Reading: Acts 13:42-42

Reflection

I’m afraid this morning’s reflection may resemble a very badly constructed quiz show. I am going to offer up quite a few questions and make some comments around them but I am not going to offer any answers.

That is going to be your job. Only you can arrive at the answers that speak into your life’s experience.
Hopefully as they say in some of those quiz shows. It will all become clear as we go along. Before we get to that let me fill in some of the blanks that have happened since our reading last week. The persecution has continued in Antioch James the brother of John, both disciples of Jesus, who we met a few times journeying through the Gospel of Mark at the beginning of this year. James has been put to death by the sword.

King Herod who was the grandson of the king Herod who reigned at the time of Jesus seen that his actions pleased the people so he intended the same fate for Peter but Passover was underway. Peter’s execution had to be delayed but he was imprisoned. If you want to get more detail surrounding this can I invite you to read the previous chapter, chapter twelve, and there you can read of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison.

The mission journey continues as Barnabas and Saul are landed in Cyprus and from there they set sail again finally landing at today’s destination, Pisidian Antioch. Antioch from where they set off is in Syria this new place is in southern Turkey. Before they set off and during their time in Cyprus the connection, Saul known as Paul, was always made. Notice the subtle difference from here on Saul is simply referred to as Paul. As was the case elsewhere they preached in the synagogue.

We join them today as they are leaving but even before they have left the invitation is extended for them to return and speak more about Jesus and this new faith. It is at this next Sabbath we join the story. Their message is a very powerful one and the subject matter has long been a hot topic for theologians over the generations. The whole matter of salvation and what it means. No matter what those who held power in the synagogue thought or did Barnabas and Paul were determined to preach to the gentiles the good news of salvation in Christ and they quote from the great prophet Isaiah in support of their work. The word spread as people told their neighbours the good news of salvation. This new found faith could not be hidden away.

This leads me into the quiz or more accurately the question show. What does salvation mean? Who decides all of this? Who is salvation for? There are many other words that fit within the inclusive word salvation. Saved, justified, redeemed, sanctified, righteous, glorified. We see that salvation is in itself a journey. It relates to the past tense when we have been saved, justified, redeemed we have in essence been given a new nature. It relates to the present tense as we are being saved. We are being made holy as the Holy Spirit sanctifies. It relates to the future tense when will be saved and our bodies will be glorified. What does salvation mean? It means so much more than even the most eloquent words we have can explain.

Who decides all of this? This is a question that is answered very differently by people. There are those who would say it is God alone who chooses who will be saved. Humanity does not have a say because we are trapped in our sinful nature. God calls his chosen people and when called they cannot refuse. In this understanding according to God’s will not everyone will receive salvation. Others would say we do have a part in the process if and when we believe and repent. This understanding has God calling us first but we still can resist that calling and by doing so resisting salvation itself. In this understanding God calls us from our sinful ways and frees us that we would have free choice to choose God or not.

The final thought would be that God chooses us for salvation. If we do not resist, then we are saved if we do resist we are not. God will not force us either way but such is the depth of our sinful nature we would never choose God. This understanding leads us to we cannot choose salvation but after God has called us we are free to reject his call thus choosing damnation. Who decides all of this, three possible outcomes. We have no choice in salvation or damnation. We have a choice in both. We cannot choose salvation ourselves but we can choose damnation if we resist God’s call. I have deliberately left the last question until now. Who is salvation for? The conclusions of what has gone before us this morning may well be needed before this question can even begin to be unpicked therefore, I leave it with you and your own thoughts to go about working it out between God and yourself. I hope this has not been a badly constructed quiz show but rather a meaningful place for each of us to journey forward with Christ that may lead us to a deeper level in our relationship with our Saviour, the one who offers Salvation. These questions are not easy for some people, and some might say not straightforward. Others might feel as though, for them, they have it all sorted out in their head. Wherever each of us are on that journey we need that grace of God to allow others the space and the time to consider these meaningful things concerning our faith. May God lead us in all our discernment of his will.

Reading Acts 11:19-30

Reflection

This morning we arrive at the city of Antioch. The third largest city in the Western World at that time behind Rome and Alexandria in Egypt. This is the place, you may remember, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the followers of this new church first became known as Christians. They stopped calling themselves Jews or Greeks or Gentiles as they took on the name of Christ but as we will discover this morning they still had a wee journey to go on before that would happen. In his letter to the church in Galatia Paul mentions Antioch as the place where he opposed Peter and they entered into some confrontation that was centred around this whole Jewish Gentile question.

It really was quite deep rooted and had the capacity to tear the church apart. We read more about all of this in Acts at chapter fifteen, the council at Jerusalem. Last week I was speaking about how there are times when things we thought we had dealt with from the past can come the fore of our minds and we are challenged on how we respond to them.

