St. Mark’s Lutheran

Readings
Job 13:3-17,21-27
Acts 12:1-17
John 8:33-47

Meditation
I’m afraid that I can be overly serious most days. My mother always said I was forty by the time I was 12. First child syndrome I guess. Today’s lesson takes a small break from heavy examples. Luke has been telling the story of the early church, and it is filled with grand sermons, martyrs, visions, healings and miracles. All of them treated very seriously. As I read it, today’s lesson captures a little bit of the whimsy and just amazement of even those who were living the story of the early church. Today we find a naked Peter in prison between two guards and in two chains. An angel comes an nudges Peter, wake up sleepy-head, get dressed and put your shoes on. Just like you would say to a small child. The whimsy comes in Luke’s description of Peter. He did so, but he did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. Finally after passing two guards and the iron gate gate the city Peter comes to himself and says, “wow, that really happened.”

The sense of ‘this can’t be true’ continues with the maid at the house Peter runs to. She sees Peter at the door. She fogets to let him in and runs to the residents - “Peter is outside.” The first reaction is, “you are nuts.” But the maid continues to hold it. The second reaction is the next logical one (especially to those of the 1st century). Well, he’s already dead, it’s Peter’s angel/soul/ghost/shade. Meanwhile, Peter is outside knocking. Hey, I’m still here. How about you let me in? The people in the house finally let him in and they are all babbling. Peter quiets them down and tells his story.

It is a funny story and it lets us know a little about what the early church thought about the events. If they didn’t live them, they wouldn’t have believed it either. The story goes back to being serious at the end though. Peter tells them to tell James. That could be James the brother of Jesus, or it could be the James the brother of John who was reported as killed at the start. We don’t have the report of what happened next. Did John Mark have to tell Peter, James is dead? We just get - he departed and went to another place. That strikes me as real. Stuff happens that we get all excited about. We are having a great time, and then something is said. That something ends the levity and says time to move on. That something doesn’t cancel the wonder and whimsy we experienced, but just reminds us of the nature of things in a fallen world. The question is, do we accept the end and move on to another place, or do we stay and try to keep the party going past its expiration?

May the Lord give you plenty of moments of whimsy between the tougher reality.

Tags: Meditation //