The Check Cleared the Bank

Into the abyss of fear, confusion, and uncertainty, Jesus makes good on a promise that has reverberated throughout time.

The blood of Jesus had been splashed against the canvas of history and now His followers clung to the cosmic image of a wounded king ascended. Emmanuel was gone. God was gone.

And so they waited as they tried to construct a tangible image from the timber of an abstract commitment that floated from the lips of their friend; their master; their rabbi. For something. For someone. For comfort. For hope. For power.

Desperate, they waited. Life, as they had known it, was over. There was no going back, but going forward seemed unthinkable and daunting.

The pending promise tugged them together. They gripped hope in each other as they replayed the mind-blowing events that had marked their journey with Christ. From curiosity through failure He had drawn them; through the hallways of doubt into the classroom of faith.

But now, even now, especially now… they waited. Hopeful, but fragile. Transformed, but weak.

Between the ascension and Pentecost, rivers of emotion flowed like a bursting mountain stream in spring. Would He. Could He.

Then, into the hoisted sails of expectation, a mighty rushing wind. Into the vacuum of celestial silence God poured His voice… languages flowed, fire fell, hearts soared.

Condemnation couldn’t dampen the fuse of this explosion. God had come, no longer in flesh, but in Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Muted messages were amplified with unmistakable clarity.

The promise fulfilled. Power delegated. Hope restored.

The message went viral. 120 became 3,000. Lips that betrayed were transformed into a megaphone of truth.

Shame was left to rot. Forgiveness rang in the souls of tormented cowards. Authority replaced ambivalence. Jesus had delivered. The check cleared the bank.

 “…tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” ~ John 14:12

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” ~ John 14:18-19

God with us became the Holy Spirit in us. The incarnation became personal.

Pentecost.

Jesus promised. God delivered. The Church was birthed. And everything changed… everything.

Blessed Trinity. Blessed Holy Spirit.

Yes indeed, the check cleared the bank.