Chapter 1

Acts has never been my favourite book. I think that the way in which it has been taught to me, and the way that I have read it have made it feel pretty “churchy” to me; and I’m not really into “churchy”.  
The church – sure, but “churchy” not so much. 
I have missed so much in these missionary journeys. They came across as kind of triumphalist to me, as if with the message of the apostles the world will be taken over as akin to some military conquest, “onward christian soldiers”. My reading of the book was rescued by Dr. Willie James Jennings. Dr. Jennings is a Professor at Yale Divinity School and he has written a commentary on Acts.  
Jennings writes beautifully and christologically. That is, his sentences are a treat to read, and his work is focused on the work of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
Dr. Jennings shows us that Acts is about bringing together. He points out that the action in the book takes place in the tension between empire and diaspora. What he means by that is that the action takes place between established political power and revolutionary action. Neither of these can draw lines around the work of God. 
(If you want a contemporary example of empire vs. diaspora consider those who are loudly against protests around the world and those who are loudly for them. Empire protects status quo power, diaspora seeks to dismantle it.) 
God is doing a work, in the book of Acts that is the bringing together of people who never thought that they would be together and who would not have been happy to be told otherwise. 
The Acts of the Apostles – perhaps. 
The Acts of the Holy Spirit – better. 
The Acts of the Spirit of Jesus Christ – better yet.  

Chapter 1 has these two scenes. The first is Jesus speaking to his followers and then ascending to heaven. The followers are in the midst of the aftermath of crucifixion and resurrection. They don’t quite know what to do. Jesus tells them to wait. He blesses them and gives them a commission. He then ascends to heaven and they stand there staring at the sky. They are told by angelic visitation to stop staring at the sky. 
Soon after they gather together and “devote themselves to prayer”. They wait.  

And then they determine that they need to assign a new apostle to take the place of Judas. It’s a curious choosing. They pray; and then they roll dice. They still have no idea that God, by the Holy Spirit will take apart their way of doing things. It’s a curious game that leaders play. “Who should be chosen to lead?” Perhaps those granting themselves the power of choosing will say, “Only men can be leaders of this thing.” Perhaps they will say, “Only people like us can be leaders.” So they set aside two people remarkably like themselves and roll the dice.  
It’s a human way of choosing. 
And I think that God must find the whole thing rather amusing. 
God is not bound by the limitations of our prejudice or opinion. He is about to blow the whole thing open. The church (the “churchy” church) will spend hundreds, actually thousands, of years trying to lay out the bounds for the work of God. God must find that amusing as well. 
Here is what I know.  
As Willie James Jennings says in his commentary; “Newness begins with Jesus.”  

Now, in the aftermath. May we long for what is new in Christ. 

Come Holy Spirit.  
Amen.