Peter still had issues surrounding the laws with which he had grown up and how this new faith could release him from being tied to them. We met two characters; Peter the conservative minded Jew Saul/Paul the persecutor turned missionary. Here we arrive in Antioch and we read of several things that are happening. On the positive side the message is continuing to be spread across the land but on the negative side some are preaching only to the Jews and others only to the Gentiles. We have not moved on. It would appear that changing the mind set has always been a bit of a timely journey.

The church has this one message for all people but we cannot find the way in which all can receive together at the same time and all of this comes about because of adherence to the old ways, the old laws, the things that keep us apart and mark us out as being different. But even in all of this, I suppose you could even say despite our best efforts, we are told that great numbers come to the Lord. As news reaches Jerusalem where the Apostles watched over the affairs of these new fledgling churches another well respected man called Barnabas was sent out to find out about these Gentiles who are coming to the faith. Quite a turn around when only a couple of weeks ago we were reading about a man called Saul who also set out from Jerusalem but his charge was somewhat different as he was intent on persecution.

Then the dramatic events lead Barnabas to send for this Saul in Tarsus, how ironic this man, the great persecutor, is the one now chosen to go to Antioch and help to put their church in order. Another gift Saul appears to have blessed with is the ability to be quite a phenomenal fund raiser. People are giving their gifts according to their ability. This is something Paul would introduce in other churches such as in Corinth. What an amazing turnabout in affairs.

After working in the city for a year Saul the persecutor and Barnabas the Jewish Church envoy are united as one to get the gifts to the church in Jerusalem to help them in fight against the impending famine. There are some great life lessons in all of this. Over the summer we have watched the Euro Championships, the Olympics and the Paralympics. So many different people from so many different countries and cultures across our world. The one common bond is the love of sport and in particular whatever sport they are involved in. All of them will have arrived having gone through different training regimes, different philosophies on how things ought to be done that they could achieve the maximum impact on their chosen field and in the end come away with the best possible results. In some of the venues there were no crowds, no audience to witness first hand all their efforts.

At the Olympics only those directly involved were allowed to be present. At the football it was a bit different. But some of venues were filled with all neutral supporters who only wanted a good match regardless of the outcome. Some of the venues were partisan atmospheres with only one side having any supporters and then there were times when the crowd was divided between the two teams. There we have it. There is evidence in sport. There is evidence within the church. There is evidence across the whole of life’s experience. If we decide that we are going to create and maintain barriers then nothing good will ever come out of that. If we decide on the other hand to recognise and celebrate our differences and lay aside those difference which separate us then was can work together for the good of the whole body knowing that with God all things are possible.

Reading Acts 10:9-23

Reflection

This morning’s reading is set in Caesarea a large Mediterranean coastal city. This is the city that Philip travelled to in chapter eight. Living in the city was a Roman centurion called Cornelius. Although he was not a Jewish man he did believe in the one God of Israel. Along with his family they worshiped and prayed to God. Here we meet the first Gentile or non-Jewish Christian. Further evidence that the teaching and preaching of the word was travelling across the land and being received by Jew and Gentile alike. We pick up the story as Cornelius, having had a vision from God, has sent men to find Peter in Joppa, further up the coast. This morning Peter is the focus of our attention. Coming from a rather conservative Jewish stance, Peter is given an understanding from God about the mission he wishes him to carry out to the Gentiles. I find this morning’s interactions fascinating. Last week we had the experience of Saul on the Damascus Road and that almost instantaneous change for him.

This morning we meet up again with Peter who we know travelled everywhere with Jesus and knew his ministry well. This is the man who in Matthew’s gospel Jesus said would be the rock. ‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ This is the man who in John’s gospel denied Jesus three times on the night of his arrest but was later reinstated when Jesus asked him three times, ‘Peter, do you truly love me?’ And each time Peter replied yes Jesus said, ‘feed my lambs’ ‘take care of my sheep’ ‘feed my sheep’. If those who met with Saul following his conversion to Paul where sceptical about things then how much more certain people were of Peter as he had been with Jesus throughout and was known as one of his followers. This is where I find the passage we read this morning quite revealing. Peter is on a mission to change people’s understanding of Jesus of Nazareth and to preach to them that he is indeed the Messiah for whom they had been waiting. He was and is the Son of God.

Cornelius, a man who had been changed, wants to learn more even though his behaviour may well bring about the wrath of the authorities. Peter, a man who had been changed, wants to teach people more. A simple enough coming together you would think. But Jews and Gentiles were not allowed to mix together.

