#LukeActs2014 - Acts chapters 18 and 19

Acts chapters 18 and 19 continue to follow Paul as he travels further to spread the gospel - from Athens (where we left him in chapter 17) to Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, back to Ephesus, and back to Jerusalem. Paul never stayed in one place too long, only until the Spirit moved him along.

One of the things that we should admire about Paul is that not only was he an exceptional evangelist, as God's chosen agent for carrying the gospel to "Gentiles, kings, and Israelites" (9:15), but he was also a nurturer, someone who cared about discipleship as much as, if not more than, winning new converts. We read time and again about how Paul returned to churches for the sole purpose of strengthening them in their faith. This, in my opinion, is probably the most meaningful contribution Paul made in setting the example for future generations of Christian leaders to follow. Willimon stated it well: "Paul's epistles are testimonial to his determination to be attentive to even the smallest details of daily life within the church." (Interpretation, p. 151)

I must confess that I often struggle with the "smallest details of daily life within the church." They rarely seem to measure up to the pastoral work of preaching, or providing spiritually-supportive listening and prayer for someone who is hurting, or officiating a wedding, or the countless other cool things that pastors get to do. Maybe this week I'll extend myself a little more grace than usual for the time I will spend talking about the 2015 budget or the fall stewardship campaign or the seven meetings on my calendar (and those are only the scheduled ones).

There was something else about Paul in chapter 18 we should pay attention to.

"After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus. He had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul visited with them. Because they practiced the same trade, he stayed and worked with them. They all worked with leather. Every Sabbath he interacted with people in the synagogue, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks. Once Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." (Acts 18:1-5, CEB)

Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla practiced the same trade. The CEB says "they all worked with leather," while other translations refer to their trade as "tent-making." In any case, there are two important points about this:

1. It is likely that the ministry that Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla shared grew out of their shared trade. In other words, the "kingdom work" they did together came about because of the work they first did together in their "everyday, ordinary" lives.
2. Paul, for a time anyway, was bi-vocational. He proclaimed the gospel in the synagogue every Sabbath but worked as a tent-maker the other six days. It was only after Silas and Timothy arrived that Paul was able to devote "himself fully to the word."

This points to the motivation behind my blog that I've felt from its very beginning. God calls each and every one of us, regardless of vocation, to be ministers of the gospel. Ministry was never intended to be performed solely by professional, or institutional, ministers. This passage points to that very truth. Paul practiced his trade until such time he had sufficient support around him that would allow him to fully devote himself to "set apart" ministry. That didn't change a thing for Aquila, Priscilla, Silas, or Timothy, however. They didn't stop their ministry because Paul was now fully devoted to his. 

One more intriguing passage, this time from Acts chapter 19:

"There were some Jews who traveled around throwing out evil spirits. They tried to use the power of the name of the Lord Jesus against some people with evil spirits. They said, "In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you!" The seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. The evil spirit replied, "I know Jesus and I’m familiar with Paul, but who are you?" (Acts 19:13-15)

There was no power in what these Jews were trying to do because they did not know Jesus for themselves. So, it did no good for them to name drop Paul. Here's the thing...once we come face-to-face with Jesus and "change our hearts and lives" in response to his amazing and unmerited grace (like Paul did), we should spend our "everyday, ordinary" lives proclaiming Jesus in both word and deed (again, like Paul). No matter what our vocation, God calls every one of us to do all that we can, right where we are, with what he's given us, for his glory alone. Paul himself put it this way:

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering." (Romans 12:1, MSG)

Sound familiar? Grace and peace be with you, my friends, as you minister throughout the course of your "everyday, ordinary" lives.

#LukeActs2014 - Acts chapters 16 and 17

Catching up on the reading plan with Acts chapters 16 and 17 after being gone on retreat and away for some much needed rest and relaxation last week...

In chapter 16, we read about how Paul heals a slave woman of a "spirit of divination," that had made her owners a lot of money through fortune telling. These verses tell us about the owners' reaction to what Paul and Silas had done:

¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews ²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” ²²The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. (Acts 16:19-22, NRSV)

In chapter 17, we read about Paul teaching in the synagogue, where he told his audience, “This is the Messiah, Jesus I am proclaiming to you! Jesus is Lord.” In other words, he was basically saying, “Hey, you know that Yahweh who is mentioned in the Scriptures (what we know as the Old Testament)? You know, the divine name of God that is translated as ‘Lord’ and mentioned 6,000 times? Well, that’s Jesus. And, Jesus is Lord.” 

