Acts 2:1–21, Romans 8:14–17
Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs– in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
`In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ “
Romans 8:14-17
All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ– if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Both Acts 2 and Romans 8 allude to the practice of slavery in the ancient world. A lot of modern translations skirt around this issue by replacing “slaves” with “servants” (see Acts 2:18 NIV, CEB, NABRE, etc.), but that interpretive choice leads readers to miss some of the key biblical and contemporary context. Even though neither text directly calls for the abolition of slavery in the 1st Century, each of them problematize slavery in the Christian’s eyes. Both these passages make clear that the lines between enslaver and enslaved are not drawn by God. They are drawn by people, drawn by our sinful desire to separate, punish, and demonize others. Preachers should consider that incarceration in the USA is little more than a legal form of slavery. The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution makes this explicit by abolishing “slavery [and] involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.”
With that context in mind, the Apostle Peter and the Prophet Joel remind us that God pours out the Holy Spirit “even upon my slaves, both men and women” (Acts 2:18 NRSV) The status of enslavement does not exclude people from the blessing of God’s presence. It does not erase the Image of God stamped on every human body and soul. If we recognize God’s Image in every human being, enslavement is morally and theologically incoherent (theo-illogical, if you will). There is no basis for one person dominating another if both are made in the Image of God. There is no basis for imprisoning anyone if the Holy Spirit chooses to fall on the imprisoner and the imprisoned alike.
Similarly, the Apostle Paul says that God’s Spirit is opposed to any “spirit of slavery,” which is driven by “fear” (Rom 8:15). Fear is what leads us to enslave and/or imprison people we believe to be dangerous to society. Fear leads us to establish institutions that isolate, torture, and kill people. The American Prison-Industrial Complex is a demented institution; its fruit is the abuse and dehumanization of the individuals in its grasp. It harms the imprisoned, of course, but it also harms the people who work for prisons as guards, wardens, and the like. Incarceration — in all its forms — spreads a spirit of fear and a spirit of slavery.
But God calls people of faith into “a spirit of adoption” (Rom 8:15). Christ has acted triumphantly in the world by rising from the dead and sending the Holy Spirit to people of all ethnicities, nationalities, races, and classes. Through the Holy Spirit, we are adopted as children of God, siblings with one another. The human family is bound together and interdependent, whether or not we acknowledge it or like it. Passages like these should motivate Christians to work for the liberation of enslaved and imprisoned people. God has already made the incarcerated beloved children; God has already declared them free. It’s up to us to make our earthly, human, imperfect societies a bit closer to that heavenly reality.
The Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda is the rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Savannah, GA, and the Missioner for Racial Justice, Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.