church and state, part 1

Good evening/morning friends,
In today's reading we enter an interesting part of Paul's journey, which we've had hints of before. Rome is a background player in most of the story. At this point, Roman authority enters the story as peacekeeper between Paul and the Jewish leaders who want to kill him. Like many religious conflicts, this phase of the conflict between Paul and the Jewish leaders begins with a misunderstanding. Paul tried to smooth things over with his fellow Jews by entering fully into religious ritual. They have already seen him with a gentile Christian in Jerusalem and they assume Paul has brought him into the temple, even though he hasn't. In this section Paul does everything he can and it still doesn't work out. Then the Roman military leader steps in to keep the peace. In the pages to come we'll see this develop into an interesting story, but at this point, it's just an officer breaking up a disturbance. Once again, we see that many in the crowd are just there for excitement and don't really know what's going on.
May your weekend be peaceful and joyous,
Sam

Acts 21:27-36

27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, ²⁸shouting, ‘Fellow-Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.’ ²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³²Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. ³⁴Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. ³⁵When Paul came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. ³⁶The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Away with him!’

tradition and change

Good morning friends,
In our reading for today Paul finally makes it to Jerusalem. When he meets with James and the other leaders of the church there they discuss the rumor among Jewish Christians that Paul rejects the law. Paul does often talk about how the law isn't the source of salvation, but he doesn't reject the law for Jews, only for gentile Christians. So the leaders plan to have Paul publicly observe a Jewish vow of piety to show that he hasn't turned away from the law. We'll see how the plan plays out.

In the church today we have some similar challenges. We need to be open to change to engage the world in new ways. At the same time we need to respect the traditions of the church and those who have been faithful to God through the church in the past.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 21:17-26

17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. ¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. ¹⁹After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰When they heard it, they praised God.

Then they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. ²¹They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. ²²What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. ²⁴Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law. ²⁵But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgement that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.’

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.

Jesus, Paul and MLK

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,
Fifty years ago today one of the great modern prophets raised his voice against the evil of racial segregation and oppression. Fifty years later, many barriers have come down, but people are still denied access to many of the things we all need because of race or economic bondage. We still have a long way to go to build God's just and righteous kingdom.

Our reading today reminds us that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a great leader, but a minister of the gospel following in the prophetic footsteps of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, Peter and Paul. Like Jesus, Peter and Paul, he spoke out for God's justice and ultimately paid with his life. May we continue their legacy by following Jesus wherever he leads.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 21:7-16

7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we greeted the believers and stayed with them for one day. ⁸The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. ¹⁰While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, “This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.” ’

¹²When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ ¹⁴Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’

15 After these days we got ready and started to go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came along and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.

widespread connections

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,
Today's reading is not very interesting on the surface, since it is mostly a list of names. The cool thing about it is that it emphasizes the personal networks that tie together the church. At the end of this letter, to a church Paul had never been to he sends personal greetings to particular people in the community that he does know. Even though he has never been to Rome, Paul has important connections to many Christians there through letters and travel and networks of friendship. What a powerful testimony to the fact that we are one community in Christ no matter how far apart or how different we may be.
May it be so for you and for me,
Sam

Romans 16:1-16

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, ²so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. ³Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, ⁴and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. ⁵Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. ⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. ⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹²Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa.

Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also. ¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. ¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

bearing gifts

Good afternoon friends,
In today's reading Paul continues his thoughts about his coming visit to Jerusalem. When Paul and Barnabas were first commissioned to minister to the gentiles, they are encouraged to contribute to the needs of the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Raising contributions for that ministry is a frequent subject of Paul's letters to churches. Like here, he believes that since gentiles in some ways owe their faith to the church, which was originally Jewish, they should help the original community of believers in other ways. For him the contribution to Jerusalem is a sign of his loyalty to the faith and his continuing connection with the first apostles.

God bless,
Sam

Romans 15:25-33

²⁵At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; ²⁶for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. ²⁸So, when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain; ²⁹and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf, ³¹that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³²so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. ³³The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

another perspective

Good evening friends,
Today's reading gives us a window on Paul's final travels from a different perspective: his letter to the Romans. He writes this at the beginning of his last journey to Jerusalem, hoping that after going to Jerusalem he will go to Rome on the way to Spain. As it happens, God will send him to Rome, but as a prisoner. Even in chains, Paul is faithful to his calling. May it be so for all of us.
God bless,
Sam

Romans 15:14-24

¹⁴I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵Nevertheless on some points I have written to you rather boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God. ¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, ¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ.

²⁰Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation, ²¹but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”

²²This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you ²⁴when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while.

goodbye, part 3

Good evening friends,
I recognize that some of these several readings on Paul's farewells can feel a little repetitive. For me, seeing the close relationships in the church coupled with Paul's steadfastness in the face of his death is truly inspiring. The repetition of the scene reminds me how many lives he touched and how many chances he had to turn away from his mission. Also, from the preview I've seen, you really don't want to miss Sally's sermon this Sunday.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 21:1-6

When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. ²When we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. ³We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

 ⁴We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed ⁶and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.