INTRODUCTION
THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRITY ADVOCATE AND SANCTIFIER
“Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid… I will not leave you an orphan… The Spirit will teach you…inspire you…remind you of my word…and call to mind your sins that you may be reconciled and live… He will teach you through my church and proclaim the good news…I have so much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it all at once…trust me…trust the Holy Spirit who will guide you to all truth… you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” John 16:7-16
The quotes above from Acts and Gospel of St. John shows our salvation story goes on beyond Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. The promise of the Advocate is fulfilled in St. Luke’s account in the Acts of the Apostles.
PENTECOST
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,* and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. ACTS 2:1-4
After receiving the Holy Spirit the Apostles went outside the Cenacle and began proclaiming the Good News to people of all nations, ethnicity, and languages and all understood in their own language.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them.
“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem….. You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it….God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you see and hear….Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified….
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. Those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day….ACTS 2:22-28
EARLY CHRISTIANS LIVING IN COMMUNITY
“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers….many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” ACTS 2:42-45
FIRST MARTYR FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD
After the crucifixion, the apostles began to champion a new faith in Jesus and the ranks of the Jesus movement (known as “the Way”) swelled to 3,000 Jewish converts. At first, these followers were distinctly Jewish, following Mosaic Law, Temple traditions and dietary customs.
Early Christians were persecuted for their faith at the hands of both the Jews and the Romans who controlled many of the lands across which early Christianity was spread.
Early Christians expected suffering. Christ had died on the cross, so there was no higher honor than to imitate that death through accepting martyrdom.
“They threw Stephen out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep “Acts 7:58-60
On that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church;* entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment. Acts 8:1-3
THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY AFTER CHRIST
The Book of Acts details the spread of Christianity through missionary disciples like Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Phillip through such places as Macedonia, Judea, Galilee, Samaria and of course Peter, John, and James in Jerusalem.
Later, came the Gentile members of the mixed Jewish-Greek church in Antioch and the many pagan converts of Paul in Syria, Asia Minor and Greece. With Gentile conversion, the Jewish monopoly in the new movement came to an end. Jewish and Gentile Christianity was born. Acts 11:19–24
It was in Antioch that the Jesus movement was first called Christianity. Ultimately Peter and Paul brought Christianity to Rome where they met their fate of martyrdom.
As Gentiles joined the Jesus movement, focus on Jewish law decreased. Jewish Christians in Jerusalem participated in separate Jewish services from the gentile Christian population, and while the two groups agreed on Jesus’ message and importance, the separate rites and communities led to increasing division between the two groups.
In fact, Paul contacted the Apostle, James, Bishop of Jerusalem, to call a council together to decide if one had to abide by all the Jewish rites to become a Christian.
Chapter 15 of the book of Acts relates the decision of the Council of Jerusalem. This is considered the first ecumenical council of the Church.
The purpose of the Council, according to Acts, was to resolve a disagreement within the Early Christian community between those led by James who believed the church must observe the rules of traditional Judaism and Paul of Tarsus, who believed there was no such necessity. The primary issue in dispute related to the requirement of circumcision. James and the Council sent Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch with the following message.
It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell. Acts 15:28-29
Within a few hundred years, the small religious movement called Christianity became the dominant religion of Europe and the Western world. Roman Emperor Constantine ended persecution of Christians in Roman Empire. (313)
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
Recent polling on religious affiliation shows of those polled 25% have no religious affiliation. The largest group of those polled, other than Catholics, is former Catholics.
All Christian denominations are losing their followers. As the title of my blog says I am still Roman Catholic after all these years. Why? First, Scripture tells me that Christ built His Church upon Peter and his successors.
“I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matt. 16:16-19
The Catholic Church still observes the Mosaic law of the Ten Commandments that Christ came to fulfill. We have the teachings of Jesus and His church to refer to in our daily living. The Magisterium of the Church (teaching authority) which relies on Sacred Scripture (written word) and Sacred Tradition (spoken word) allows us to refer to experts as we form our consciences in matters of faith and morals.
We have the Sacraments of the Catholic Church that dispenses grace for every situation whether we are just starting out in our Baptism, adopted children of God, need a little boost in our faith, Confirmation, need a little cleansing of the soul, Penance, and daily refueling of grace Eucharist.
If we decide to marry, we really need the grace of sacrament of Marriage until death do us part. Finally, when it is time for us to pass to our eternal home, the Church sends us off with the Sacrament of Anointing with these words,
“Go forth Christian soul from this world in the name of God, the Almighty Father who created you. In the name of Jesus, the Son of the Living God who suffered for you. In the name of the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon you…May you return to your Creator who formed you from the dust of the earth. May Holy Mary, the angels and all the saints come to meet you…May you see your Redeemer face to face….”
THE SPIRIT BRINGS US HOME TO THE HEAVENLY BANQUET
According to the Apostle and Evangelist, St. John, it all comes together in Book of Revelations, the wedding feast of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem. The light that shines on this heavenly Jerusalem is the love of God that has transfigured the created order. All creation, every human being, every stone, everything was made for praise of God.
The Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, is the spirit of divine love that now descends on the created order, bringing creation back to God. We are baptized in the Spirit. We pray through the Spirit.
The Spirit, through the life of the Church, is active here and now.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away… I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain; the old order has passed away… “Behold, I make all things new.” REVELATIONS 21:1-3
THE KINGDOM COMES
EPILOGUE
This blog, STORY OF OUR SALVATION, is now complete. Of course, our part in the story is not. We know we exist because God loved us into existence. We all have a mission. We are here for a purpose. The world is billions of years old. It is now our time to play our part. Do we know our part?
As we enter stage left and exit stage right what is our role; Who are we here for? Who do I meet, interact with, why this person and not that person? I may have only a walk on part, but if I don’t play my part, what happens…does the play tumble into chaos for awhile….until God intervenes with a new script as He did in the Garden of Eden…
God that intends for us to know Him on this earth and be with Him for all eternity in the next. I know the difference faith in God has made in my life. God never asks more than we can give. Trust in God! He is never outdone in generosity.