To the Ends of the Earth

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

In the opening of the book of Acts, the apostles are waiting in Jerusalem as they have been instructed, gathered in one place. Suddenly, like a mighty wind the whole house is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and the believers begin to testify. The sound is so powerful that it attracts the attention of a host of people who have come to Jerusalem, and they form a crowd around the apostles. Remarkably, though these people speak different languages, each hears the message in their native tongue. They had come to Jerusalem from different places. Still, they were united in that moment because they all heard the same message. 

That is what stands out here. That when the Holy Spirit is given, the people are moved to proclaim the gospel. And when the gospel is proclaimed, it doesn’t matter that we come from different places or speak different languages. It is, as Luke observes, bewildering, and amazing and astonishing and yet somehow true, that the good news of God’s redeeming love and grace transcends our differences, crosses barriers, unites us as one in the Holy Spirit, and breathes life into the universal church. 

When the gospel is proclaimed, the kingdom of God expands. That is the story of the book of Acts, it is ultimately the story of the proclamation of the gospel resulting in the expansion of God’s kingdom, to include more people and more peoples, and more and more.

When God says, “go,” it is to expand God’s kingdom, to enlarge God’s family. Where do we have an opportunity to grow the family of God? Who else needs to be included?

Holy Spirit, move us to bear witness to the Good News of your redeeming love and grace, so that all might come to know the heart of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.