Acts 2

This Sunday is one where some re-education and re-framing might be helpful.

Do antisemitic appeals to the Bible always constitute an abuse of scripture? Would that it were so simple.

The Spirit affirms our differences, speaking in ways that each of us can understand—yet also drawing us together.

Divisions mark our society—and our churches. What could possibly bring us together?

Those who heard the disciples preach on Pentecost comprehended the message in their own language. But that was only the beginning.

In Acts comes Luke’s imaginative way to build upon ancient stories. The tongues of fire are no longer seen from afar on top of God’s mountain. And the multiplicity of languages becomes God’s vehicle for bringing salvation to the entire world.

Pentecost offers a vision for Europe: not one megastate or one system for everything, but a model of diversity as peace.

Learning a language requires us to focus our attention on something outside ourselves. It's a lot like learning to pray.

California is in a severe drought. Normally it rains in the time from mid-October to March, but for the past few years it has been bone dry. Some say we may only have a year of water left. We are thirsty.

It is clear in Acts 2 that a party is taking place—that dreams and visions are not meant to be dreamt alone.

The New Testament offers two compelling models for our relationship with money. When translated into a vision for a whole society, each is flawed.

I learned many Bible stories by watching movies in Sunday school. They were those old-fashioned movies, shown on a reel-to-reel projector, that tried to portray the stories as some Cecil B. DeMille wannabe imagined they took place. They were seldom more than a few steps grander than the local Christmas pageant; most of the disciples basically wore fancy bathrobes.

The Pentecost movie was dramatic.

We may experience division in our cries to God, hearing only what’s loud right next to us. But God hears us as one human family, crying out for blessing.

Painter Sawai Chinnawong saturates the outpouring of the Spirit with the colors Thai art traditionally associates with the holy.

This week’s short passage from Acts gives a snapshot of the Christian community in Jerusalem, including a list of essential practices.

It’s been seven years, and I cannot access Jesus' word of peace. The tears still sting and slosh over my pail of remorse.

It’s been seven years, and I cannot access Jesus' word of peace. The tears still sting and slosh over my pail of remorse.

Luke’s report of the church’s economic sharing interrupts our reading of what might otherwise be an easy passage.

Churches need to take time to discern their particular Christian formation mission. Only then can they choose curricular resources to support this.