Now we discover something that we may all be able to relate to. Even if we happy to discuss and consider change there just might be something way back in our minds that will become a stumbling block when it is brought to the fore and we discover that we may not have been changed as fully as we thought when we were going about our business unchallenged. All of us have and are experiencing change. My Crossingpoint piece in the Courier last week spoke about what used to be normal and now this new normal is coming into our lives. We can all say, ‘yes we’ll need to learn to live differently’ But who is calling the shots? Who is making the decisions that determine this new normal under which we will all be asked to live our lives? In our churches there is much talk about change and how all of this is going to take shape. Peter reveals to us that change never comes easily. During his time on the rooftop he holds fast to his traditions and laws regarding food. Some animals are unclean, they are impure. Then the voice that tells him there is nothing made clean by God that is impure. He holds on to the laws about Jew and Gentile meeting, all-in-all he remains firmly within the laws with which he was brought up. When the men sent by Cornelius arrive Peter now finds himself in a position to go with them the next morning but only after that reassurance from the holy Spirit. But when we follow Peter on to his arrival in Caesarea we find his opening statement is a reminder to those in the house how it is illegal in his laws for Jews and gentiles to meet together. And isn’t that true with most of us? What we have always accepted as normal, remains exactly that, until the day when it is challenged and we have to think our way through something that might well result in us having to change.

During Peter’s visit the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard his message. Those who had journeyed with Peter were amazed that God’s Holy Spirit could come to rest on gentiles. All of this leads Peter to ask can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Spirit just as we have. He ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus. The conversion of Cornelius and those who were him that day came about not through any Hellenistic conversation and explanation. It was not brought about by any instruction given through laws to obey. This coming to faith was brought about by the Holy Spirit working through Peter and his teaching of Jesus. I find great comfort in all of this in as much as Peter, even having journeyed so extensively and physically with Jesus, having witnessed first-hand with his own eyes the work of Jesus and having been told directly that he will be the rock upon which the church will be built still needs from time to time that visit from the Holy Spirit, that reassurance when something comes to the fore of his mind that would keep him in his old ways, telling him it is okay to let go and for the journey to continue there will be something in all of us, I’m sure, that may be lying dormant somewhere in the depths of our faith journey that will require God to give us that nudge, that voice, that revelation that comforts us enough to trust in Him and to let go for the sake of moving on.  

Reading Acts 9:1-22

Reflection

As we turn the pages of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles we see something that I believe is truly remarkable. It appears to me the greater the persecution became the greater the determination of those who wished to spread the good news, which may be expected, but the remarkable thing I am reading is this growing persecution in many ways is adding to the numbers who are believing and coming to this new faith in their thousands. In the previous chapter to our reading this morning Philip is spreading the word in Samaria. This morning we move onto the counter action of the spreading of the teaching that is the spreading of the persecution. Ingrid and I have stood at the Damascus Gate on the walls of the city of Jerusalem. By the end of his journey on the road where Ingrid and I were standing, Saul will become Paul.

It is quite an experience to get your head around that from that very spot Saul set out to bring about the downfall of this new church movement. In the early days it was given a few names. This morning we hear them described in verse 2 as members of the way. Elsewhere they are called ‘brothers’ or ‘all the believers’ or even ‘the Nazarene sect’. It is in the city of Antioch they are first called Christians. Roman writers often using this in a derisive manner, once again underscoring the hostility with which these first believers were greeted and a very early example of institutionalised bigotry. Paul’s mission is to silence these people who were, according to him, making the word of God impure. Along the way he became utterly convinced that Jesus was the Messiah spoken of in those scriptures to which he held dear. Of course not everybody accepted this new Paul and his understanding of Jesus from that moment without question. In fact, for a while, Paul will find himself in some sort of no-man’s land as both sides question him knowing the reputation he once had as an aggressive persecutor of the church. As his multiple imprisonments, involvement in riots and many beatings suffered will testify to.

Our encounter with him this morning, although very much life changing, is quite fleeting. We will not meet with him again until a few chapters further on. I wonder if during this early period in the history of the church it is beginning to experience something that was many years later, in many other walks of life, coined the well-used saying. ‘Attack is the best form of defence.’ We could debate that old saying and the merits of it for the rest of today and beyond. No doubt we would be split in our conclusions. And in some scenarios there is fantastic irony as the saying itself can bring about an attack on those who disagree with it. Just as the spreading of the word and the teaching of Jesus spread out from Jerusalem through his Apostles and Disciples so too did the persecution of the church as we discover this morning when we interrupt a rather ordinary journey from Jerusalem to Damascus that took on an extraordinary twist which resulted in a major life change for one man and a huge change of mind-set to the early church and those from out with who witnessed its growth and the conviction of those who chose to believe and follow the ways of Christ. Paul did not confine himself to preaching only to gentiles. Whatever city he found himself in he firstly visited the synagogue and preached there before going out to preach to the others. Once again this morning we read about the laying on of hands this time by Ananias a devout observer of the Jewish law and highly respected by all who lived there. He had converted to Christianity and had this vision of God telling him to go and visit Saul. By the close of this visit and the laying on of hands not only was Saul’s sight restored to him but his entire life had been given a new start and a fresh way of being through the Holy Spirit.

