In the lead up to, the day of, and the days that follow Pentecost we see the Holy Spirit at work, in the preparations, in the driving out of the disciples in mission, and in the welcoming of people from every tribe, language, people and nation.
Saul, or Paul as he is more often called, is one of the most unlikely people to come to faith in Jesus. He has busied himself with the task of stamping out this new sect who belong to ‘the Way’, what Christians were called before the latter name stuck. He’s travelling the country rounding them up. He’s breathing murderous threats. He’s dragging them into prison. In his own words, as we heard in his letter to the Galatians, he was intent on destroying the Church. If there was anyone the fledgling Church feared, it was Paul. And in some ways their fears may be justified from a human perspective, he seems set to wipe them out.
But God has other ideas, God sees his zeal, misplaced as it was, and chooses to turn that zeal for good.
Go, but wait. Those are the final words of Jesus to his disciples. You’re to go into all the world and be my witnesses, passing on the Gospel message of the forgiveness of sins through Christ and his death and resurrection. But wait, wait until you have received the Holy Spirit. In some ways it feels like a contradiction but it’s not. Because this task isn’t to be done through our own efforts, our own skill and ingenuity, but by the power of the Spirit.
Where does God dwell? Ask someone that on the street today and they’ll probably point to the sky, not because they literally believe he’s in the clouds but because it’s the universal metaphor for heaven. But is that correct? Is that where he dwells?