so my soul longs for you, O God.
Jesus we thirst for you. In you we find gladness and joy. You call us, but so do many strangers. Many thieves and robbers try to snatch us away from you. We have the choice of who to follow. But how do we stay safe? We are sheep, not know for our intelligence. We aren't the best judges of character when people are making promises and telling us what we want to hear.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
We can recognize your voice. We can see you walking ahead of us, leading us, and showing us the way. We can tell your voice apart from the voice of strangers. And when we hear the voice of strangers the appropriate response is to run away and not follow. You are leading us to salvation and "life-giving repentance". You are the gate through whom we "come in and go out and find pasture." Strangers talk big but they really want to steal, slaughter, and destroy even if they themselves don't think of it in those terms.
Jesus, we've heard too much from strangers. We thirst for your word. Speak to us, Jesus.
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
Your word has power. It is your own light and fidelity which you give to guide us "to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place." It opens the way to "life-giving repentance". Through your word we are filled with your Holy Spirt.
We can recognize your words because they are not like other words. They are spoken with authority (cf. Mat. 7:29). But even so Peter learns that your voice sometimes says things which we don't expect.
Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.
And at first Peter cannot accept this. It sounds unfamiliar. Is it the voice of a stranger? Perhaps he considers running from the voice and the vision. But he does manage to perceive the voice of the Spirit speaking. He hears him say to accompany the six men "without discriminating." Peter is not called to follow merely a path from the past. He is called to follow a voice speaking now. He hears in that voice a call to unity. He hears the One Shepherd calling the other sheep to be his own as well. Although the essentials remain unchanged even beloved practices like kosher food requirements must be laid aside because they are not designed to facilitate a unified sheepfold.
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?”
Peter is surprised that you do this. But he recognizes an authentic motivation of the Good Shepherd in what he hears. He follows the shepherd because he knows your voice. He recognizes the true promise of gladness and joy in what your voice speaks. Your Spirit is present when you speak to him, LORD. Your word contains within itself all we need to recognize it. And this Spirit in the word is not merely a feeling. It is power.
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
‘John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
Your word transforms. And we can see it happen. This isn't something subjective which we experience. It is power which is poured out. It is real.
Let us all, as one flock, go to your altar and give you thanks upon the harp. Let us all behold your face!
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