I used a modern day saying earlier that may or may not fit the bill of the early history of the church and I am going to close in similar fashion. ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’ The reality is this. All of that came into focus nearly two thousand years after the original steps of Saul now Paul began to alter the path of history forever. There is another Neil Armstrong quote that would sit well with Paul in his new way of understanding things. And I wonder would it sit well with us too this morning. ‘Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.’ This brings us to the closing verse of our reading. Saul grew more and more powerful proving that Jesus is the Christ. He quoted from their own scriptures and as a Jew himself he declared ‘I have seen the risen Christ with my own eyes.’ The mystery that is God, revealed through the son who is God and empowered by the Holy Spirit who is God. Wherever our Damascus Road experienced happened, however long that journey took for each of us as individuals, we thank God for the revelation of his love to us and to the world.

Reading Acts 6:1-15

Reflection

As we continue through the Acts of the Apostles we reach a massive point in the journey of those who chose to live and die for Christ. All followers are now called disciples and the original twelve have become apostles, the word coming from Greek with a general meaning of messenger. Could this be the first disagreement in the church? As people from different cultures begin the hear the good news and come to faith some felt they were not being treated the same as the rest. The widows from their community were not receiving the same food share that was handed out to the needy in the church by the apostles on a daily basis. Prior to this many had sold their possessions and given the money to the apostles to help care for those in need which included the widows. The apostles are engaged in the ministry of Jesus and cannot be overseeing every aspect of life for the people so new leaders are required to assist with the wider mission work. Even though the numbers coming to faith are growing each day it is a reflection on how we can allow temptation to slip that wedge in between believers. There is a good lesson here for us today. It is okay to admit you cannot do everything. It is okay to focus on your skillset and allow others to put theirs to work for the kingdom. The seven men chosen were all Greek speaking Jews. One of the men chosen was called Stephen and the men of one of the synagogues in Jerusalem started to oppose him. Unable to challenge his wisdom or his speaking through the spirit they went behind his back accusing him falsely of things. They got others to bear false witness saying Stephen had blasphemed against Moses. Akin to saying he had blasphemed against the law and therefore in turn against God. Very similar to the false charges brought against Jesus. Much of the following chapter is Stephen’s speech in reply to these false charges. We will pick the story up towards the end of the chapter but for the moment I want to close with the words from J B Philips who spent fourteen years translating the New testament, he reflected ‘the sick are not merely prayed about, they are healed. Human nature is changed. The fresh air of heaven blows gustily through these pages. The early church lived dangerously. The lasting excitement which follows the reading of the book is this: The thing works.’

Reading Acts ch7vs54 –ch8vs3

Reflection

Stephen has delivered his speech before the Sanhedrin and the earlier part would have pleased those who heard him as he gave an overview of history from a Jewish perspective, naming many of their forefathers in his delivery. That was off course until he turns the tables on them and begins his attack. He compares their treatment of Jesus with earlier generation’s treatment and rejection of messengers sent from God. He questions their temple worship. He tells them the most-high does not live in houses made by men as he quotes the prophet, ‘heaven is my throne; the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? Says the Lord.’ By the end of the speech Stephen is calling them murderers and traitors. We re-join the scene at this point. Yet again the Sanhedrin act in an illegal manner. Without gaining permission from the Roman rulers they proceed to killing Stephen. As before with Christ, nothing deserving of death had been spoken, but he was taken to the place where criminals were stoned and their execution began. Remember the incident when Jesus came across a potential stoning and he said the one without sin should cast the first stone. It was those who testified against a criminal who cast such a stone but it was the Sanhedrin in its entirety who bore witness against Stephen so they were all allowed to cast the first stone. And we meet this young man Saul whom we met last week. Stephen becomes the first Christian to be killed for the sake of Christ. Then just as we know ourselves. If you have never done something before you can be a bit hesitant but once that threshold has been broken the next, then the next, and the subsequent numbers thereafter become easier and easier to do. So it was from this point onwards the persecution had moved to a new level and future killings will become easier and easier for the leaders to commit. From this point onwards the believers began to scatter and the gospel and the teaching of it went with them, spreading just as Jesus had told them it would. Saul recognised the potential power that this new church could generate and decided that it had to be stamped out once and for all. He was now very much opposed to his old teacher Gamaliel whom we met last week. Saul had men and women arrested and throwing them into prison he set about his work of destroying the church with great enthusiasm and conviction. Something which makes what happens to him later so much more remarkable.

Reading: Acts 5:25-42

Reflection

And so we continue upon our journey. The early church continues to grow in number and in strength. Word is spreading across Jerusalem and as we have already discovered the Jewish leaders are finding themselves in a very difficult situation. Luke records the incredible growth of the church no less than a dozen times in his writings. All of this at a time when there was no formal organisation. The people who came to faith did so by sharing the good news of Christ and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. There was no Institutional Church but there was growth. There were no buildings to be called a church but the word was being shared and heard. People were proclaiming Christ and claiming him as their Saviour. The setting this week is very similar to that of last week. The apostles have been healing many more people. People were bringing their sick out onto the streets, placing them on beds and mats, in the hope of a healing for them.

