Playing Catch Up with the Spirit

God’s Spirit falls on all the people the disciples would have despised. This movement of God is much bigger, and wider, and more beautifully diverse than Jesus’ followers could have imagined. God’s love knows no human boundaries. The early church was always playing catch up. That is the story of Acts, and that frankly is the story of the church today. God’s Spirit continues to invite us out beyond where we are comfortable, to join in the beautiful work of God’s expansive love. We are to receive the Spirit, and the people the Spirit sends us, as a gift.

Pride and Sacrifice

That is the other key difference in the stories. When Jesus died, the human authorities thought they had won, but they didn’t have the last word. God had the last word. The resurrection is a witness to the power of God’s love even over the machinations of death. Even when the world is loveless, even when the world would sacrifice some of our siblings, God will conquer. God will have the last word. As people who follow the loving, liberating, life giving God, it is our work to take the knives out of the hands of those who think they are enacting justice. And God takes pride when we keep on marching.