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From Ashes to Fire
- by Julie Chacko-Lee Introduction We are into the 6th week in the Easter season. A few more days and we will be celebrating the Ascension of our Lord. The past few weeks, if we had been following the lectionary reading, we would have been touching on stories that would have confirmed that Jesus was indeed alive. He came as a babe in Bethlehem, grew up in a carpenter’s shop, launched His ministry by turning water into wine, became a teacher and successfully achieved the true mark of a rabbi of His time – He had students, disciples. With His disciples, and other followers, He had travelled the region not only teaching and preaching but also performing many wonder and miracles. His teaching on the nature of God and His own claim as the Son of God so annoyed the religious establishment of His day that they wanted to get Him killed. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and was buried. He descended to the dead and as He had said, on the third day, He rose from the dead. On Easter Sunday, 5 week ago, we celebrated this resurrection of our Lord. So now, what remains to be done? It looks as though all that He had come to do on earth had been accomplished. So what’s next? When we read the passages after the resurrection, what do we see? We see that in the days following the resurrection Jesus was busy making many appearances to His disciples – He walked with them on the road to Emmaus explaining the Scriptures; He made Himself known to them in the breaking of the bread; He gave fishing advice from the shores of the Sea of Tiberias and even cooked breakfast for them. He showed His scars to Doubting Thomas and restored Peter by asking him to take care of His sheep. And then, He appeared to more than 500 of His followers at one time and in one place. All these appearances - for what purpose? To encourage, motivate, strengthen and reassure the faith of the disciples. If we are careful to observe, we realize that His behaviour is that of someone tying up the loose ends of a major project. He is as one going away on a journey, mentally checking off the things that needed to be done. Imagine if we are about to go away on a journey – what would we do to keep our home secure during our absence? We will lock all doors and windows, repair any damage there is, keep our valuables in a safe deposit box, make sure that all the electrical appliances in our home are switched off, stop the newspaper, arrange for the mail to be held, and ask the neighbours to keep an eye on our home etc., etc., just to ensure that our home will come to no harm during absence. That’s pretty much what Jesus was doing in the days following His resurrection. He was ensuring that His beloved disciples in whom so much had been invested would carry on the work He had started. Today’s Gospel reading - John14:23-29, is full of comfort and strength, of promise and life. It offers consolation where there is anxiety and fear. This passage is known as Jesus’ ‘Farewell Discourse’ – His last words and wishes spoken within the intimate circle of His friends. And though Jesus spoke this before His crucifixion and resurrection, it is put here in the Church’s calendar to bring to our mind what Jesus had promised His lost and forlorn disciples who so badly needed His assurance and strength. For it was really an odd time for them. Initially, after Jesus’ death they were totally hopeless and very fearful. Once they knew that He was alive, however, they felt better - less fearful and more hopeful but nonetheless uncertain and anxious, for the dynamics have changed. They themselves would never be the same again after being confronted by the risen Jesus. And things were certainly different from what they had been before the Lord’s death, for now He did not speak publicly, or show Himself to unbelievers. And just when they thought that they got Him back from the dead for good, He tells them that He was leaving them – again – and this time, He was going back to the Father’s side. Poor disciples! Can you feel their sense of loss and confusion? They had no clue as to what to do without Jesus, who had been their friend, companion and rabbi. They didn’t know how to go on without His leadership and council. How were they to respond to the complex challenges and harsh realities of life especially in the light of what they are being asked to do? To whom could they turn to for direction and council? And so Jesus’ concern in this in-between period, between Resurrection and Ascension is mainly to shape and guide the faith of His beloved disciples. He gathers the scattered disciples together, expounds to them the Scriptures, beginning with Moses and the Prophets, the things concerning Himself. As He does, we read that their hearts are warmed and their faith is lifted. And even as He speaks of His impending departure and absence, He reminds them of the promise He gave before His crucifixion - the promise of the gift of the Spirit. Jesus is saying - for sure His absence will leave an empty space in their lives - but this space, like the Holy of Holies in the old Temple, was going to be filled with the divine presence – the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell