"A Time of Great Expectations"
by The Rev. Barbara Dyke
San Angelo, TX
The disciples are full of joy as they return to Jerusalem after seeing Jesus ascend into heaven. They gathered together and devoted themselves to prayer. Throughout the entire reading of ACTS 1:4-14 there contains a certain feel of expectance. With this in mind, let us consider some specific instances where expectancy is implied.
In Acts 1:5: "For John baptized with water but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Something is about to happen that has never happened before. This baptism of the Holy Spirit will be different than John’s water baptism. John’s baptism was commonly practiced by the Jews for generations. It symbolized religious purification. John had baptized both Jews and Gentiles from a tradition symbolizing moral purification for the approaching Kingdom of God. John’s baptism would prepare those who were baptized to meet the "Day of the Lord," but Jesus is now promising something different, a baptism with the Holy Spirit.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit consists not in symbolic gestures of purification, but in the receiving of "power." It does not ordain anybody for, or against, the future but rather manifests itself in a spiritual experience in the present. There is an element of expectation contained in the selected scripture by the phrase, "you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now."
The disciples are still expecting the restoration of Israel. Jesus responds instead by informing them that it is not for them to know all the mysteries of God, but they are encouraged with the promise of receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples are still focused on earthly desires instead of God’s kingdom.
San Angelo, TX
The disciples are full of joy as they return to Jerusalem after seeing Jesus ascend into heaven. They gathered together and devoted themselves to prayer. Throughout the entire reading of ACTS 1:4-14 there contains a certain feel of expectance. With this in mind, let us consider some specific instances where expectancy is implied.
In Acts 1:5: "For John baptized with water but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Something is about to happen that has never happened before. This baptism of the Holy Spirit will be different than John’s water baptism. John’s baptism was commonly practiced by the Jews for generations. It symbolized religious purification. John had baptized both Jews and Gentiles from a tradition symbolizing moral purification for the approaching Kingdom of God. John’s baptism would prepare those who were baptized to meet the "Day of the Lord," but Jesus is now promising something different, a baptism with the Holy Spirit.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit consists not in symbolic gestures of purification, but in the receiving of "power." It does not ordain anybody for, or against, the future but rather manifests itself in a spiritual experience in the present. There is an element of expectation contained in the selected scripture by the phrase, "you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now."
The disciples are still expecting the restoration of Israel. Jesus responds instead by informing them that it is not for them to know all the mysteries of God, but they are encouraged with the promise of receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples are still focused on earthly desires instead of God’s kingdom.
As they return to Jerusalem they devote themselves to prayer. It is safe to assume that their prayers contained expectancy. Expectancy for what? What did it mean to be baptized by the Holy Spirit?
Today we too come to be in prayer and worship God. We gather and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to mold us and strengthen us for God’s glory here on earth. For it is through Christ that we are one in the Spirit. John Wesley explains that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are transformed to be more like Christ.
It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are called to be the church. Jesus gave us the command to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. For us to be faithful to this command we need the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that God’s kingdom materializes here on earth. Through the power of the Holy Spirit there is no limit to what we can accomplish. Lets us be in an attitude of expectancy as we, like the disciples, wait for the new things God is doing through our baptism by the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
The Rev. Barbara Dyke is a United Methodist minister and lives in San Angelo, Texas. She is part of Ecumenical Relations with the Diocese of Texas and has participated on both the state and national level of events and celebrations in the American Orthodox Catholic Church. Currently, she is the pastor of First United Methodist Church of Mertzon in Mertzon, Texas.
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