To the Church: Happy Birthday!

This year (2015) Pentecost Sunday, also known as Whitsunday, falls on May 24. This date marks the birthday of the church, a grand old lady 1,985 years young. Happy birthday!

"Pentecost" simply means "fiftieth day," and refers to the 50th day after Easter Sunday. It is parallel to the Old Testament "Feast of Weeks" (Shavuot), the feast that commemorated the birth of the nation of Israel and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19 & 20). So this very important day celebrates both the birth of the old covenant community and the new covenant community. 

How the church was birthed tells us a lot about the nature and mission of the church. The account in the book of Acts is well known. 

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:1-4).

It's interesting how many parallels there were between the two birthing experiences (Israel and the Church):

• At Mount Sinai there was the sound of thunder and a thick cloud covered them. In the upper room they heard the sound of a violent wind.
• At Mount Sinai the Lord descended as a fire upon them. In the upper room tongues of fire rested on each one.
• At Mount Sinai the voice of God was heard answering Moses. In the upper room the Holy Spirit enabled them to supernaturally speak God's word. 

Both of these momentous events shines a light on the big picture. God is establishing his personal rule in every aspect of God's creation, and God has chosen to establish a human instrument to accomplish that end. God has established a covenant community, in the context of both the old and the new covenants, to be God's representatives on the earth, to express the nature of the Kingdom and to extend the influence of the Kingdom. And the current human instrument and representative of God's Rule is the church, 

Remember Peter's famous words to the church: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10). It had become increasingly difficult for Gentiles (non-Jews) to gain access to the old covenant community. The Good News of Jesus was that membership in God's Kingdom community was equally available to all. 

And so, we celebrate the birthday of the church, and in the process remind ourselves of the true Kingdom nature of the church. We are reminded that we are still on mission with God, having confidence in the promise of Jesus that he would be with us, even to the very end of the age. Let's pause to celebrate, and then get back to work!

Days of Awe

I thoroughly enjoyed my focus on Old Testament studies in seminary. I remember how moved I was by studying the High Holy Days in Judaism, the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim), the ten days between Rash Hashanna (New Year / Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). They were days of repentance, days of personal reflection and examination, of covenant renewal. Awesome days of cleansing and reconnecting with the heart of the Father.

It seems like we have similar Days of Awe in our Christian faith. When Jesus ascended to the throne of God he left with instructions: "Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). And that began ten days of waiting, not days of passivity but rather days of preparation. Since we are in the midst of these days right now (in 2015) I wanted to unpack what they might mean for us.

For those early disciples the ten days spent in the temple and in the upper room must have been days of awe indeed. They had just witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus. And not only that, they had spent 40 days being taught and ministered to by the resurrected Jesus. His final words must have been ringing in their ears.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20). This universal mission was so much more than they had anticipated. They thought the Messiah would drive out the Romans and inaugurate a new Golden Age for Israel. Instead, Jesus was commissioning them to disciple all the nations. Fortunately, they were not "missionaries" but "co-missionaries." The mission would be accomplished because (1) Jesus had all authority in heaven and earth, and (2) Jesus would be with them (and us) to the very end of the age. These days of awe must have allowed for some heavy discussions about the nature of this mission.

“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:21-22). In fact, this was the very mission the Father had sent Jesus on coming into the world. In the very same way that the Father had sent Jesus, on the very same mission, Jesus was now sending his disciples. And to accomplish that mission, they had to "be receiving the Holy Spirit."

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5). The record in Luke refers to the need to wait to be "clothed with power." In Acts Jesus refers to the need to be immersed in the Holy Spirit. Their ability to be on mission with Jesus would be entirely dependent on the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit. They would be co-laboring with the Holy Spirit as junior partners. They were joining a Holy Spirit mission.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). This Kingdom of God Holy Spirit mission would empower them to "be witnesses." They would be the official evidence that the Gospel of Jesus was true. And while the mission would begin in Israel, it was to be a worldwide, universal mission, "to the ends of the earth." 

