Acts of the Apostles Session 2 “Clothed with Power” • Cleopas and other disciple in Luke 24:31 “with that their eyes were opened…” o Genesis 3:7 • Luke 24:49-Wait…Clothed with power • Acts 1:8-“you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” o “Jesus is indeed being enthroned as Israel’s Messiah and therefore king of the whole world” (Wright). So now their job, their mission, is to share that Good News with the world, of what has already happened but is still happening: Jesus Christ is King! • Ascension: Is Jesus going away? • Two men dressed in white garments o Moses/Joshua and Elijah/Elisha § Taken away into the sky § Left power and authority to their disciples § Thought to come back one day • “Son of Man” in Daniel 7, standing at the right hand of the Almighty “Wait…” • Acts 1:14 “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” • Mary and the Apostles—What better teacher? • Disciple and Apostle • Function of an Apostle/one of the Twelve is: to be a “witness to the resurrection. The real mark of a Christian is not that he knows about Jesus but that he knows Jesus…Jesus is not a figure in a book, He is a living presence, and the Christian is a man whose whole life is a witness to the fact that he knows and has met the Risen Lord.” (Barclay) Or as Pope Benedict puts it: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” • Qualification of an apostle is one who has accompanied Jesus. “The real Christian is the man who lives day by day with Jesus.” (Barclay) “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ…I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.” (Pope Francis) • List of the Apostles (the Eleven)—pairs for witness and mission. (Later Paul and Barnabas) • Sad story of Judas and choice of his successor. Three lessons: 1) Peter is the leader, and the Holy Spirit has spoken through David and OT. 2) We are always free; God does not coerce us or force us to follow Him. 3) The Twelve was an important number for the early Church because Jesus had established the new Israel on these apostolic foundations. Judas’ “office” that Matthias was chosen to take on. Pentecost: Baptism in the Holy Spirit • Pentecost: “The feast of the Law of Moses originally known as the feast of Weeks (Deut 16:10 or the Harvest (Exod 23:16). Later, among Greek-speaking Jews, the feast came to be called Pentecost (Tob 2:1). The Greek penēkostē means “fiftieth and refers to the timing of the festival, which took place fifty days after the spring celebration of Passover (Lev 23:15-16)…In ancient Israel, the feast of Weeks was a harvest festival… a pilgrimage feast requiring participants to celebrate the holy rites in the Jerusalem sanctuary (Deut 16:9-12). In later times, the feast of Pentecost was also a time to remember the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.” (Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary) • Jesus Christ is living and active in His Church. At the moment of His Baptism (Luke 3:21- 22) the Holy Spirit descends, the Father’s voice is heard, and He is led out into the desert (Luke 4:1-2) to do battle with the devil. The Church’s path will always be the same. • Acts 2: “When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together” • “a noise like a strong driving wind” (theophanies to Moses and Elijah) • “tongues as of fire…came to rest on each one of them” (John the Baptist: baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” Luke 3:16) • “and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” • Evangelistic fire • Speaking in tongues –undoing of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) • Acts 2:13—“But others said, scoffing, They have had too much new wine.’” o The “sober intoxication of the Spirit” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) • Peter’s Preaching: (with the Eleven) in the power of the Holy Spirit and as a witness to the Resurrection as the fulfillment of every Old Testament Prophecy. o Joel 3:1-5; Numbers 11:26; Psalm 16: 8-11 Psalm 110. • Numbers 11:26-29. This is what all the patriarchs and prophets, what Moses himself, were longing for • Acts 2:36— “God has made him both Lord and Messiah (Christ), this Jesus whom you crucified.” • What must we do to be saved? o “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” St. John Paul II, Pentecost 1998: “Today, I would like to cry out to all of you gathered here in St Peter's Square and to all Christians: Open yourselves docilely to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept gratefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit never ceases to bestow on us! Do not forget that every charism is given for the common good, that is, for the benefit of the whole Church…. Today, from this upper room in St Peter's Square, a great prayer rises: Come, Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth! Come with your seven gifts! Come, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Communion and Love! The Church and the world need you. Come, Holy Spirit, and make ever more fruitful the charisms you have bestowed on us. Give new strength and missionary zeal to these sons and of daughters of yours who have gathered here. Open their hearts; renew their Christian commitment in the world. Make them courageous messengers of the Gospel, witnesses to the risen Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of man. Strengthen their love and their fidelity to the Church.” For Next Week, send in questions and Read Acts 3-5! Reflection Questions: 1) After introductions, one aspect from the readings or teaching that stuck out to you. 2) What differences did you notice in the apostles before Pentecost and after the coming of the Holy Spirit? 3) Many people-even sometimes very faithful Catholics or Christians-have never (knowingly) experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Why do you think that is? 4) Have you ever prayed for the Holy Spirit to be unleashed in your life? What difference did that prayer make? 5) Close with prayer intentions, and if you would like, just a simple prayer for the Holy Spirit to be unleashed in your lives: Come Holy Spirit!