within them. Jesus is assuring the disciples that they are not being left alone. They are not being abandoned. Far from it – through the indwelling of the Spirit, both the Father and the Son are coming to make their home in the lives of the disciples. This idea of God coming to dwell with His people is not something new. It has been spoken about by the OT prophets long ago (the temple was symbolic of this) which became a reality in Jesus when He took on human form and continues to be a reality because of the indwelling presence of the Spirit in the lives of believers today. So the disciples are not to lose heart and faith. They will be given power like they have not known before. And they were not to be worried or anxious about what to do and how they should go about the work that Jesus had entrusted to their care: for they will have help. For when the Spirit comes, Jesus says, He will guide the believers in all ways i. He will teach them all things and ii. He will remind them of all things that Jesus had said to them. The Holy Spirit does not come to bring them new facts but to give them a deepened understanding and insight into what they already knew. They may not have fully understood all that Jesus was telling them there and then, but in the days to come they would experience first hand the presence and leading of the Spirit, His teaching and council, His comfort and strength. Of course it was different from having Jesus physically present with them but nonetheless, no less real and dynamic, no less powerful. And the evidence of this promise of the coming of the Spirit and His work is clearly seen in the book of Acts. For the book of Acts is very much about the power and purpose, the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples. It is the Spirit who births the Church on the Day of Pentecost. Not only does He give birth to the Church, but we see Him constantly forming her, shaping her and guiding the disciples in their work of evangelism in an ever widening circle… “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” We are given a good example
of the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Jesus’ followers
in NT reading we heard this morning – Acts 16.
Here in these few verses we see clearly the guidance of the Spirit at work in the lives of Paul and the other missionaries – namely, Timothy, Silas and Luke. Background This is what is known as Paul’s second missionary journey. His intent was to revisit the churches he had already founded on his previous mission trip. But to his and the others’ surprise and probably bafflement, they found that the Holy Spirit blocked them from going there. Then when the missionaries attempted to go into Bithynia, they found that here too, they were being hindered by the Spirit of Jesus from entering. They didn’t know what to make of it. So they went down to Troas. And there, during the night Paul had a vision – a man of Macedonia, appeared to him and asked him to come over there to help them. Upon sharing of this vision, Paul and the others felt – you notice that this was a unanimous decision- there is team confirmation and consensus, that this is indeed where God was leading them to. And so they set sail to where they were being led – to Philippi – the leading city of Macedonia. Now what are we to make of these verses? It shows clearly the active involvement of the Spirit in the lives of the apostles. Paul and his companions were left in no uncertain terms as to what they should do. By closing the doors to Phrygia, Galatia and Bithynia, He revealed to the apostles that God didn’t want them to go there. Then through a vision, the Spirit showed them that the place where God wanted them to go to was Philippi. How extraordinary! How amazing is this kind of leading. It is as effective as though the Lord Himself has spoken to them in an audible voice. But what was the purpose in sending these men to Philippi? What was the significance of this move? Let’s continue with the rest of the story. The missionaries left immediately to Macedonia, convinced that this was where the Lord wanted them to go. Once at Philippi, on the first Sabbath there, we read that Paul and the others walked along the riverside to see if they can find a place of prayer. It was Paul’s custom when he is in a strange place to find a synagogue where he might find other Jews and share with them about Christ. But Philippi was a pagan city and it looked as though there were no synagogues there. According to the Jewish Law, you need 10 Jewish men to start a synagogue. If there weren’t that many, then they were to meet by a river and have a prayer meeting. And sure enough to the missionaries’ delight, they found such a gathering but they were all women. Nonetheless, Paul shared to them about Jesus. This in itself was amazing – that a Jewish man, a Pharisee, nothing less, was sharing the Gospel with women – Gentile women at that. For we must remember the Pharisees thought lowly of women. In fact, every Pharisee prayed daily, “Oh God, I thank Thee that I am not a Gentile, a slave or a woman.” Paul could have been no exception. But the Holy Spirit must have been working in Paul’s heart because here, in Acts 16, even though there