Acts 9:11-20

The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

Reflection by Ron Buford

I love seeing the "Expect a miracle" bumper sticker. It seems that I only see it when I really need one. It reminds me that my miracle is tethered to my faith expectation. No expectation. No vision of outcome. No miracle.

Paul was so filled with expectation that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them. Now that's confident expectation and tangible outcome.

How did he gain such confident expectation that God would act? By attentively walking and working in relationship with the God about whom and with whom Jesus spoke; by recalling the way Jesus changed his life--radically. Paul and the disciples called upon God as an intimate friend, not a theological or intellectual construct.

Such a faith journey is a lot like cooking. You may start with a recipe, but over time you can end up smelling, spicing, marinating, feeling, tasting your way through to expert food wizardry, knowing exactly how the meal will taste -- even before it is cooked, causing other chefs to ask, "What was that?"

The other exorcists in this story were using Paul's recipe without the intimate seasoned working and tasting of the ingredients. If we want to feed the world the bread of life, through prayer, spiritual discipline, and our daily walk with God, we must do so with hopeful expectation, risk to our own reputation and innovation to become confident bakers of hope.

Prayer

O come with expectation, with vision of outcome. Experience your miracle--tasting, smelling, and seeing that God is good. For such, miracles still happen. Amen.

About the Author 

Ron Buford is the Director of Development for the Northern California Nevada Conference, United Church of Christ.

Acts 19:1-10

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— altogether there were about twelve of them. 

He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver

Even though the Holy Spirit is one of the main characters in the biblical drama, often she can be treated like an actress who plays only a bit part. If our liturgies reflected our understanding, we might be baptized in the name of "The Father, the Son, and the Other One."

Although there are many ways to describe the Holy Spirit, one of my favorites is, "The God who comes up through us." It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that the power and love of God can be at work through us, even through people like us. I think all of us have experienced times when we were able to persevere through circumstances that by all accounts should have destroyed us. And at other times our stumbling attempts to speak the truth somehow revealed glimmers of wisdom deeper than we thought ourselves capable. At still other times, we are able to accomplish tasks that would ordinarily be beyond us, times when for some reason we are different -- stronger, surer, more faithful, more capable -- and we are at a loss to explain why. We speak of these things as we might speak of a mystery. And they are a mystery, but this mystery has a name: the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, come. Come to me today as holy power, as Comforter, as breath, as the Spirit of Christ. And inspire me to believe that you can be at work through me, even through me. Amen.

About the Author
 
Martin B. Copenhaver is Senior Pastor, Wellesley Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Wellesley, Massachusetts. His new book, This Odd and Wondrous Calling: the Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers, co-authored with Lillian Daniel, has just been published.

Acts 18: 24-28

Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.

Reflection by Christina Villa

Don't you love when people explain things to you "more accurately"? Even privately, most of us don't like our ignorance exposed -- especially when the person doing the "explaining" is a know-it-all who just likes to be right. But every once in a while, someone corrects us with our best interests at heart, or some larger purpose in mind, like Priscilla and Aquila in today's scripture.

We all like to think we've got a pretty firm grip on everything we need to know, all the important stuff. We like to think so -- but it's foolish to think so. Because it's what we don't know that ends up biting us in the you-know-what. Of course, you can't get through the day worrying about everything you don't know -- that's what keeps therapists in business. But it's good to have a healthy respect for the possibility that you just may be missing critical bits of information.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, goes the saying. But it's only dangerous when we mistake our little knowledge for all we need to know. In the big scheme of things, "a little knowledge" is all any of us have. We're never going to know everything we need to know. That's one of the reasons God is God and we aren't. And that's one of the reasons we say God is still speaking, explaining things to us more accurately, with our best interests at heart, like Priscilla and Aquila.

Prayer

Dear God, steer me on some way between fear of what I don't know and love of what I do know. Amen.

About the Author 

Christina Villa is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio.

Acts 18:18-23

After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to stay longer, he declined; but on taking leave of them, he said, “I will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Reflection by Lillian Daniel

The island of Nantucket is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. And when you take the ferry away from the island, there is a tradition of throwing pennies over the railing, as good luck and to ensure that you will get to come back one day.

After my first visit, I tossed my penny out with a prayer that indeed I would get to return, but I wasn’t sure it would ever happen. And years later, when I moved from New England to the Midwest I thought it even more unlikely. And then an email arrived inviting me to preach at…yes, you guessed it… the beautiful First Congregational Church of Nantucket. Sometimes I really love my job.

The truth is we can learn from Paul who said goodbye by saying “I will return to you, if God wills.” When we leave a place, we truly don’t know whether or not we will return.

