Acts 29
A Japanese man once remarked to Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, “ In the Christian religion I think I understand about the Father and the Son, but I can never discover the significance of the honourable bird!”
What is the significance of the Holy Spirit, symbolised by the dove? The celebration of the events of Pentecost gives a clue to us.
In Acts of the Apostles chapter 2, we read about an event in which a gathering of Christ’s followers received the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, it was accompanied by a visual symbol. Tongues of fire descended upon them, records Luke. The people gathered belonged to various nations and spoke different languages, but once the Spirit came upon them, they could comprehend each other. Communication is a bridge between two or more persons. The Holy Spirit then is a bridge from God to his creation.
The book of Acts is the outcome of the presence of the Spirit of God that came upon the disciples, just as Jesus had promised. Luke was perhaps compelled to write a sequel to his Gospel after experiencing Christ personally in his journeys with Paul. He witnessed the power of the Spirit and also compiled the history of Christianity’s early days after the ascension of Jesus Christ.
A couple of years ago, I attended a camp which was named Acts 29, and carried the tag-line, ‘Because you are the next chapter’. The very writing of Acts, narrating the life of the Apostles in Christ, teaching, preaching and healing, filled with the power of the Spirit, inspires us to be the next, unwritten chapter of Acts. The placement of the event at the very outset of the Acts reminds us the importance the Holy Spirit in the life and mission of the Church as well as every Christian.
Thus celebration of Pentecost Sunday is an invitation to a life in the Spirit. The days to come continues the celebration reminding us of the responsibilities of the Christian life after Easter.
(To the sequel of this post click here )
