The Holy Spirit Gives Us Power

Being able to drive is a big deal.

 

Most teenagers can hardly wait to drive. It means “freedom” and not having to depend on parents for transportation. You have the wherewithal to get to where you want to go.

 

Some of the best stories in my family folklore involve teenage driving. Driving is a big deal! In fact, it might be a rite of passage in our society.

 

We don’t let just anyone drive. Driving is a huge responsibility. One must be credentialed with a license first. Only then does one have the basic skills necessary for driving.

 

Today’s reading is Acts 1:1-8.

 

The resurrected Jesus is giving his apostles instructions before he goes back to heaven. The apostles still don’t understand what is happening. They think Jesus will return to set up an earthly kingdom, a kingdom that restores the military might and lavish grandeur Israel had a thousand years earlier under King David.

 

Rather, the apostles will be charter members of The Kingdom of Heaven, which is more lavish and more powerful than King David could ever imagine.  Membership has responsibilities and that requires certain power, powers the apostles did not yet have.

 

Jesus tells the apostles to do nothing until they receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave the apostles (and us, too!) the power to carry out their responsibilities.

 

Like the apostles, we are to carry out the mission of the church. We are to spread the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, teaching new believers what it means to be Christian. Of course, we are to love all people, and that means to care for them.

 

It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to do these things.

 

Driving is a privilege with responsibilities. Our training gave us what we needed to drive.

 

Being a member of Christ’s Body is also a privilege with responsibilities.  The Holy Spirit gives us what we need to carry out our mission.

 

So ….

 

Go out into the world and drive home the fact that Jesus is King!