We make plans for a trip but then illness intervenes. We think we have a career in one state but we get transferred to another. We think we’ve seen the last of a place, but suddenly find ourselves given the chance to return. We say goodbye assuming we will be back same time next year, only to discover it didn’t work out that way.

God’s plan is not the same as our plan, and we really do not manage our own itineraries.

So make the most of where you are. And never take a special place fore granted.

Prayer

Jesus, help me to treasure the location that I am in. Allow me to trust in your itinerary more than my own. And by the way, there are a few special places I still want to see. So I’m going to name them to you right now, while still trusting that you may have an even better trip in store for me. Amen.

Acts 18:1-17

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” And he dismissed them from the tribunal. Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

Reflection by Felix Carrion

God speaking: Paul, I know you are being persecuted. And what might be worse for you, Paul, is that they are not listening to you. (God smiles.) You feel attacked and alone--don’t you, Paul?! I know. I see it. I understand how you feel. But don’t worry.

Paul responding: What, God? What did you say? How can you tell me this at such a time? Don’t you see their indignation, their anger, their stubbornness, their pride, their intent to do me harm? I am at my wit’s end.

God speaking: Paul, I got people.

Paul responding: You got people?

God speaking: Aren’t you staying at the house of Aquila and Priscilla, tentmakers like yourself? What about Titius Justus, who worships me and, as you know, lives right next door to the synagogue? Didn’t Crispus just become a convert at your preaching? And, oh yes, what about Gallio, the proconsul?

Paul confessing: Oh, my God. Oops. Let me start over: Oh, my God, you are right. Right here, right next door, right in this city, you got people. I am emboldened. It isn’t only poor me out here, all alone, doing your work. You got people, God! Hallelujah!

Prayer

O God, let me say over and over, You Got People. You certainly do! Amen.

Acts 17:16-32

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new. 

Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 

When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson

As Paul made his way through the sophisticated city of Athens he noticed that there were all sorts of religions, gods and spiritualities. It was a veritable spiritual smorgasbord, perhaps much like our own time. Just for good measure one shrine there in Athens bore the words, "To an unknown god." Undaunted Paul stood up and declared boldly, "What you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."

To be sure, there is a place for admitting that we don't comprehend God fully or completely. God remains, in some measure, unknown and beyond our capacity as human beings to fully grasp or understand. But as Christians it is important not to stop there, simply saying "who knows" God, whom we cannot fully know, has yet revealed God's very self, God's will and God's way, in Jesus Christ. At its best the church has always had the courage, with Paul, to boldly proclaim God's revelation in Christ crucified and Christ raised. We have not been left in the dark. A light shines forth in the darkness. Remember that.

In the United Church of Christ we affirm that God is still speaking. We also affirm, and confess, that God has spoken in Jesus Christ. For us it's not commitment or openness, it is commitment and openness, or as we might put it, "strong center and open doors."

Prayer

I thank you, Holy One, that you have not left us unto ourselves alone, but that in Jesus Christ you have searched for us and found us. Amen.

About the Author 

Anthony B. Robinson is a speaker, teacher and author and President of Congregational Leadership Northwest.

Acts 17:1-15

After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But 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. When 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, and 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.” The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go. 

That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and when they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men of high standing. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea as well, they came there too, to stir up and incite the crowds. Then the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him.

Reflection by Quinn G. Caldwell

Jason hosted Paul and Silas in his house, and got in trouble for it. If you provide hospitality to God's messengers, sometimes the world isn't going to understand.

If you saw Sparkle in church, you might infer from her feather, leopard, and vinyl outfits that she is a member of a profession that is very difficult, very old, and mostly performed after dark. Nobody knows for sure, and Sparkle's not saying. In fact, she won't tell you anything about herself, but if you talk to her in coffee hour, she'll tell you a whole lot about God, and about why church matters. She loves them both with a passion.

Once, as Sparkle was leaving the building, some well-dressed tourists passing by wrinkled their noses and said, plenty loud enough for her to hear, "Ugh! Look how she's dressed! Do you think she's working at THIS time of the morning?" Sparkle just held her head high and kept on walking.

In fact, she HAD been working, all morning, on the Lord's work: praising God in two worship services and then sitting at the teenagers' table at the church breakfast, where she told them God loves them and that their church had welcomed her when others wouldn't.

Those tourists might not understand why we need Sparkle, but God knows our teenagers do.

Prayer

Lord, give me the heart to build a church that welcomes troublemakers like Paul, and mysterious women like Sparkle, and sinners like me, for we all need your gifts, and the world needs ours. Amen.