Some were persuaded. Others? Not so much. In fact, this is their reaction:

⁵But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. ⁶When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, ⁷and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.” ⁸The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this... (Acts 17:5-8, NRSV)

Two stories, each about Paul and Silas spreading the gospel message of Jesus Christ, each ending with the same reaction from the crowds gathered in the local marketplace:

“THEY ARE TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!” 

Don’t you just love that? It sounds so scandalous! This bold declaration that “Jesus is Lord” had literally turned the world upside down. 

And that, my friends, is exactly what the gospel message is supposed to do...turn our “worldly” understandings upside down. 

To begin with, saying “Jesus is Lord” affirms a life of personal transformation.  It is saying that my heart and my life are forever changed…I am no longer conformed to this world, but transformed. It should also go further than that…saying “Jesus is Lord” should be culturally subversive. 

Saint Augustine is quoted for saying, “Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.” I take that to mean that Christ alone has divine superiority, authority, and power over anything this world has to offer. So, saying “Jesus is Lord” becomes scandalous and subversive when we think about all the people and things we, and the culture around us, tend to put on pedestals...things we might value above Christ.  

When I began to discern my calling to pastoral ministry, my world was turned upside down. I thank God every day for changing my heart and my life and for calling me. 

How about you? 

Like Paul and Silas, may we too unabashedly proclaim, "Jesus is Lord!" Together, let's turn the world upside down.

Foto Friday - Bok Tower Gardens

This week I had the privilege of going on retreat with my fellow clergy in the first year RIM group to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, FL. These are some of the better shots I was able to capture in the limited time we were given to explore our surroundings.

 

#LukeActs2014 - Acts chapters 14 and 15

At the beginning of this journey through Luke's gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, I wrote that my prayer would be for us to be able to discern some answers to the following questions: 

• Am I becoming more fully the person God made me to be?

• Are we, the church in the world today, becoming more fully the people of God, the unified community of believers, who God is calling us to be?

I found myself revisiting these questions as I read Acts chapters 14 and 15.

The former question came to mind as I read chapter 14 and the story of Paul and Barnabas in Iconium, where they had traveled after being thrown out of Antioch because of hostility toward them for proclaiming a gospel message that included (gasp!) Gentiles. In spite of the heavy resistance by some to their message, Paul and Barnabas remained faithful to their calling. The result? The hostility intended to silence Paul and Barnabas actually had an opposite effect...the gospel message of Jesus Christ spread even further.

Hostility in Antioch? Paul and Barnabas left and went to Iconium.

Hostility in Iconium? They went instead to Lystra.

Stoned and left for dead in Lystra? They made their way to Derbe. 

I can only imagine the questions Paul and Barnabas must have asked themselves as they traveled along, continually suffering abuse from their own people simply for being faithful to the work that God had called them to and delivering the message God had called them to proclaim. 

"Barnabas, remind me again why we do this?"

Because everywhere Paul and Barnabas went hearts and  lives were changed...that's why. The reality of what the Holy Spirit was doing in and through them must have been what kept them going. So much so, in fact, that they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch to strengthen the disciples they had made in those places and urge them to remain firm in the faith. 

Apparently, Paul and Barnabas were pretty confident in who God was calling them to be.

And, they must have understood well what the great and powerful Jedi-theologian Yoda meant when he famously said, "No! Try not! Do or do not, there is no try."

This brings us now to chapter 15, when Paul and Barnabas were rewarded for the success of their Gentile mission with an appointment to participate in a church disagreement.

Some reward.

What does this fact have to do with the latter question revisited above, you ask? To begin with, the strong reminder from reading this chapter that for over 2,000 years the Christian church has struggled with becoming a "unified community of believers." 

Back to the argument... Some Pharisees claimed that Gentiles could indeed become believers, but they had to play by the rules of the community - be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and James didn't quite see it that way and after much debate it was decided that instead of subjecting the Gentiles to the distinctly Jewish way of living out their Christian faith that they would send a message of encouragement with instructions for strengthening the budding faith of their Gentile brothers and sisters. I am sure that Paul and Barnabas weren't the least bit surprised that their approach was well received.

I admit, however, that I was surprised that chapter 15 ended with yet another argument, this time between Paul and Barnabas of all people. In fact, we are told in verse 39 that "their argument became so intense that they went their separate ways."

It saddens me that intense arguments happen in the church even today, sometimes over big and important things and other times over the smallest and pettiest of things. Through them all, however, we must never lose sight of the fact that each individual person who is a party to the disagreement is uniquely gifted and called and that together we make up the people of God. In spite of our many disagreements, we all want to become more fully the people God made us to be while participating in a church that is itself becoming, for a closely watching world, what God needs for it to be.

