all that they have witnessed and experienced and hope for.

They wait - as they were told to do - for the promised gift. The Spirit, Advocate, Guide, Comforter, wild and free presence of God. Tongues of flames rest upon each of them and they, and the world, are forever changed.

Pentecost literally means fifty. For Israel, the festival is called Shavout, meaning ‘weeks’, the Festival of Weeks. This is an agricultural festival, a time of thanksgiving when all people were commanded to bring their harvest offerings to Jerusalem. For the Jewish people it is also a celebration of the giving of the Torah. Shavout takes place fifty days after the Passover, and therefore fifty days after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This is the reason for Jerusalem being so busy at the time. Jewish people from many different lands, speaking many different languages would have descended on the city, and particularly on the Temple, the focal point of their entire belief system, and the dwelling place of the Most High.

Fire, of course, being crucial to the story here. Hebrew scriptures tell of the presence of the Lord coming as fire on Mount Sinai, as the Commandments and Law were spoken; then the presence of the Lord comes upon the Tabernacle as cloud and fire – the Lord God is indeed present and with them, leading, guiding them, and fighting on their behalf.

But centuries of words and visions from the Prophets of Isreal foretell what is to come – God will pour out His Spirit on all people. So, at the beginning of the Acts narrative Jesus the incarnate Christ, leaves this physical world and ascends to the place of authority, the Sent One becomes the Sender. The incarnation continues when the gift of the divine Spirit - the One that once hovered over the desolate sea and brought form, light, colour and beauty to our world – is given freely, resting like a tongue of flame upon each disciple. With fresh power, gifting, boldness and insight they begin a movement that is wild, glorious, breathtaking and previously unimaginable.

And that is what the Spirit does…it empowers us to reimagine. This is not just from simple study, looking at scripture seeking to understand. There is experience first, then awakening, then understanding, then sharing. Jesus speak to the couple on the Emmaus Rd, he explains scripture to them, but it’s only when they witness and experience him breaking bread that their eyes are finally open to who it is that stands before them. Peter, previously denies his association with Jesus at, then he experiences the mercy, healing, forgiveness and friendship of Jesus once again. He then waits in the quiet refuge of the upper room. It is only after the wind of the Spirit blows through the room and rest upon each of them, that he is empowered and inspired to stand up and address the crowd, after the experience of the Spirit. Of course, this is where 3,000 are added to their number. 3,000 no doubt from across the region and beyond, given it was Shavout.

And thus, the message spreads. These walking Temples of God, carriers of divine presence began a movement in relative obscurity and simplicity, eating together, praying together, breaking bread and serving the poor. But this movement, The Way as it was to be known, changed the world. And it continues to do so.

I encourage to pick up the story. Luke writes of the Spirit filling people, moving people, healing people, awakening people, comforting people. This is a movement that knows no borders, spreads its welcoming arms wide, extends the invitation to all, everyone has a seat at the Table of Jesus. This was a complete reimagining of the stories they had been told, of the teaching they had heard and understanding of the scriptures they had read. And for me, this is what the Spirit does, helps us to reimagine. Reimagine what love and kindness look like in action, reimagine my perceptions and expectations of God, reimagine what it means to be a follower and friend of Jesus, reimagine how to live and love in community with others, and how to love the stranger, the orphan, the excluded and the marginalised.

I encourage you to read through the book of Acts, not necessarily as a prescriptive text, but as a story, a beautiful description of what it looks like for the Spirit to completely grab hold of someone and transform a life, transform our understanding of what it means to be human. How might Jesus be inviting a reimagining in your own life? May your prophetic imagination become alive and awake to possibility, restoration, and to the glorious pathways and encounters that lie in wait for the people of God.

An invocation of the Holy Spirit*

Most powerful Holy Spirit

Come down

Upon us

And subdue us.

From heaven,

Where the ordinary

Is made glorious,

And glory seems

But ordinary,

Bathe us

With the brilliance

Of your light

Like dew.

Jon Timms

Co-Director, Rural Ministries

*Northumbria Community