Throughout the Easter season we read large chunks of the Acts of the Apostles, and this month we celebrate two of the events related therein, namely the Ascension and Pentecost. One thing seems very clear: that St Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a sequel to his Gospel, and he intends to continue to present his “accurate and orderly” account (cf Luke 1:3), extending it beyond the earthly life of Jesus to cover his continued work, through the Holy Spirit, in the life of the Church.
As with the Gospel, to say that Acts is “orderly” is not to make the claim that every-thing happened exactly in the chronological order Luke gives us. He shapes his narrative in such a way as to present us with theological truth, not bare historical facts. The shaping principle, I suggest, is that the work of the Holy Spirit replicates in the lives of believers the pattern of prophetic and messianic life enacted by Jesus. This very Pauline vision recognises that the working of the Spirit of God in free human acts did not stop with Jesus but continues in the lives of his disciples.
