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Week of May 2, 2010 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1.8) What does Acts teach about Christian witness? Peter's first recorded witness to the Jerusalemites referred to a public event fresh to their memory, one of gross miscarriage of justice: "Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power... as you yourselves know-this man... you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law" (2.22-23). He went on, "Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified" (2.36), the hearers were confronted with the victim of this injustice and how God was with him. No wonder that "when they heard this, they were cut to the heart", and it was at this point that Peter offered hope and deliverance: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (2.37-38). Peter was not talking about an ethereal original sin, but confronting the audience with a specific guilt and concrete victim and in that confrontation with the victim the victimizer found God, judging but also forgiving. We have two options about Christian witness today. One option is to repeat the same historical events which, being from the remote past, are necessarily abstract. The other is to believe that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, while historical, has a significance across time and culture, and therefore to seek to speak about specific guilt that we are implicated in and concrete victims that we, wittingly or not, have created. What does this mean? Our lives are enmeshed in a web of relationships: between parents and children, managers and the managed, clients and service-providers, with people from other nations, and with people from other social groups whom we do not know but affect by our votes. We have varying degrees of choice and power in these relationships but sometimes injustice and violence (physical or not) is done, through ignorance, callousness, connivance, or willful participation. We are often victimizers in one situation and victims in another. I would like to suggest that Christian witness consists in confrontation and wrestling with one's own past, including the environment in which one is soaked and which shapes one's reflexes, naming the deeds and attitudes that dehumanize others (and therefore ourselves), and proclaiming the possibility of redemption and reconciliation. The victim-victimizer relationship occurs more often than we dare admit, though admittedly quite common place and may not appear horrific. This reading of the meaning of Christian witness sheds some new light on the passage at hand. I can only give an example. Why did not Jesus simply say, "You will be my witnesses in all the earth"? The answer must be that confrontation of specific pasts and ghosts must necessarily involve concrete places and histories: The (then) recent miscarriage of the justice in Jerusalem (Acts 4), the generations old enmity between the Samaritans and the Jews (Acts 8), and Rome which pretends to a peace and justice built upon loot, blood, and injustice (Acts 28). Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace and make us peace makers, not a peace that evades the past but one that dares to look at it. Amen
Week of May 9 2010 (Jesus is talking to his disciples): When I was growing up, I often questioned why I had to do certain things or why our family acted in particular ways. "Why do I have to be nice to my brother?" "Why do we always have to eat dinner together at the table?" "Why do I have to wear my sister's old clothes?" "Why do we have to go to church every Sunday?" It didn't matter which parent I asked, the answer was usually the same. "Because that's how we do things in our family. It's who we are, it's what we do." I don't remember being satisfied with this answer, but it was the only one I received! Jesus is saying something similar in the Bible text above. He is talking to his disciples and basically says to them - I love you and have made you part of my family and in my family, we love one another. Jesus says the same thing to us as well. In our baptisms, Jesus says - I love you and you are mine - now go share that love. In Holy Communion, Jesus reminds us again and again - I love you; you are part of my family - now go love the rest of the family. When we act like rebellious teenagers and question Jesus on this, I can hear his answer - "Because that's how we do things in our family - it's who we are, it's what we do." Thank you, Jesus, for making me a part of your family.
Week of May 16, 2010 (Jesus said) When we spend the month of February in Miami Beach, it is not unusual to see homeless people begging for money. Mainly men, but a few women as well, pursue the activity. Some are truly in need; and I suspect, some are preying on the sympathy of vacationers. However it is most unusual to see an extremely elderly woman begging. This year, there was such a woman silently inching along with her walker - eyes cast down -- and holding out a cup hoping for donations. She was tiny and frail; she never said a word as she passed. She just held out her cup and shuffled by. We were touched but elected to follow our "rule" to donate to organizations that help the homeless rather than give money directly to beggars. Then came Sunday morning. We went to church and in came the same woman - with her walker. She was apparently a regular attendee. The ushers greeted her by name -- Mary. One of the parishioners came to help her to her pew and move her walker to an out-of-the-way location. Mary settled herself, removed several layers of clothing, folded the items and neatly placed them on the seat next to her. This took a period of time and couldn't help draw attention as it meant removing skirts, sweaters, shirts, a hat, etc. Once she was more comfortable, she quietly sat down and blended in with all the other worshippers. Then came time for the collection. Some people silently shook their heads "no" to indicate the ushers should move along. Others - like us - put our offering into the plate. When the usher came to Mary, she too put her offering into the plate. "I tell you the truth," he (Jesus) said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:2 (NIV) That day, we saw scripture fulfilled! And, on other days, when seeing Mary with her cup we made sure to give of our wealth to her so that she, in her poverty, would be sure to have an offering for the next Sunday's church service. Lord, make us more aware of the daily fulfillment of your scriptures and lead us to be open to gray areas in our world of black-and-white rules. Amen.
