Filled with the Holy Spirit

June 9^th, 2019         “Filled with the Holy Spirit”     Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: The Amazing Adventures of Paul

Acts 13

         This morning we continue with our exciting summer sermon series “The Amazing Adventures of Paul”.  All summer long we are going to read stories from the book of Acts, most of which are not in the lectionary.  These are stories you may have never heard and certainly stories I have never preached.  Last week we read about Paul’s dramatic encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus.  Paul was a persecutor of the early Christian church until he encountered the risen Lord and became a follower of Jesus.  Today, we will read about Paul’s journey to spread the gospel.

         (Read Acts 13:1-3)

         This is Pentecost, so this morning we are going to scan these readings for the works and actions of the Holy Spirit.  As you can imagine, the Spirit is a major character in the book of Acts.  In Acts chapter two, we read the famous story of Pentecost with the tongues of fire and the disciples speaking in tongues.  From there on, the Holy Spirit is woven into each chapter, an integral part of the growth of the early church.

         Today we find the church gathered in Antioch and while the community is in worship the Spirit moves them to set aside Paul and Barnabas for a special mission.  The group lays hands on the two and they are sent out in mission and ministry.  In our modern church, we continue to set people apart for mission and ministry.  Many here will remember laying hands of dedication and blessing on the folks traveling to Malawi.  We also lay hands on those being ordained to the offices of Deacon, Elder, and Minister of Word and Sacrament.  In all levels of the church, the call to mission and ministry is echoed within the life of the congregation.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we set people apart to bring the good news to the world, just like the early church did in Antioch.

         (Read Acts 13:4-12)

         Conflict will follow Paul throughout his mission and this morning’s reading is no exception.  In this section, Paul runs into the magician Bar-Jesus or Elymas.  At the time, it was common for the Roman elite to employ sorcerers and astrologers to offer them advice.  This proconsul, Sergius Paulus has hired Bar-Jesus to offer him guidance but Bar-Jesus turns Sergius away from Paul and the good news of Christ.  Paul is annoyed, and so strikes the false prophet blind.

         The author tells us that this blinding is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Close readers of the scriptures might remember other times God used powers to humiliate rival sorcerers or prophets; like Moses and the magicians of Egypt, or Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  The author wants us to understand that the power of God is greater than any other powers, and Paul succeeds in impressing the Proconsul and winning him to the faith.  But as modern readers, we might question whether the blinding of an enemy is really a good thing or not.

         (Read Acts 13:13-15)

         Paul sails on but the group continues to be in flux as John heads back to Jerusalem.  Again, signs of conflict even within Paul’s inner circle.  Paul and friends head to the synagogue and are invited to speak.  There are a lot of Paul’s speeches in Acts, and we won’t read them all, but to get a flavor of the way he debates, I am going to read this one today.  This can get boring but Paul is going to do a great job outlining God’s work from the beginning through the resurrection of Christ.  It may help to follow along in your Bible.

         (Read Acts 13:16-41)

         I’m not going to go back over this whole speech, but I do want to point out one interesting fact.  Later, in Paul’s own letters, he will emphasize the suffering and death of Christ as a means to salvation.  But here, in Paul’s speech, written by the author of Acts, Paul does not glorify the death.  Here the death of Christ is seen as a necessary outcome of the life he lived.  In contrast, the resurrection of Christ is what is glorified.  According to Paul in Acts, our salvation comes from Christ’s resurrection and victory over death.

         (Read Acts 13:42-52)

         Paul’s sermon is well received and he is invited to preach again the next Sabbath.  The crowd is huge the following week and many become believers, but the leaders of the Jews are threatened and jealous of Paul and Barnabas, and they begin to speak against them.  Paul and Barnabas use this rejection as another opportunity to claim the gospel for the Gentiles and declare that from now on their mission will be to those outside the Jewish traditions.

         As many become believers, many others reject the faith.  Paul and Barnabas are eventually driven out of town by the authorities, a common theme in Acts.  They shake the dust off their sandals and move on.  Meanwhile, God is on the move, and the writer of Acts tells us that the disciples are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit

         So how do we understand the role of the Holy Spirit in our reading for today?  The Spirit sets Paul and Barnabas apart and the church blesses them for mission and ministry.  The Spirit sends Paul and Barnabas out, engaging and directing their mission.  The Spirit fills Paul, and he chastises the magician Bar-Jesus “You son of the devil!” as Paul strikes him blind.  Paul preaches, and the Spirit fills the disciples with joy.

         In some parts of this chapter the Spirit brings unity.  The early community is unified around Paul as spokesperson and missionary for the faith.  Through Paul’s preaching many become believers, both Jews and Gentiles.  In this way the Spirit is bringing the church together.  It is a source of unity and strength.

         But more often in this chapter the Spirit brings division.  In his conflict with Bar-Jesus Paul uses the power of the Spirit to speak harsh words and to cause harm to a false prophet.  And the fire of the Spirit brings division to the early church, as some side with Paul and others side with the rulers and authorities of the community. 

As the Spirit moves through the community of Antioch it causes chaos and disrupts the norms.  False prophets are struck down and the synagogue community is left broken.  And Paul and Barnabas move on.  They don’t stick around to clean up the mess or help a new church be born.  The proconsul has lost his advisor and Paul won’t fill that role for him.  The synagogue is broken into two factions, and Paul won’t be there to heal the rift or guide the new community.  The Spirit is setting the place on fire and leaving behind a pile of ashes.  Sure, new life will grow from this, but Paul won’t be there to help.  Like a masked protestor, Paul has come to smash the place up.  He leaves a seed of hope in the word and Spirit, but the community itself is left to rebuild.  What a mess the Spirit makes!

Our reading this morning is a good reminder that the work of church is always messy.  Sometimes being filled with the Holy Spirit causes divisions among us instead of unity.  Sometimes we like to tell ourselves that the current conflicts in the church are a new thing, but our reading for this morning reminds us that the church was born in conflict.  The Spirit sets people apart, which is often about division and not unity.  And those filled with the Spirit do work that continues to set people apart.  The Spirit is a fire that burns down all of our old structures and comforts.  The Spirit is a wrecking ball that leaves the community of Antioch in a mess of rubble.  

I, for one, prefer to avoid conflict.  So, encounters with the Holy Spirit make me uncomfortable.  Unlike Paul, I am not great at standing up and calling out false prophets.  I prefer to sit over on the sidelines.  But the Spirit pushes us into these uncomfortable places; be it in church, in politics, or in our personal lives.  The Spirit sets us apart and encourages us to stand up and be truth tellers.  The Spirit calls us to witness to the gospel of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.  The Spirit demands that we speak truth to corrupt powers, and if needed we engage in messy conflict.  The Spirit pushes us to do the work of mission and ministry in our world.

This Pentecost Sunday, let us embrace this calling from the Holy Spirit.  Let us not fear conflict or disturbance, but let us speak truth to power.  Let us call out evil in our world.  Let us preach the gospel.  Let us tear the whole thing down if that is what is needed.  Let us follow Paul’s example and embrace conflict and division if that is God’s will for our world.

In our reading for today Paul filled with the Holy Spirit, has traveled, preached, struck down false prophets and church leaders, and shaken the dust off his sandals leaving a mess in his wake.  Come back next week to find out what happens to Paul next as we continue reading “The Amazing Adventures of Paul”.  Amen.