These words changed everything for the disciples. It must have been mind-blowing if not traumatic for them. They needed ten days to just wait, trusting that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to begin the mission in and through them. How did they spent the time? "Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God" (Luke 24:52). It looks like the gave themselves to praise and worship, in fact, to joyful celebration. And they focused on united, corporate prayer. "They all joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). And this was before Pentecost! It's almost impossible these days to get folks to gather for one hour of focused corporate prayer. Imagine ten days! But they knew that if they were obey the Lord and his call to mission, they needed to wait for the Holy Spirit. An active, praise filled, prayer focused waiting. (Not everyone was able to make it through ten days; while 500 witnessed the ascension of Jesus, 120 were left on the day of Pentecost.) They also had some "house keeping" business to settle with the replacement of Judas. And after ten days - boom!

During our own high holy days, our days of personal reflection and preparation, we are reminded of the nature of the mission we are on with Jesus. When we came to Christ for forgiveness, salvation and new life, we signed up for the mission. We're not just waiting to die and go to heaven while doing our own thing in the interim. We are engaged in the work of discipling all nations, a mission that has been going on for 1985 years and will continue until it is complete.

We are also reminded of the need to wait for the Holy Spirit. Participating in the Mission of God is not a matter of strategic planning or clever marketing. It is a Holy Spirit mission. It requires being clothed with and receiving power from the Holy Spirit. It results in us being witnesses to the Good News of Jesus. It's a good thing that we have the occasional opportunity to listen, to reflect on, to prepare for, and to renew our commitment to following Jesus on mission in the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. May these be those days for you!

Who is in control, anyway?

Today is Ascension Day, May 14, 2015. As an observance on the traditional Christian calendar it doesn't get as much attention as Christmas or Easter. So what's the big deal? Jesus had been spending time with his disciples off-and-on for 40 days. Finally, he decided to officially authorize them to carry on his mission and then, instead of just disappearing, flew up into the sky! It seems as though he had been going back and forth between heaven and earth during those 40 days, so what was different about this day? What was accomplished on that original ascension Thursday? And why is it important to us today?

Glorification. Paul confessed that Jesus was "taken up in glory" (1 Timothy 3:16; see also 1 Peter 1:21). In prayer to the Father Jesus had anticipated returning to "the glory I had with you before the world began" (John 17:5). When the divinity of the Son of God was poured into humanity, he took on mortal flesh and blood. He had to leave the fullness of the glory of heaven behind. But now, having received an immortal, indestructible resurrected body, he was able to return to glory, to live in the fullness of God's splendor and majesty. This full return to glory was accomplished on that first Ascension Day.

Exaltation. During his life and ministry Jesus assumed the position of subordination as a servant redeemer. When his work was finished, he was "exalted to the right hand of God" (Acts 2:33; 5:31). In his exaltation Jesus was declared to be "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). 

Enthronement. Exalted to a place of glory Jesus assumed his rightful place as the King of kings and Lord of lords. All authority in heaven and on earth was given to him. The reign of Jesus is not waiting for some future time but is a present reality. "He must reign" now (1 Corinthians 15:25), and he will continue to reign until every enemy of God's Kingdom is firmly placed under his feet.

High Priesthood. As the universal reigning king Jesus has a very specific mission in heaven - one which he is sharing with his Body on earth (1) Jesus is making intercession for his followers (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus is continuously representing his people before the Father as our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). (2) Jesus is building his church (Matthew 16:18). And the first step was to send the promised Holy Spirit to be with and in his church (Acts 2:1-4). Jesus stands in the midst of his church, the Head of his church, empowering them to represent the Good News of his rule.

Glorification, exaltation, enthronement and high priesthood were all initiated on that first ascension day. And the manner of his ascension was intended to communicate a promise. "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way" (Acts 1:11). The reign of Jesus in heaven is not the end of the story. At the end of this age God's throne will return to the earth in a New Jerusalem. But until that day we can be confident in the authority and ministry of Jesus. We have a King now, ruling and reigning from heaven, representing us as our great High Priest, while we long for his return.

NOTE: Many thanks to my good friend and Dean of Portland Bible College, Ken Malmin. For 18 years I had the privilege of teaching "Basic Doctrine" under Ken's leadership, using the textbook written by Ken and Kevin Conner. This post used the outline from that class.