Daily Liturgy and Scripture

I can’t imagine anyone would have signed on for spreading the Gospel if they had known in advance how it would actually be shared. “So, you’ll be arrested, but then let out… and then you’ll go back, and then you’ll be whipped. And you’ll still keep talking about Jesus in the meantime.” This almost chaotic playing out of events really shows that the Spirit was moving the early church in ways that must have truly been a wild ride.

The beginning of something is one of its most critical places. Get the beginning wrong, and the rest will never be what it could have been. Such was the case with the early church. The believers came together to take care of one another, but there was one couple who only wanted to look like they were generous. They didn’t actually want to BE generous. That is why God dealt with them in the way that he did, I think: not because he wanted to scare everyone into following Christ correctly, but because it was important for the early church to understand that what they did still resonated in the heavenly places.

Peter and John are brought from jail to stand trial, but the religious leaders fear pressing the matter for fear of the people. That’s a special kind of defense: Peter and John continue to be bold, but the Holy Spirit has moved so powerfully among the people that things have gotten beyond the control of the powers. This same power is the same among us today, which should be a great encouragement to us when we feel alone and powerless.

The Kingdom of God is not grown by holding campaign rallies or fancy recruiting events. It comes it much more subtle, humble and gentle ways. Peter and John were looking to extend it to one down-and-out beggar, but the Kingdom broke through in a way they didn’t see coming. Even when they were arrested and jailed, the Spirit is alive and moving to advance the Kingdom. That should be a great comfort to us: the growth of God’s Kingdom is primarily his work, but occasionally we show up just in time to carry a few things through the door.

To remember Peter’s sermon at Pentecost on the day that we remember the half-brother of Jesus is totally appropriate. There is no indication that James believed his brother to be the Savior until after Jesus ascended. (Would YOU believe your sibling was divine?) Yet in his book, we have him not only standing firm on that belief, but calling himself a slave of that same Jesus.

The day of Pentecost is a pivotal event in the history of Christianity. Jesus as a visible person had departed… what came next? How would they know what to do? But God was not going to leave his people out to dry. He came through in a major way. The outpouring of the Spirit meant God’s presence with his people, from that point forward.

The growth of Jesus’ Kingdom was about Jesus, and wasn’t based on the sparkling personalities of his followers. All of them pointed to him. Because of that, replacing Judas was the first ordination of many over thousands of years. The power of the Spirit and the working of God are equally present in our ministry today, just as it was for the original apostles. That includes Matthias, who was chosen by a game of chance!

Jesus’ lordship is a pillar of our faith. If he were not lord of all, we shouldn’t worship him as we do. He is, and his followers are heirs to a Kingdom. As we start the book of Acts, we will see that Kingdom expand, and see the ways in which it broke out in the first century. How exciting!

As this letter of John shows us, Christian ministry isn’t always outwardly focused. Certainly, Christians are to be examples of love to the world around them, but that must include other Christians. Not like Diotrephes, who “loves to be the leader,” and puts his own ambition ahead of the church. This is the very opposite of the humble way of our Savior.

These four little verses from Luke say a tremendous amount about the climate of the world of the apostles. Certainly, Jesus made a big splash. There were probably many people who were writing about Jesus who had never even seen him, a lot like Jesse James from the Wild West. Luke is in a different tradition. Luke’s Gospel was written to help people come to belief, not just circulate a fantasy story about a folk hero.