The word is now spreading beyond Jerusalem as we are told that crowds from other towns were bringing their sick and forming part of the crowds. As a result of this the powers that be became jealous and we read another account of Apostles being arrested and thrown in jail. An angel came to the men in the night and released them from captivity telling them to go to those temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life. Meanwhile the Sanhedrin is convened and the prisoners are sent for only for the report to come back to them that even though the prison was fully locked, with the guards there on duty, the prisoners were not inside. That is where we pick up the story this morning as the report is made that the arrested men are free and are in the temple courts teaching the people. The Sanhedrin postpone any further, harsher treatment of them realising that for now they cannot make martyrs out of these men. But persecution of the early church is very much front and centre of things as they stand. The time will come when people will die because of their faith in Christ. In the whole discussion that takes place accusations and counteraccusations are fired by both sides. You have continued the teaching in the name of Jesus after being directly told to stop doing so. You are making us the guilty ones in front of all the people for putting him to death. And the response comes back. We have no option but to put the work of God above the instruction of man. It was you who nailed him to the tree and it was God who raised Jesus from the dead.

The apostles repeat as they did in an earlier chapter that they were eye witnesses to all of this. Just as it was with Jesus the Jewish leaders thoughts were now turning to how do we get rid of this situation for good? Their answer just as it was with Jesus was simple they must be put to death. But remember even within the Sanhedrin there were opposite parties who thought different things. And it on this I want to focus. It would appear that surrounding the time of Jesus life there were several uprisings and revolutions against the Roman Empire led by armed men. There were lives lost and the people simply drifted back to whatever they did with their lives. The man who speaks out almost in defence of the apostles is Gamaliel. A highly respected man in all Jewish quarters. He was a leader of the Pharisees. One of his students was a man very well known to us, his name was Saul before his conversion on the road to Damascus. He was a man very much part of the Pharisees movement and very much opposed to this new teaching. A man who will be renamed Paul and become one of the great disciples of Christ. Gamaliel’s reasoning hits home. If, as it was in the past, all of this new teaching is coming from false prophets and from man alone then it will die away of its own accord. If it comes from God nothing and nobody will ever stop it and just as the apostles did last week he issues a very stark warning to the Sanhedrin. If you continue with your intention to argue with them and even kill them it will be God that you are fighting with. To save face a lesser punishment of flogging is dished out as a way of letting the people know the Sanhedrin has dealt with these revolutionaries. But notice one small detail that comes in on the tail end. Once again we see that hidden agenda as the Apostles are warned by the Sanhedrin again not to do these things in the name of Jesus. To those on the outside the matter has been dealt with but to those on the inside moves are still underway to bring these men and their teaching to a permanent stop. The leaders knew fine well it was all too late. These Apostles were not going to listen to them, they were going to continue preaching and healing and serving in the name of Jesus because they had arrived at that point in their journey of faith and discipleship that they could do no other thing. Even though they would most definitely have been reflecting on much of Jesus teaching when he was with them. Teaching such as, ‘you will be handed over and flogged’ ‘if they persecute me, they will persecute you’ They will, I am sure, have also reflected on the promises that Jesus left with them. Promises such as, ‘blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.’ From this point on the good news will begin to spread further from Jerusalem into Samaria. From this point on the persecution will be cranked up a notch and taken to a new level. The Sanhedrin will no longer postpone the harsher treatment of those who follow Christ. The persecution of the early church is very much front and centre. From next week onwards people will die because of their faith.

Reading: Acts 4:1-12

Reflection

Our reading this morning refers to what had happened during the previous chapter. A lame beggar man had been healed and the powers that be were not at all happy. Peter and John had healed him as he sat begging at the temple gate. He asked for money but got so much more than that. He jumped to his feet and walked with Peter and John into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God as he went. Of course the people within the temple recognise the man as he had sat at the gates every day and although they may or may not have offered him any money they certainly had looked at him often enough to know that this was the man who was so very happy this day. The gate at which he sat was called beautiful and how appropriate that such a beautiful thing should happen there as all who witnessed this were filled with wonder and amazement. That is the setting for what we now have before us this morning. The apostles have moved into a new chapter in their lives and on their journey of discipleship. They have moved on from being that scared group who wondered whether they had seen a ghost or was the risen Jesus really there amongst them. No longer were they behaving with disbelief or terror or acting as though it was all some wild rumour factory that had gone into some heavy duty overtime. They had seen the risen Jesus enough and they were convinced. They were now witnessing the things Jesus told them about for themselves. They were now a people on whom God had poured out that Holy Spirit which Jesus had promised he would send. The book of the Acts of the Apostles is now showing us a group of disciples who are behaving in a very different way. They have come through a very difficult time and things have changed for them but they have stayed on in there and God has done this new thing. The word is now very much out there. No longer hiding away, afraid of what might become of them. Now we witness men who are standing out from the crowd, a group who cannot wait to tell anyone who cares to listen all about Jesus.