Week of May 23, 2010 While staying with them, Jesus ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:4-8) Just what was the power that Jesus promises to the disciples here, during the period after his resurrection but before his ascension? Let us retrace some steps and try to find out. At the end of Luke's Gospel (24:49), Jesus says, "And see, I am sending you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." However, there is no explicit antecedent in Luke for just what this promise might be. The closest one might get is "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:13) The Spirit will provide their needs. Perhaps another inference can be made from Jesus' warning concerning the coming persecutions his followers will undergo after his departure. As he warns them that they will be arrested, hated, and called to account because of him, he tells them, "This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance, for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict." (21:13-14) The Spirit, the Paraclete, will take the place of the counsel for the defense. It is certainly NOT temporal or worldly power that is meant, as is made clear when amazingly, as late as the time between the Last Supper and Jesus' arrest, the disciples make time to debate which of them was the greatest, or who would have the most "power" in this new "kingdom" Jesus had been proclaiming. He tells them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. BUT NOT SO WITH YOU; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves." (22:25-26) Not political but spiritual power will be provided to them. The gift of power they will receive from the Holy Spirit through the Father will embolden them to witness to Christ, It is not power to be used to control others, but to serve others. The witness they are called to give is at first among their own people (Jerusalem), then those near but yet separated (Samaria), and finally to all other peoples (the ends of the earth). This mission is not confined to their lifetime, as the restoration of Israel will come at an unknown time, but rather from now on, for all disciples to effect the reality of Jesus redemptive work for others, to proclaim the covenant relationship with God the Father. The power will enable them to do things in a way they could not do by themselves, whether it be preaching, healing, teaching, or evangelizing. The "light to the nations" that Israel was always intended to be can now be carried on and furthered through the disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit. However, before undertaking the task ahead, they are ordered to wait (Acts 1:4), gather together as a community and pray (Acts 1:12-14). All of us who have been baptized are called to follow in the footsteps of the first disciples, to pray within the Christian community to receive the gifts of the Spirit, and to then go out and use them to bear witness to the kingdom Jesus Christ preached. Father in heaven, just as your Son Jesus commissioned his disciples some two thousand years ago, promising them the gift of your Holy Spirit, we would ask that we can be regarded in the same way, Spirit-filled disciples who are witnesses to all your Son taught, spreading this Good News to others who do not know his Word. Only through your empowering gift of the Spirit can we do this. Let this Spirit be among us today. Amen.
Week of May 30, 2010
Be kind to one another (A cherished friend shared the following story via the internet.) A farmer had some puppies he wanted to sell. He painted a sign to advertise the four pups, and set about nailing it to a fence post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the nails into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy. "Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies." "Well," said the farmer, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a lot of money." The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then, reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out some change and held it up to the farmer. "I have thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?" "Sure," said the farmer, And with that said, he let out a whistle. "Here Dolly," he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly and four little balls of fur. Now, as the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up. "I want that one," the little boy said - pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like other dogs." The little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and rolled up one leg of this trousers. In doing so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see, sir, I don't run very well myself; and he needs some one who understands." With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup and handed it to the little boy. "How much?" asked the boy. "No charge," answered the farmer. Let us pray: Running in Faithis a personal interpretation of scripture, written in faith, by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church Lutheran Church to help readers take their Sunday faith into their weekday lives. Each Devotion represents the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Permission is granted to link to this page and to use the Devotions for personal, non-commercial purposes only. |