were no men present, Paul shares about Jesus with the women. Among the women at that riverside prayer meeting was a Gentile named Lydia and she was a worshipper of God – most likely a Gentile convert to Judaism. She was a very wealthy business-woman because the Scripture says that she was a seller of purple fabrics, a luxury item, sold only to those who could afford it. We read that she was listening attentively to all that was being said about Jesus. And the Bible says that “the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul”. The Gk way this is written is – the Lord, “opened up wide, completely, her heart”. Her heart was enlightened, impressed by the Holy Spirit and thus prepared to receive the truth about Christ. And her immediate response – she wanted to be baptized. But not only was she baptized but together with her, her whole household. Such was her influence. And they have the unique honour of being the first converts in Europe. Earlier, I had asked the question as to what might be the significance of the Spirit preventing Paul and his companions from going further into Asia Minor and instead directing them to Macedonia. And the answer? It was so that the Gospel might come to Europe. Paul had no vision of invading Europe with the Gospel when He left Antioch on that 2nd missionary journey. He was solely thinking of Asia. But God had other plans. He wanted the Gospel to enter a whole new continent. Today historians look back and consider this incident in Acts 16:9 one of the most momentous choices made by a small band of Christians in the history of the church. For the first time the Gospel was leaving Asia Minor and entering Europe and the great cities of the Roman empire that were the farthest away from Israel. And of course as we look back on history, we know that the Gospel did take root in Europe. Jerusalem, Syria, Turkey and all the lands of Bible history would not become the places where the Gospel found its greatest teachers and leaders in the years to come. It was in Europe - Greece, Rome, Germany, France, Britain – this was where the church thrived in the succeeding centuries. Most of us here are Christians today as a result of that small beginning. So what lessons and reassurances can we glean from today’s scripture passages? The most important lesson for today is that we are not alone. As children of God and as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are indwelt by the Spirit of God. This is the promise that Jesus gave His disciples nearly 2000 years ago. And that promise also holds true for us as well, His present day disciples. And it doesn’t matter what situation we might be in life – whether we are experiencing deep personal loss, grief, anguish, disappointment, hopelessness, we are not alone. Or it may be that we are at an in-between time in our lives – when we are not sure of what our next step should be – what we should do or where we should go – and it could do with anything – school, career, marriage, finances, ministry etc, and we feel terribly alone, and isolated - well, the promise of Jesus is that we are never alone, even for a moment. Whatever situation we might find ourselves in, we are enabled to cope with the difficult times that we face by coming to the understanding that even though circumstances may make it appear as though we are alone and without companionship, we are not. We are to understand that, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are forever accompanied by God. Jesus entrusted the work that He began to the care of the church. That task is a great one and we are right if our response is to tremble at the magnitude of the responsibility entrusted to us – the evangelization of the world – to make disciples of every nation. But at the same time it’s my prayer that what we have seen in Acts 16 will give us the confidence that the work can be done. Not because we are very able or clever but because we have the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance to lead us. But for us to sense His leading we have a part to play as well, as shown by Paul and his companions – our heart must be open, our attitude right, our posture one of obedience. Then and only then can we sense His leading. Then we can know when a door is being shut and a window is being opened. And we walk through that opening in the confidence and peace that we are being led by the One who made the universe and us and who holds all of history in His hands. When Jesus was crucified, the disciples were totally lost. They had no hope or courage. Fear gripped them and they were in hiding. But when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, these same disciples who cowered behind closed doors, became bold preachers who were not afraid even to die for the cause of the Gospel. What happened? From the ashes of despair, they were filled with the fire of the Spirit and that fire enabled them to blaze across the known world proclaiming the Kingdom of God without fear or shame. It is my prayer and hope that that will be the testimony the ensuing generation will have of the Church today. Amen [Top] |
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Church of the Ascension, 13
Francis Thomas Drive, Singapore 359339 |