David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 13:1-12

 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

A friend, sister in Christ, and reader commented on yesterday’s post. “The Holy Spirit teaches us the ultimate lesson in ‘Thankfulness.’ His love makes us blush with His movement towards us…he is so gracious to us!” I’ll admit I had to think about that. I had never thought about blushing at the Holy Spirit’s move toward us. Nor had I thought of thankfulness being the ultimate lesson of the Holy Spirit. I’ve not got that quite all worked out yet. But I’m considering the work of the Holy Spirit again today.

One of my first more in depth encounters with the book of Acts was while I was in college. I took a class taught by a local pastor. There I learned that some call the book of Acts The Gospel of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Rev. Fr. Alfred Mcbride wrote a commentary on Acts by that title. The original title of this book was “The Acts of the Apostles,” showing how the Gospel message was carried forward after Jesus’ ascension, and Pentecost. The apostles surely did act. And God used them for his kingdom’s purposes. But all this grew out of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and through the Spirit’s ongoing work in and through the Apostles.

Looking again at this passage, we see that the Apostles were sent out by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit filled Paul and gave him strong words calling Elymas to repentance. This is Good News. God will confront evil and falsehood, even exposing these for the world to see. God will send out workers into his harvest to bring people into his kingdom. And for all this we give thanks to God.

So the list grows. The Holy Spirit calls us to faith, enlightens us with his gifts, keeps us in the faith, gathers his people, and sanctifies us. And as Martin Luther says, the Holy Spirit “daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.” 

This is the Good News (Gospel) of the Holy Spirit. Glory be to You, O Holy Spirit!