Amy Kelley, Dir. of Program Ministries, Gethsemane

Acts 2:14, 32-37 (CEB)
14 Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared…
32 “This Jesus God raised up. We are all witnesses to that fact. 33 He was exalted to God’s right side and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit. He poured out this Spirit, and you are seeing and hearing the results of his having done so. 34 David didn’t ascend into heaven. Yet he says,
The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right side,
35     until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’
36 Therefore, let all Israel know beyond question that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:
Throughout life, we tend to move through certain seasons of asking questions. I’ve observed this in my own life and my children’s lives. Three-year old’s ask the question: Why? If you’ve ever been around a little one, you know how true this is. They ask why there are bugs. Why is it raining? Why do you have to go to work? And it never ends. My husband and I would do our best to answer all of those questions no matter how many hundreds of times they asked the same thing. Teenagers. Their question is, “do I have to?” Do I have to clean my room? Do I have to really learn algebra or history? Do I have to be home at 10 p.m.? What’s funny about all of those questions is that the answer was almost always a firm YES.

As adults, our most asked question is: What now? We find ourselves in the same place as the crowd who just had the good news proclaimed to them. So what do we do now? Think about how many times we’ve asked that question to each other and to God—when we’ve experienced death, job loss or relocation, burnout in our profession, a sick loved one, pandemic, in-person or virtual school, and a million other moments when we have asked: What now?

The comforting thing is that this question was asked all throughout the Bible. The verses just prior to this passage contain Peter’s answer to the question we keep asking:  

  • Even after all the wonders God has done to show us love and guidance
  • Even after God’s promises made all throughout the Old Testament and kept in the New Testament
  • Even after he sent us Jesus, who walked this earth showing us how to live
  • Even after Jesus told stories in ways we would understand called the parables
  • Even after died for our sins and was raised from the dead to give us eternal life with him

Even after all of that, we still ask the same question. The answer from our loving parent has also always been the same- step into the ways of Christ- repent, be baptized, receive Christ’s love and the Holy Spirit (vs 38). Even now we are given so much. The Bible. The church. Pastors. Teachers. Small groups. Each other. And we still ask.

We do know what now. Peter declares us as witnesses of God’s ongoing partnership with humanity through the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to receive—really receive—the promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves through and around us every moment, bringing us peace amongst chaos, guiding our steps in the midst of uncertainty. When we don’t know what comes next, we rely on the God who has shown up and continues to show up in our history, investing in what was, what is, and what is next. 

Prayer:
God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit,
We certainly can ask a lot of questions. Often, we already know the answers because we love You and trust You. But we often don’t trust ourselves. Help us to know Your promises that you’ve made to us. Continue to show us, through Your Son Jesus, how to live each day. Free up space in our daily lives to hear, feel, and see the Holy Spirit working for our good. We love You, 3-in-1 God that will show us… What’s next. Amen.