Stunning

But the Spirit works counter-culturally

Isaiah 11:1-2 [Matthew 3:16] Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 42:1-4 [Matthew 12:18, Luke 3:21-22, Philippians 2:7] Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth.

Isaiah 61:1-2 [Luke 4:14, 17-21] The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.

Throughout history, Jesus’s name has gotten a bad rap as people have used it to amass power, wealth, and privilege for themselves, often in immoral or even illegal ways more akin to the Enemy of our souls who steals, kills, and destroys than to the true Shepherd who lays down his life for his flock (John 10:9-11).

Power, wealth, and privilege acquired through abuse and oppression of others: this is not the Jesus of the Bible.

This is not the Jesus who, as Philippians 2 so movingly tells us, chose to lay down his divine rights and privileges to become a slave, a doulos in Greek, a person in submission or bondage to another; in Hebrew, an ebed (Isaiah 42:1), a person of lower social status who is subject to another.

In fact, Jesus taught that among his followers the worldly definition of power must not hold sway. Jesus used the power of the Spirit to heal, to comfort, to care for, to free from bondage, to encourage, to teach, to bring justice. He lived with no place even to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). He dined not with the rich and famous in fancy places, but with the socially marginalized “disreputable sinners” (Matthew 9:10). His “brand” was humility, simplicity, and love.

This Jesus, filled by God’s Spirit without measure or limit (John 3:34, Colossians 1:19, 2:9) shows us what God the Father is like. Isaiah’s perspective, inspired by the same Spirit, of what God’s Chosen One, Jesus, would accomplish is as stunning as his attributes detailed in 11:1-2.

We must be careful. Anyone who claims to represent God yet does not aspire to serve as Jesus did has other goals in mind than God’s goals. Our first allegiance as Jesus-followers must be to him and his ways. The power of the Spirit foretold by Isaiah that filled Jesus led him not to comfort and wealth but to suffering and death as the powerholders of his day objected to his counter-cultural teaching and actions.

Are we ready to invite the Holy Spirit to empower us to live like Jesus did, building up rather than tearing down (2 Corinthians 10:8), bringing good news not to the rich, but to the poor and brokenhearted?

Jesus called his disciples together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant (diakonos), and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave (doulos). For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom (lutron: payment to liberate a captive) for many.”

Come, all who are weary, wounded, weeping, Porter’s Gate

It’s still Easter!

But Jesus calls us “children of the resurrection”

Luke 20:35-36, 38 [Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:27] Jesus said, “In the age to come, those raised from the dead will never die again. … They are children of God and children of the resurrection. … He is the God of the living not the dead, for they [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob] are all alive.“

Romans 8:10-11, 14, 17 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. … For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. … And since we are his children, we are heirs of God’s glory.

Did you know it’s still Easter?

In the ancient church calendar, Easter is celebrated for fifty days, until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early believers. Forty days into Easter (this year, on May 29), always therefore on a Thursday, comes Ascension Day, when the church remembers Jesus leaving Earth and returning to his Father in Heaven, while promising: He will come back! And the Holy Spirit of God keeps that promise alive within us.

It’s a wild, joyful, sacred dance choreographed by the Trinity, for us, his children, heirs of his glory.

The season of Easter—not just one day, but seven weeks—gives us the chance to soak in, to absorb, the mystery of life overcoming death. Time to ask and to ponder, What does it mean to be children of the resurrection, heirs of God’s glory?

What does this mean to you, today?

And what does Paul mean by this breathtaking sentence: The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you?

We’re each part of the story shared by humanity on this May 13, 2025, a story in which one man’s name dominates the news that we in this part of the world wake up to each morning. A story in which, as Paul puts it, we groan over the impact of death and decay, sin and suffering—the “bondage of corruption” as it’s translated in the KJV (Romans 8:20-23).

At the same time, we’re part of a much bigger and more important story, a story with a gloriously happy ending.

And just as we’re breathing a sigh of satisfaction as we turn the last page of this story, that everything has come right, we’ll realize that ending is just the beginning of an even bigger story, one imbued with freedom and joy and life.

So, one thing being a child of the resurrection means to me today is that I’m not a victim, neither of my own challenging circumstances or of anyone else’s attitudes or actions. What the world is going through, matters. Especially for those whose around the world whose very lives and livelihood are under threat, it matters a lot. Sooner or later, perpetrators of bullying and abuse will be held accountable for the suffering they have inflicted. It matters.

Yet this is not the end of the story. You and I are not victims. We’re heirs of God’s glory!

Last Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Easter, was Good Shepherd Sunday. I invite you to listen to Lauren’s encouraging sermon.

But the Holy Spirit gives power

Acts 14:1-4 [In Iconium] Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.

Though he’s not named in Acts 14, the Holy Spirit’s presence is evident in Paul’s power in preaching about the grace of Jesus and in the miracles he and Barnabas performed.