The priests and the Sadducees are unhappy there is a great commotion being stirred up. Is it really about the healing that had taken place? Or is more to do with these men announcing the Jesus who had been put to death has now been raised. There is irony in how the whole episode is conducted. There is no time left to conduct any business before the Sanhedrin so Peter and John are left alone in prison overnight. Remember when this same group was confronted with the commotion that Jesus stirred up in those same temple courts. They planned to arrest him and eventually did so late at night when the Sanhedrin should not have legally been allowed to convene. The men mentioned in our reading this morning were amongst those who made the decision to condemn Jesus. They were the ones who thought their actions would cause this new church, this new teaching, to quickly die out. Now these are the men who are behaving as though they have seen a ghost but they have no desire to tell anyone about it. Their fears were well founded because this new thing that they had tried to crush, but a short time ago, was now growing way beyond their control. In one setting they acted illegally to get Jesus off the streets and now in this setting they stick rigidly to their laws. The outcome of course is the same. Jesus message had been delivered and his glory was soon to be witnessed through the resurrection. The Apostles message has been delivered and thousands more have come to believe. Once again we meet this changed Peter. No longer the denying one but now standing before his accusers and just as he did last week, speaking with confidence, but not to an unknown crowd, this time Peter is addressing the ruling courts of Israel, the rulers and the chief men of the Jewish nation. Remembering what Jesus had said to them earlier as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, ‘But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your father speaking through you.’ The glory of the Holy Spirit was beginning to be revealed. Those who were open to be changed, those who were open to a new way of life, those who were open to not really knowing what lay ahead but trusted enough in God to follow, these would have been amongst that number that day. Will we count ourselves amongst their number for our day? Peter draws to a close by reminding us all it is not only from physical sickness that people are healed. Our souls can be saved from spiritual sickness. If these leaders continue to reject Jesus they will in the end have rejected the only way to heaven. As a society as we move ever closer to less restrictions will we be open to life in new ways? As a church that is having to deal with new ways of being, most definitely on our horizons, will we be open to church life in new ways? Possibly a more meaningful question for the church would be, ‘As a church are we trusting God enough, not really knowing what lies ahead will we follow God?’

Some thoughts of those who were there

I keep thinking when he tried to tell us what was going to happen and how we were deaf to it. We were so afraid, and didn’t know what to think, as he liked to put it; his ‘hour had come’. But now I understand, now we understand: now is that time when he said he’ll speak plainly about the Father and the kingdom. He told us we would be scattered. How strange that the deepest pain I have felt could turn into the deepest joy. This Spirit he speaks of sent by him, how could we be afraid?

So for now, we’ll wait. Wait with him, learn from him. Wait in joy.                   

It seemed like everything was coming together. We thought, “this must be it: the time when he will restore the kingdom to Israel.” But instead he spoke again of the Spirit, that with it, we would be witnesses to the ends of the earth. And then I still can’t believe what I saw, him lifted up to the heavens. But I do believe in who he is. So we’ll wait in Jerusalem, like he told us. Wait together. Wait in prayer.

We gathered, as all Jews do, to mark the festival of Shavuot, or Pentecost. We are meant to be remembering the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple. All we can think about, though, is the future. It’s been a week since he left and we’re still here, in Jerusalem, like he ordered. Of course this time we believe that something’s going to happen; that’s what makes it so difficult to think about the past – the promise of the future feels close enough to touch. For now, though, we’ll wait. Wait wherever we find ourselves. Wait in hope.