About the Author

Quinn G. Caldwell is Associate Minister of Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts

Acts 16:16-40

One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. But 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. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. 

When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.

Reflection by William C. Green

How often do you think of being a citizen? How important is this to your faith? Have you lived in a country where the basic rights of citizenship are denied?

I grew up in Venezuela under the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez. Anyone who dared question the military and commercial interests that kept him in power was thrown in jail, sometimes never to be seen again. Many religious leaders were among the “desaparecidos”—disappeared, lost or killed by the police.

Like money, citizenship may not be the most important thing in life—unless you don’t have it. Paul could claim Roman citizenship and the rights that came with it. When commercial interest was threatened by Paul, as in today’s story about marketers of magic, he and Silas got in trouble. They were dragged into the marketplace where the crowds attacked them and the magistrates imprisoned them. They were let go when the authorities learned that they were citizens, and could not be treated that way.

How does citizenship bear on faith? Is this really a personal and spiritual concern? What about the many in our country who are denied citizenship and whose fate, like that of migrant workers, is determined less by law than by commercial interest?

Prayer

Almighty God, who rules over the powers of the world and orders our lives among them, may we respect the rights and privileges of citizenship, and work to extend them to all who are denied this blessing. Amen.

Acts 16:14-15

A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us. 

Reflection by Donna Schaper 

When you get a really good invitation, something more than just the invitation prevails. Warmth ensues. We feel richly connected, downright purple. Alice Walker says that womanism is to feminism as purple is to lavender. Without going into the competition between women that this statement implies, let us at least allow there is a difference between purple and lavender. Lydia probably knew it well. 

Our world spends a lot of time trying to dilute us. Almost like the wine is being turned into water, instead of vice versa. We get multi-tasked to smithereens or multi-task ourselves to the same situation. We get weighed down by the “what ifs” of the next few decades. We are sickened by the sick care system and stress out trying to reduce the stress in our lives. 

We may need a good invite to Lydia’s house. Or we may need to invite some people to our house and have a feast of purple, not just in cloth but also in food, conversation, wine, song.
We may need to warm and be warmed so that our color can deepen into something undiluted. 

Prayer 

Spirit of the Living God, you whom no century or culture, holocaust nor tsunami can dilute, you of whom Paul spoke, baptize us again with clarity clear enough to hold great color. Keep us from spreading ourselves too thin and thicken our faith. Amen.

Acts 16:6-10 (NIV)

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel

On this Veterans’ Day we salute the brave men and women who have served in the American armed forces to protect and defend our Constitution and the freedoms of our democracy. Few can argue that the culture and economic influence of America reaches around the globe. Yet we as a nation must be very careful and deliberate in deciding which arenas around the world we can successfully enter and positively impact. Quagmires are created when we find ourselves in too many places with too few resources and inadequate exit strategies.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is universal, but the disciples of Jesus themselves could not be ubiquitous. Luke reports in Acts that the Spirit of Jesus prevented Paul and his companions from going in one direction and invited them to advance in another. Exactly why, we are not told, but as a believer, Paul trusted the Spirit to direct him to the people and places where he could do the most good and where the gospel of God’s grace was most needed. Paul was an educated, articulate, gifted evangelist, but he never got cocky enough to ignore divine direction. May the U.S. military, which solicits God’s blessings, seek to follow God’s direction as well.

Prayer

Lord, we thank you for the doors you open and the doors you close in our personal and corporate lives. Please give us the wisdom to always be attentive to your intervention, and open to your guidance. Amen.

Acts 15:22-33

Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds, we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. When its members read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After they had been there for some time, they were sent off in peace by the believers to those who had sent them.

Reflection by Ron Buford

The inebriated aunt of a friend, maligning belief in God’s radical acceptance of all people, slurred, “Honey! Make no mistake about it. God is not nice.”

Our view of God is often determined by our earliest parent memory—until we reshape it as adults. For many with harsh, stern, hurtful memories, a God breakthrough is essential.

And when that breakthrough comes, it can be hard to accept. Many who think they have rejected God have simply not yet had a breakthrough. Unhappy Christians are the same.

The law can be bad news for the poor: You don’t have money to renew your driver’s license; you drive to work to get paid to renew it; you get stopped and put in jail; you lose your job. Such a life, foreign to many, is a way of life for millions. Religious laws are the same.

Each of our lives has some weighing poverty from which we similarly cannot seem to escape. But Jesus says, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest.”