I think Paul and Barnabas’ understanding of grace deepened on this first missionary journey. Luke first uses the word grace in connection to Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia (13:43), after Paul’s long sermon in the synagogue there. From then on, Luke uses the word frequently. Perhaps the change is in Luke’s own understanding, not in Paul’s.

Looking back to Paul’s sermon in chapter 13, do we see of the Lord’s grace? Through Jesus there is forgiveness of sins (v. 38). Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do (v. 39). Jesus offers grace, not law.

For those who despair of being “good enough,” this is good news indeed! Continue to rely on the grace of God (v. 43).

Every time we mess up, say what we shouldn’t, do what we ought not do, fail to do what we ought to do, continue to rely on the grace of God.

When things go right and when things go wrong, continue to rely on the grace of God.

When others hurt us, continue to rely on the grace of God. When we hurt others, continue to rely on the grace of God.

It’s counter-cultural, isn’t it? In our politically charged culture today, people can be written off if evidence of wrongdoing is uncovered, even when they were teens or college students. It doesn’t seem to matter how much good someone does, what sacrifices are made in service to others—if they mess up once (at least in the eyes of their critics), their whole selves and lives and families and work can be discredited.

The Gospel, the “Good News,” says NO. Jesus offers forgiveness, and change, and growth, and redemption. No one has to remain stuck in their inevitable mistakes, sins, or lapses in judgment, because forgiveness and healing are possible. Jesus wants us to live freely, joyfully, gratefully, not in fear. Grace is good news just as much for us as it was for the people in Cyprus and in what is now Turkey almost two thousand years ago.

Haha. I searched Shutterstock for “counterculture” and got an amazing collection of hippie and “make love not war” and “flower power” images. This is the best I could do. Consider what “mainstream” means for YOU–what voices help define your values? And if I may use what has become, perhaps, cliché: What would Jesus say? I’m asking this very seriously.

But God sends the Spirit

Acts 1:3-5 During the forty days after his crucifixion, Jesus appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Pentecost, the day God chose to send the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, initiates what is called “Ordinary Time” in the church calendar. Ordinary Time lasts from now until Advent.

So what is Ordinary Time in the life of the church? As befits its initiation through the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, its focus is the Holy Spirit, active in and through us, in all kinds of ways as we live our ordinary lives. We see this in Scripture through the writings of Luke, Paul, and John. Luke tells the tale of the “Acts of the Holy Spirit” in the years following Pentecost. Paul teaches and exhorts us to live fully into his power and gifts. John, guided by the Spirit, opens a window into what is yet to come. We have time—from now until December—to explore all three of these authors.

Thinking about this has made me both curious about what I can learn about the Holy Spirit, and hungry for stories of the Holy Spirit active now, not just two thousand years ago. What have been the acts of the Holy Spirit in your life? Are you willing to share them, to encourage the rest of us?

I’m also entering Ordinary Time this year feeling restless, wanting to experience more of the Holy Spirit’s Presence and power in my life and to see him at work around me in the challenges we all face. Wanting to hear his voice above all the other voices.

Curious. Hungry. Restless. That’s me. How about you? How are you entering Ordinary Time?

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds.
Repeat them in our day. In our time make them known.

Habakkuk 3:2

But God’s Kingdom is not just talk; it’s power

1 Corinthians 4:12-13, 20 We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us … For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s own power.

Wow. This is where the rubber really hits the road, isn’t it? I find the only thing harder than responding as Paul models for us is doing so when the target is not me directly, but someone I love.

Recently, for example, critical things were said to my husband in a public space. The person had not come to him privately to express his concerns. Dave listened, took to heart what the person said, took the matter to the Lord, and is working diligently to make changes in his life. He let the offense roll right over him. The relationship, thank God, is intact. Which might not be the case if I had reacted the way I wanted.

Because I fumed. I thought of all kinds of things I wished I had said to defend Dave. I felt hurt and disappointed in this person whom I consider a close friend. It took me a couple of days before I too took the matter to the Lord, confessed my anger and reactivity and defensiveness, and allowed him to cleanse me and restore me to peace and the ability to pray for blessing in the person’s life.

What I am deeply grateful for in this case is that I did keep my mouth shut, rather than escalating the situation and adding insult to the injury. Thank you for that, Lord. Thank you for painful experiences that have shown me the wisdom of biting my tongue until emotions are not so high and until I am in tune with the Holy Spirit.

And yes, maybe an appropriate time will come for addressing the person’s action. If so, I hope it will be characterized by blessing, patience and gentleness—which would not have been the case initially.

God’s power for living is resurrection power. Life triumphing over death. Speaking what is life-giving rather than death-dealing. The Holy Spirit makes this possible when I let him have control; when I ask him to overrule my immaturity and impulses and defensiveness.

On the cross, having been whipped, scorned, humiliated, stripped, and condemned on false charges, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). That is power. Thousands of times more potent than had he called legions of angels to deliver him. Kingdom of God power. Counter-cultural power. Counter-carnal power.

Please, Lord. Easter in me.