Reading: Acts 2:14-28

Reflection

Just as I said last week’s reading is visited at Ascension so too the reading from this morning centres around Pentecost. The thoughts and concerns above cover that previous part of the day in chapter 2 verses 1-13 so we turn out thoughts to what happens next. Peter, as we know he often does, makes reference to Old Testament scriptures as he quotes the prophet Joel and the last days. What or when are these last days? God has poured out his Spirit, does that mean that for them the last days are now? Could that be why some in the church began to question why Jesus had not returned in their time and some going even further and doubting if he will return at all. The reference is the period of Jesus first coming and his returning again but remember Jesus himself said not even the son knows the hour that is for the Father in heaven to know. Therefor we, like those who were there that day, are living in what can be described as the now but the not yet. Jesus has come his Spirit is very much with us but there is a time to come when all the glory of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be revealed without limitations. The quote from Joel goes on to mention signs and wonders and when Peter finished quoting the prophet he reminds the people that many had been witness to the signs and wonders, the miracles that Jesus had performed during his ministry amongst them. He reminds them of how even all of this did not prevent men of evil from putting Jesus to death. God would not be defeated by this evil act and Jesus was raised from the dead. Peter returns once more to the Old Testament as he quotes from the Psalms of David. His explanation of David’s quote lies in the verses that follow our reading and I invite to read on for yourselves after the service. They all know David died and the location of his burial tomb is known them. Peter tells them that because they all know this he speaks with confidence when he says that David writes these things, not of himself, but rather this is a prophecy about Jesus. His suffering turned to joy, his shame to glory and his death to eternal resurrection. David did die and his body was laid in the ground. This one he writes of is a descendent, one who will not be abandoned to the grave nor see decay, this is the descendent foretold throughout scripture, this is the Christ. The new David with the empty tomb, seated now at the Father’s right hand and pouring out his Spirit that the work may continue here on earth. Peter is reminding those who are gathered not only does their scriptures prophesy about the resurrected Christ but Peter and the other disciples had seen him with their own eyes. Peter closes this, the first of the great speeches in the book, by telling them to repent and be baptised. ‘Save yourself from this corrupt generation’ he says. And we are told around three thousand were added to their number that day. Now for them, from this day on in their lives a new journey of mission and discipleship begins.

Introduction

How often do we look at our Bibles and say there is the Old Testament and there is the New Testament?

How often do we look and see that it is not all just as simple as that? In the Old Testament we have the first five books of the Laws. We have the Prophets and the minor prophets. We have the Psalms and Proverbs. All them very different forms of writing and all of them stand alone but yet interconnected by bridges that link them. In the New Testament we have the four Gospels, the first three described as the synoptic gospels because of their similarities and John stands a bit different from them. They tell about the life of Jesus here on earth. We have the epistles or letters, some are pastoral in nature, some are instructive in their encouragement, others are challenges to the behaviour of some, they are sent round to the different churches. The book ‘The Acts of the Apostles’ is the bridge between the gospels and the letters. Imagine for a moment we did not have this account of the early church and how it was formed.

Without Acts you would move straight into Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. How did all of this come about? How did the story get to Rome from Jerusalem? That’s the story, that’s the journey we are going to embark on and travel through for the next wee while. At the close of Matthew Jesus and his disciples were in Galilee as he gave them the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations. At the close of Luke is the ascension and the return of the disciples to Jerusalem. At the close of John is the reinstatement of Peter and then it simply closes by saying Jesus did many other things and even the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would be written. Without this book ‘The Acts of the Apostles’ our New Testament takes an almighty leap from the orderly accounts, historical or otherwise of the man named Jesus to this rather unexplained mix match of correspondence with no explanation. Acts puts it all into place, it gives us the bridge that is required to move from the life stories of Jesus to this new growing, vibrant collection of believers who are geographically a distance apart but share in the same faith.

Reading Acts 1:1-11

Reflection

This book introduces us to the Apostle Paul and reveals how this small mustard seed of a church in some far off minor place in the Roman Empire finds its way across the seas to land in the very capital itself the beating heart of the empire that was the city of Rome. As we journey through the book we will journey through and across the cities which hug the coastline of the Mediterranean. As well as the major cities we will be introduced to the local leaders of communities both for and against this new growing church and, of course, we will be privy to the problems that each of them are facing, the falling out with each other and with those in authority who hold leadership roles in their communities. The opening verses we are looking at this morning tie up the ending of Jesus earthly ministry as he tells his disciples, ‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ The opening chapters tell us about the church when it is in Jerusalem from there it moves to Judea and Samaria before spreading out further as it takes us to the outposts of Roman civilisation. Ending of course in Rome itself. The first dozen chapters it is Peter that we follow and from chapter thirteen the focus shifts as we begin to follow Paul with some fascinating detail of some of the most dramatic events of the early church. There are some amazing speeches offered with the content being chosen with the particular recipients in mind. The book was probably written in the early 60’s AD. Paul is awaiting trial as he is under house arrest in Rome. After writing his gospel and Acts Luke sends them off to a Roman official named here as Theophilus of whom nothing else in known. Having travelled together Luke and Paul were well acquainted. I am going to concentrate on the last two verses this morning. These two men dressed in white, these two angels, knew to whom they were talking as they referred to them as the men of Galilee. They had just witnessed the final moment of Jesus earthly ministry, or had they? Don’t just stand there looking up that sky, what you have witnessed is truly amazing but this is not the time to stand about there is work to be done, important work to be done. I know I’ve done this before. Witnessed something magnificent, experienced one of those moments when you just want everything to stop, as you remain there in that blissful moment and you are held there you sort of want to stay there but you know yourself that cannot be, there will be things to do and the moment you have just experienced is the food that will feed you to fulfil the busy tasks that lie ahead. God knows these are the things that we will carry with us and revisit them several times across our journey through life. What happened with the Apostles remains true for people of faith today. When that relationship with Jesus is underway the moment is to be savoured but so too is the joy of discipleship that awaits the rest of your faith journey.

