ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
May 22, 2021
Scripture: Acts 2:4a
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit…
Thought for the Day: Are you sure it wasn’t just the good ones? Or maybe those who could recite the correct doctrine? Or possibly those who had been born to the right family? It surely was not “all” of them, was it? It is the Holy Spirit, and you would think the Holy Spirit would have a more discerning and discriminating opinion in regard to who was worthy of such a presence. You would think that the “Holy” Spirit would go only where there was true holiness.
I hope you understand my playful sarcasm in the above words. If we were the distributors of the Holy Spirit, it would consist of a much smaller community. At many points in the history of the church, some group has come to believe itself to be the overseer of the Holy Spirit. The funny part (probably not funny for those who were excluded) was the capacity of the Holy Spirit to break free from the confines of whoever claimed ownership and authority of the Holy Spirit. So when the story of Pentecost suggests they were “all filled with the Holy Spirit,” we should take it as a microcosmic expression of the church itself.
Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, and fill this community of people. Come and fill us with your power, doing so with very little concern over whether we have checked all the right boxes or not. Amen.