As the church institutionalized in the Book of Acts, it struggled with weighing down the people with more laws, more pain (for example, circumcision of adult males wanting to follow Jesus). But listening to the Stillspeaking God, they announced that adult circumcision was not necessary . . . a liberated people cheered! People know good news when they hear it.

When we get it right, we discover and convey a God who is not mean and mutilating but life-giving and liberating. Reject the unhappy, stuck people’s view of a mean, avenging God who only slander God. Embrace the true God of life and possibility.

Honey, make no mistake about it, God is nice!

Prayer

Free us from the burdens and poverty that weigh us down; free us for a needed breakthrough to you, O God. Let us discover the true You, the God of life and possibility. Amen.

Acts 15:1-21

Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.” 

The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers. And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “My brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name. This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up, so that all other peoples may seek the Lord— even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things known from long ago.’ Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood. For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues.”

Reflection by Susan J. Foster

Who’s in and who’s out? Who is welcome and who isn’t? From the founding of our Christian church, this has been a central question for God’s people. Who will be allowed into God’s presence—and who gets to decide?

Just as Paul and Barnabas wrestled with this issue, so must we. On any given Sunday, a church may receive a phone call with a question: Is your church handicapped accessible? Is child care provided? Is there a safe place for my little one? Do you use microphones? Do you have a sound system that will help me hear? The underlying concern in all of these questions is the same. People want to know—is there a place for me among you? Are you prepared to welcome me just as I am?

Recently a woman called our church to ask, “I am a lesbian and I’m looking for a church. Will your congregation accept me?” It made me sad that she felt that she needed to ask. I was glad to be able to say, “Yes, come and worship with us. We are a church and denomination with an extravagant welcome for all of God’s children.”

People yearn to be included in our communities of faith. We cannot assume that people know that they are welcome in church. It is our job to open our doors—and our hearts—so that we too can bring “great joy to all believers” (Acts 15:3). 

Prayer 

Welcoming and loving God, help us to recognize another child of yours in the people we meet today. Let us offer to them the same compassion, forgiveness and care that you first give to us. Amen. 

About the Author

Susan J. Foster is the pastor of the East Woodstock Congregational Church (UCC) in East Woodstock, Connecticut.

Acts 14:21-28

After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.” And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed. When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. And they stayed there with the disciples for some time. 

Reflection by Lillian Daniel

Paul and Barnabas, and many of the characters you have met in the book of Acts, knew plenty about persecution. They were well received by a few, and abused by many. They had to make sense of what was happening to them, so they said that persecution was part of entering the kingdom of God

But here’s the thing I worry about. I don’t want us to sit back and accept persecution, or to think that it’s any kind of gift from God. It’s awful to be treated badly, as an individual or as a group, and I can’t believe God takes any delight in angry mobs, in bullying or in any kind of abuse.

I think that life contains many persecutions, and that it is through real life that we enter the kingdom of God. But persecution is not good for us. It’s not something to put up with, and it’s certainly not something to seek out.

God created human beings for flourishing. And so when you feel like you are not flourishing, know that God is with you, not as one who leads you into persecution, but as the One who leads you out of it.

It is in the journey away from persecution that we enter the kingdom of God.

And let’s just admit that the journey through it is still very, very hard.

Prayer

God, is there someone in my life who is being persecuted? Is there anything I can do about it? Are there people in the world whose suffering I have stopped paying attention to? Am I being persecuted myself? Inspire me to stand up against persecution, wherever it may be, even in my own heart. Amen.

Acts 14:9-10

He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man sprang up and began to walk.

Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson

Looking at a man who sat crippled by the roadside, we read that Paul saw his faith. I wonder what Paul saw? What does faith look like?

Have you “seen” faith? When someone looks at you, do they “see” faith? Does God?

I am not sure what faith looks like exactly. But I’m pretty sure it looks like trust. Trust and a willingness to take a risk. And something more, often faith has an “in-spite-of” quality to it. Trusting and getting to your feet despite being crippled; believing and going on when it’s hard to do so and against the visible evidence.

Years ago, during an especially challenging time in my life, a lovely older friend gave me a three by five card with these words written on it: “There is, in the universe, a power forever on the side of those brave enough to trust it.” I think she was telling me, despite all, keep showing up just as fully as you possibly can. And even when it’s hard, even when you feel or are crippled in some way (aren’t we all?), keep on trusting wildly in God. I’ve held those words close to my heart a long time now.

Are you living in faith, by faith these days? Can others see faith in you? Make your faith visible today. Lord knows, we need it. We need you.

Prayer

Lord, in Jesus you have made faith visible to us and for us. Help me to make my faith visible today. Amen.