Reading: Mark 6:14-29

Reflection

Earlier in the year from January through to April we spent fourteen weeks journeying through the Gospel according to Mark. This is one chapter we did not visit. John is there during both Advent and Lent telling us and everyone with ears to hear to repent. It may surprise you that although John is very much high profile from almost the opening words of the gospel, other a few sort of one-liner references, it is not until now in the sixth chapter we encounter him again and it’s not really him we meet with but rather it is an update on how life has been for John. In fact, it is an account that is looking back on how John’s life had come to an end. What startling news reporting this is. The man who baptized the people in the River Jordan is dead. The thundering prophet has been beheaded. Mark makes this latest announcement with a thud, no build up, no gentle introduction to soften us up for the blow about to be landed on us. Some were saying John the baptizer has been raised from the dead. What!? John, dead? Mark has our attention from the outset and the details soon follow. John’s prophetic voice had got him into trouble. He charged the highest ranking local bureaucrat with making an unlawful marriage, that ensured his fast track into prison. Herod Antipas had put aside his legitimate wife to marry his half-niece, Herodias, daughter of one of his half-brothers and the ex-wife of another. Herod is employed by the Romans to govern part of Galilee. He is a somebody, and his new wife doesn’t like being scolded and certainly not by a lunatic nobody. Imprisonment ought to have silenced John but Herodias wants him dead, and we already know she’s going to succeed. It is as though we are standing in the wings as this non-masterpiece of theatre unfolds. Herod was both puzzled by John and attracted to him. Apparently, he wasn’t too afraid to listen to what John had to say. It was Herod’s father who ordered the slaughter of male infants when he learned of Jesus’ birth. Herod the younger is content with imprisoning this holy man, but his wife is up to something, and when we lean in closer we hear there’s going to be a birthday banquet. Banquets mean drinking and dancing and a loosening of the kind of self-control that could otherwise keep an innocent man alive.

As soon as we hear of the banquet we know the date of John’s death. The foolish promise is made by Herod, a man overfilled with wine and food, besotted with power and with the youth and beauty on display. The words he uses when he makes his fatal promise have been used by another king long before him. In the Book of Esther, Queen Esther used the drunken promise of a king to save her people. The queen in our story uses the promise to ensure a murder. Once the dancing daughter has done her job, she has to run out of the room to ask her mother what to ask for. It’s a little detail that heightens the suspense. When the request is finally spoken, the words “the head of John the baptizer” are made. The girl may have been a pawn up until now, but this little queen-in-waiting adds a gruesome detail of her own. She is the one who asks for John’s head “on a platter.” And she wants it right now. What on earth is this awful story doing here? The story starts with questions about who Jesus really is. Again and again the stories of Jesus and John connect, even before birth we learn their mothers are cousins and other similarities unfold in both their stories. John is the one who is preparing the way. John has a message to give for the people he has a dedicated group of disciples; Jesus’ ministry follows a similar pattern. The innocent John is killed by powerful people who are threatened by his truth telling. Jesus, too, dies at the hands of anxious political authority. Herod knows that John is not deserving of death; Pilate tries to derail Jesus’ execution. It would appear that speaking the truth in the corridors of power can lead to some kind of danger, doing good and doing right things does not always protect you from being badly hurt no matter who you are, master or disciple. Just before John’s beheading, Jesus sends the twelve out to teach, preach, and heal with nothing to sustain them but their faith. After the gruesome platter is brought into the banquet, the disciples return to Jesus and report their success. Another one of those Markan sandwiches that we uncovered earlier in the year where one story is topped and tailed by another. Good and successful ministry, it seems, happens right alongside violent opposition. Is it enough to make some people choose a safer course in life rather than being a disciple of Christ? It just might be that’s the message for us today at our time of the journey with all that is going on. Could it be that when we try to follow Christ, we follow too safe a course, we are quite happy sitting in that mighty comfortable seat at the banquet, simply waiting for others to do the work. If nothing else, this story reminds us that it can be easy to dismember our faith in order to not risk standing out. By the same token, we decapitate what we say we believe in when we neatly place it into a Sunday ritual behaving as though it was something that has little or nothing to do with the rest of our lives. The story of John’s beheading is shocking, and it’s meant to be to shock us out of complacency in a faith that comes at little or no cost. But all of us who would follow Christ are called to confront, as well as we can, the wrong we see around us, and confrontation is never comfortable. To pay that price is to stand with many who followed the path that John prepared for the One who came after him. May we too be willing to follow in the ways of Christ our saviour and Lord and never shy away from standing for the truths that he reveals.