A Fresh Perspective

In Acts 2, the Spirit fills the disciples gathered in Jerusalem . Language barriers are broken as Jews from “every nation under heaven” (a bit of hyperbole) hear the good news in their native tongue. One obvious intention of this account is to show that the work of the Spirit is designed to reconcile, include, gather up and bring together diverse people to form egalitarian communities. In explanation of what took place on the Day of Pentecost, Peter claims fulfillment of a passage in Joel that says the Spirit will be poured out upon “all flesh”— no distinctions, exceptions, or exclusions. It is poured out on the old and young, men and women, slaves and free people; everyone receives the gift of the Spirit. In the Spirit immersed community there is no hierarchy—no elevation or subjugation of any gender or group. Paul depicts the first churches as egalitarian communities. In his letter to the Galatians he says that “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or fr...

In an article for the Stillspeaking Daily Devotional UCC minister Dwight Lee Wolter, who did not enter church until he was 34 years old, noted that after visiting many different churches and religious and spiritual groups he decided he needed to grow some roots. As he puts it, he did not want to be a spiritual water skier, bouncing along on the surface from one faith experience to another. He realized that he needed to be a spiritual scuba diver, exploring faith in the depths. He believed it was necessary to explore deep into the well of one’s faith, rather than just skipping along the surface. Surface religion is often the kind of religion that is death dealing, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or whatever. But the deeper we go the more life producing it becomes. Richard Rohr has argued that what makes something secular or sacred is determined by whether one lives on the surface of it or in the depths of it. He says, “Everything is profane if you live on the surfa...