Eastertide

June 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-21

No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” –Acts 2:16-21

I wonder if anyone has done a comparison of how often the prophets wrote about the end time involving war and destruction and how often they foresaw the outpouring of the spirit in new visions and new dreams? There is no question that evil is strong and resistant to anything that might stifle its lust for control of our lives. The prophets tell us that God is stronger than the strongest evil and we must trust that love overcomes all evil if we are working as God’s conduits toward creating the Kingdom God planted in the hearts and minds of those prophets.

Perhaps our task is not to kill evil but to heal it. What makes good people turn bad? I have read that what children learn the first three years of their lives is the strongest influence on the type of adult they will become. What are we doing to assure that children are getting the very best care in those early years? If people are not valued for whom they are, they often do not value themselves. Who is telling them they are children of God and have a unique roll that only they can fulfill in God’s kingdom? How many of those children being harbored in cages at the southern border have the potential to discover the cure for diseases or write wonderful novels or take technology to the next level? Who among them living in fear in an atmosphere of hate and discrimination will break through those walls to fulfill that potential?

Prayer: God of Justice write on our hearts the ancient lessons of the prophets to dream dreams and work to make the reality. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.