I read a prayer in my devotion time today that I find, for whatever reason, to be a fitting conclusion to this post:

“Lord, keep us from making crosses out of the splinters of discomfort in our lives. Help us recognize the true crosses you call us to bear, those whose weight lends to the freedom and provision of others. Amen.” (Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove & Enuma Okoro. “Common Prayer.” Zondervan, 2010, p. 654)

#LukeActs2014 - Acts chapter 13

Last week, I wrote about the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the disciples, as told in chapters 11 and 12. This week, there is an obvious continuation of that theme in chapter 13, with even more evidence that the disciples weren't working alone:

• ...the Holy Spirit said, "Appoint Barnabas and Saul to the work I have called them to undertake." (v. 2)
• After the Holy Spirit sent them on their way... (v. 4)
• Empowered by the Holy Spirit... (v. 9)

And my favorite:

• Because of the abundant presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, the disciples were overflowing with happiness. (v. 52) 

As I reflected on this chapter, one thing that became all the more clear to me was that the disciples were accountable to the Holy Spirit, as well as to their community, for carrying out the work set before them.

Maybe it is because the regular season of the National Football League is now well underway, but this thought brought to mind a mantra that I often made reference to during my days in financial services. If I remember correctly, it was something I heard that Tiki Barber once said to his fellow offensive players on the New York Giants before a game.

"None of us are entitled...we are all accountable."

To me, one of things I find most striking, and beautiful, about these stories of the first disciples is their singleness of Spirit. They were wholly committed to, and accountable for, their task of spreading the Gospel...and there was no sense of entitlement among them. And why would there have been? After all, the message they repeated time and again essentially said to their hearers: "Through Jesus we proclaim forgiveness of sins to you. From all those sins from which you couldn't be put in right relationship with God through Moses' Law, through Jesus everyone who believes is put in right relationship with God." (v. 38-39)

Indeed, the saving grace of Jesus Christ is available to "everyone who believes" but that doesn't mean we are entitled to it. We are all accountable for changing our hearts and lives.

#LukeActs2014 - Acts chapters 11 and 12

As we continue reading these incredible stories of conversion and the growth of the early church, one thing couldn't be more clear - these are stories of God's actions. Yes, the disciples are acting with faithful obedience to their call to spread the gospel, but the result clearly could never have been accomplished without Divine Providence.

"The Lord’s power was with them, and a large number came to believe and turned to the Lord." (Acts 11:21, CEB)

Acts chapters 11 and 12 are filled with references to the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the disciples and new believers. As I read these stories, I was struck by the faithfulness of the disciples and the church to prayer (Peter praying in Joppa in v. 11:5, the church fervently praying for Peter in 12:5). I was also reminded about something a seminary professor once said about the Holy Spirit in a lecture...that the Holy Spirit is the shy member of the Trinity who will sit in the back of the church and wait to be invited in.

The current state of affairs in the Church and in the world calls for our fervent prayer and invitation to the Holy Spirit. And so, I invite you to join me in using this prayer from the United Methodist Hymnal:

An Invitation to the Holy Spirit (UMH #335):

O God, the Holy Spirit,

    come to us, and among us;

    come as the wind, and cleanse us;

    come as the fire, and burn;

    come as the dew, and refresh;

convict, convert, and consecrate

    many hearts and lives

        to our great good

        and to thy greater glory;

and this we ask for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Foto Friday (on Wednesday) - Remembering Mom

I came across this photograph a few weeks ago when I was working on cataloging our family photos and I thought to myself, "I remember this moment like it was yesterday." 

 

The thing is, the baby Mom is cuddling started middle school last week.

Oh, how quickly time seems to be passing me by. That is why I treasure good photographs like this one. It preserves a moment that I will never forget, no matter how much time passes.

I am struck by three things in particular:

1. How much my Mom's wig looks exactly like her hair before the cancer treatments. Her stylist trimmed the wig precisely that way and Mom was so pleased with the result. It made Mom, and all of us for that matter, feel a little bit better about what was happening to her.
2. How I will never tire of the sight of my children sleeping.
3. Finally, and this is by far the most important of all - how this is one of the most beautiful and tender moments I was privileged to observe between Mom and Gabrielle. While I am so grateful that Mom was able to bond this way with my favorite firstborn, it is heartbreaking (and more than a little unfair) that she was unable to share moments like this with her grandchildren who have been born since.

So today, on my Mom's 64th birthday, I am honoring her memory with this special edition of Foto Friday. 

 

Happy birthday, Mom! I love and miss you so very much.

 

P.S. - I sincerely hope that you are enjoying watching the grandchild in this picture repay me in full for all that I put you through as a kid.