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For all and everyone
‘On all people’ (Acts 2:17). Pictures of hope for the church and the world.
Context
- Luke in his writing is an unashamed idealist, offering hope as he accentuates the positive. In Acts 2 the little word all is prominent and significant. In the quotation from Joel in verse 17 the outpouring of the Spirit is on all. In verse 21 the promise is that ‘everyone' who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Later in the chapter Luke is keen to stress that all the believers were together (Acts 2:44) and that they enjoyed the goodwill of all the people (Acts 2:47). The grace of God is for all and for everyone.
- The recently published Bible Society report The Quiet Revival has brought a lot of hope and encouragement to the Church in the UK. It paints a very Pentecost picture with:
- ‘2 million more people attending church than six years ago’
- evidence of revival across traditions as diverse as Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism
- greater ethnic diversity
- a particularly encouraging recorded growth amongst younger adults, especially younger men.
In these days the Spirit is still being poured out on all sorts of people (to paraphrase Acts 2:17).
- On the world stage there were strong echoes of the positive generous welcoming idealism of the Pentecost picture at the recent funeral of Pope Francis and the subsequent inauguration of Pope Leo XIV. Whilst maybe not every nation (Acts 2:5) was represented in St Peter’s square on those days, a very large number of countries were. White smoke and incense replaced tongues of fire but there was a palpable sense of the Holy Spirit at work on both occasions with presidents and prisoners being seated and offered the same broken bread.
- The unity in diversity that we see throughout Acts 2 and that we saw recently at the Vatican is a powerful and hopeful challenge to the rising tides of self-centredness and nationalism that are very evident. A recent conference in Eastern Europe is the latest to promote an ‘us first’ agenda.
Ideas for sermons or interactive talks
- Church life can be wearying at times and it is all too easy to get cynical, particularly about the future. The idealism of Acts 2 and the recent Bible Society report are powerful challenges and antidotes to that. In the quotation from Joel (Acts 2:17) Luke reminds us of the value of dreams and visions. What is your dream for the Church or the world? What might this look like? - you might like to literally draw or paint pictures. When one octogenarian in Telford was asked to picture the church of her dreams, she drew a beautiful picture of a fairground carousel and said: ‘That’s my dream Church - full of light and music and laughter - and like the horses on the carousel carrying me and others through all the ups and downs of life’.
- In looking to a brighter more inclusive future it is important not to overlook the one vital ingredient or person at the heart of the Pentecost narrative - the Holy Spirit. The book we usually call the Acts of the Apostles could well be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Peter and Paul are often presented as the central characters but they would have been nothing without the presence and power of the Spirit.
- After the humiliating horrors of the Trump-Zelensky meeting at the White House, we saw a very different picture at the funeral of Pope Francis when the two men sat alone at the Vatican. The humiliating horror challenged, and hopefully changed by the humility of holiness. What hope does the Pentecost picture offer for our turbulent world today?
Questions for discussion
- What hopeful encouragement for the future do we take from the Acts 2 stories and the Quiet Revival (see above) report?
- Do we need to rekindle a Lukan holy idealism?
- How does Luke’s emphasis on ‘all and everyone’ challenge us?
- Peter, quoting Joel, reminds us of the Spirit’s anointing of younger and older, male and female. Whom might we need to be more conscious of and welcoming to in these days?
- How might the Acts 2 narrative inform our prayers and our activism in a world that, in many parts and places, seems more interested in exclusion than inclusion?
- How do we remain open and available to the Holy Spirit, day by day?
Andrew Roberts is a husband, father, Methodist Minister and the author of Holy Habits. He enjoys watching football and, despite that, supports Aston Villa.
Check-in
Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people
There is a song we often sing in our churches which includes the line, ‘we need another Pentecost, send the fire again.’ At this point in history, there is a stark contrast between the description of the events of the first Pentecost as ‘unity in diversity,’ and what we see in the news headlines and world around us. Nation wars against nation, political parties battle against each other, international leaders fight for the success of their own agendas. We are far removed from unity in our diversity and instead see divisions and separation of people walking in their own silos, seeking first their own priorities and goals.
At the same time, the story of Pentecost was not merely the story of people coming together in spite of their differences. This is the story of the birth of the church, the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit who came to breathe power into the new followers of King Jesus.
At this time, there are signs all around us that the Spirit of God remains with us, at work in the world, turning hearts and stirring the church once again. Reports come in from all aspects of the church that God is particularly at work in the lives of young people - an interest in faith is on the rise. At this time, perhaps we too need to be singing, ‘send the fire again,’ that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit would bear much fruit in the world, and a unity which only lives within the kingdom of God.
Becky May is Children and Family Tutor at Ridley Hall, Cambridge and CYF Mission Lead for Rural Missions.
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