February 8, 2021
Psalm 102:12–28; 2 Kings 4:8–17, 32–37; Acts 14:1–7
In these readings for today, the preaching of good news is accompanied by deeds of power—or at those tasked with speaking God’s word have the power to perform miraculous signs. Wherever Peter and then Paul in Acts go, they go preaching good news, healing the sick, and caring for the poor. This good news is more than a mere message, this good news affects our material world.
Elisha, having received Elijah’s power, seems to have his power utterly at his disposal in this story. He has been treated well by this woman and so wants to do her a favor back, in this story he prophesies that she will conceive despite old age. This part of the story does not mention God at all except to say that he is a man of God and so it would be wrong of him to lie. Perhaps because of his status he knows that God will fulfill his prophesy. But the choice to give this prophesy seems to be Elisha’s and not the word of the LORD burning up inside him or coming upon him the way Jeremiah describes his fits of prophesy.
When we get to Acts, the author Luke seems to want to describe deeds of power being done by the Holy Spirit, or else specifically by the name of Jesus. In some ways, this book is not so much the Acts of the Apostles, or even of Peter and Paul, but of the Holy Spirit through them.
I don’t know how Elisha fits in to this developing story of prophets and apostles who have the Spirit of God in them, except to say that with Elisha there were times when his power doesn’t seem to be used well. Like the story where he is being mocked for his baldness (?) and calls two bears on 42 young men… yeah, not the best use of power maybe. And there might be contextual reasons that help make sense of this, about them being possible false prophets and different understandings of how important it is to respect your elders, but it still seems like not a great use of power.
Perhaps it is because we receive the Holy Spirit as a gift, but for us today the portrait that I’ve understood is that it is always the Spirit at work through us. The Holy Spirit, however, does come to dwell in us as the body of Christ being the new temple, and so there is at least a sense of cooperation. Paul for example casts out a spirit in a girl at Philippi apparently because he was annoyed with her yelling after them day after day. So we work alongside the Holy Spirit, but we are still called to do the will of God. So no calling bears on people.
