Old folks new dreams
Albert Bogle
April 15, 2023
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Acts 2:14-21 (NIVUK)
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This passage refers to an amazing live incident that is also to be read as a prophetic parable. It’s an enactment of what the resurrection of Jesus is all about. His death has reconciled all people to God. Hence Peter shares the good news. And the outsiders begin to rejoice. The Gospel is for all people. God has no favourites. Old and young, men and women, everyone is welcomed into God’s great and glorious day. All who call upon his name will be saved.
What an amazing experience this describes. I can see a crowd of disparate people from differing cultural backgrounds, perhaps time zones, even centuries apart, alarmed yet coming together in bewilderment, backing into each other, asking themselves what is happening to me, as they hear the voice of God speaking to them in their native tongue.
They are hearing and experiencing something deep down within them. Something beyond profound, a vibration, a confirmation of grace, that says God is for them. God is not against them.
They are euphoric as the idea becomes a believable reality. So much so that others think they were drunk.
Peter has to assure those looking on, it was not drunkenness they were witnessing but the unpredictable love and compassion of God touching men and women deep down in their souls.
The unspoken grace of God can still reach deep into the depth of the human heart, speaking to each of us — in our native tongue.
PRAYER:
Lord God Almighty
Bringer of beauty and joy
Creator of laughter and tears
You never cease to astound us
You are our unpredictable gracious companion
Patiently silently you appear
Disturbing our complacency
Somewhere deep within us
The vibration of heaven is felt
But the sound though familiar
Is beyond our hearing
Yet you have made your abode
In the midst of our doubts and regrets
You are truly a lover of contradictions
Your Holy Spirit stirs within us
Turning our thoughts to eternal things
Causing us to look beyond ourselves to the body of believers
Your body
Broken
Risen
And exalted
Our creator, our redeemer,
You surprise us
Almighty three in one
Triune singer of the song
bringer of Joy
Companion to the fallen
Sustainer of our strength
Let all the peoples of the earth
Rejoice in the power of your resurrection
Amen.
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