UNOH

Grace

To personally relate with those facing poverty, coming alongside and joining them in seeking their long-term well-being.

Readings

• Acts 2:1-13
• Acts 2:14-41
• Acts 2:42-47
• Acts 2:42

Reading deeper…

Jim Reiher, The Book of Acts: A Social Justice Commentary, Chapter 2.

Devotion 1

Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, allowing space for God’s voice to be heard.

Read: Acts 2:1-13

• Where do you hear God’s voice in this story?

The story of Pentecost is often seen as a counter-narrative to the story of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). At Babel, “a mighty empire with a strong economy reaches to heaven and with one language holds the empire together,” which, Mitri Raheb reminds us, is just what the ancient Greeks tried to do, “imposing Greek and Hellenistic culture on their conquered people.”1 Writing from his Palestinian context, Raheb says of Pentecost,

Here, on otherwise contested land, not far from the battleground, various nations and cultures meet. They don’t speak the language of the empire, but rather their own native languages. Their identities are respected and embraced. The Spirit provides the software for communication so that they understand one another. In this story the rich diversity of the region is embraced and celebrated. It is regarded as strength rather than a deficiency.2

Read: Ephesians 3:14-19

Ask:

• Think of what it means to allow the Holy Spirit to empower us. How might our denominational bias hinder us from ever venturing down that path?
• If you are from a tradition that does pursue the empowering of the Spirit, what kind of risks do you face in understanding this passage?
• How might this story help us to see those from other cultures or backgrounds?

Share:

• Communion

Pray:

• Share in a time of prayer
• Finish with Lord’s Prayer

1. Raheb, Mitri, Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2014, 111.

2. Raheb, Faith in the Face of Empire, 112.

Devotion 2

Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.

Read: Acts 2:14-41

Where are you hearing God’s voice in this passage?

“In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18)

“In the book of Acts God’s inclusive Spirit makes it possible not only to understand one another in the Spirit, but also for many voices to be heard and included at the center of the discussion. The center has expanded to include those on the margin and the margin is no more. The structures of domination are challenged as women prophesy, together with men and slaves, and those at the margins of society receive the Spirit.”3

“Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)

Peter is challenging his compatriots to transfer their allegiance from executioner to victim (2:38). This kind of talk will shortly land him in jail (Acts 4), just as it did John the Baptist (Lk 3L8ff.) and of course Jesus himself. Peter has taken up the baton from his fallen comrades; as Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero put it shortly before being murdered by the U.S.-funded military as he celebrated Mass, “I will rise in my people.”4

Ask:

• In what ways have you heard God’s voice spoken from the margins?
• How does Peter’s call to “Repent and be baptised” continue to challenge us in following Jesus?

Share: Communion

Pray:

• Share in a time of prayer
• Finish with the Lord’s Prayer

3. Letty M. Russell, Just Hosptiality: God’s Welcome in a World of Difference, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009. 60. Italics in original.

4. Ched Myers and Matthew Colwell, Our God is Undocumented: Biblical Faith and Immigrant Justice, Maryknoll: Orbis, 2012. 34.

Devotion 3

Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.

Read: Acts 2:41-47

What stands out to you in this passage?

Going deeper

Read: Hebrews 13:16

“It seems to me that the principle behind both accounts is that we radically look after those in need, even if it costs us personally!”5

Ask:

• If sharing possessions is a ‘sacrifice’ that pleases God, shouldn’t we be more actively sharing our possessions?
• What holds us back?
• How do we overcome the ingrained cultural bias that makes us so materialistic?

Share: Communion

Pray:

• Share in a time of prayer
• Finish with the Lord’s Prayer

5. Reiher, Jim, The Book of Acts: A Social Justice Commentary, Dandenong: UNOH, 2014. 32.

Devotion 4

Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of thanksgiving together, aware of God’s loving-kindness

Read: Acts 2:42

“Think about that term: ‘the apostles’ teaching’. What would that have consisted of? What would they have talked about?”6

Going Deeper

Read: Matthew 5:17-20

Ask:

• How do you hold the Old Testament and the New Testament together?
• What do you imagine the apostles’ teaching might have consisted of?
• Does this have implication for our discipleship?

Share: Communion

Pray:

• Share in a time of prayer
• Finish with The Lord’s Prayer

6. Reiher, Acts, 33.