This Sunday was our Rally Day, the start of sunday school. We have a small sunday school that is just getting restarted. Some would probably say it isn’t worthwhile, but in general I think based partly on Matt 18 and a lot on other places, that is not an option of a church. The congregation that refuses to instruct its kids is building up some serious debts I’d rather not consider.

In any case, since the order of service was full, this sermon is a good page shorter than normal. The Word Cloud is interesting in that there are a whole bunch of words that end up roughly the same size. It was also interesting to me that Jesus was still on of the largest. While writing and delivering, I felt this sermon was a large amount of law and little gospel. I was concerned about that. If my training had been Reformed instead of Lutheran it would not have been as big a problem. The text for the day provided the outline. Big chunks of it were law (i.e. do this, don’t do that) from Jesus. It is very textual, but almost becuase of that I felt skewed to the law. The word cloud makes me feel better. As long as Jesus is big in the cloud, the gospel should come through louder.

Overall I got the impression that there are some real strong moments, if you tracked with the sermon, but if you didn’t it was probably rather dry. If you didn’t get the law proclamation and feel convicted, then the gospel and how we live together probably didn’t make much sense. I saw some faces that were clearly with me, and some very bored.

Meditation
Today’s passage gives us a really neat view of the the Jewish synagog roots of our worship life. On the Sabbath day they went to the synagog…after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagog asked Paul & Barnabus to exhort the people. A gathering, reading of the law which we would term the OT lesson, a reading of the prophets which we would term the epistle lesson and an exhortation or what we call a sermon or a homily is you have a catholic upbringing. That’s the core of worship life. Reading from the written Word and the speaking of the Oral Word applying it to our communal lives and times. Everything else is adornment. The people of God, or the people of Israel gather to hear the Word.

And that is what Paul does. Paul retells the salvation story to those people of Israel and the God-fearers (gentiles) in their midst. God made a great people and took them out of bondage. He guided them and let them go astray under conquest and judges and kings. He promised an everlasting throne to David, and established that throne in Jesus. Of that one, Jesus, all the law and the prophets, including John the Baptist, the one who lived in our own time, they all testify to Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises and of all Israel.

May the Lord grant you the times and the ability to read, hear, ponder and inwardly digest His Word for your lives.

Meditation
Barnabus was from Cyprus (Acts 4:36), and at least now he is the elder of Paul and Barnabus. We say that - Pual and Barnabus - but here God sets aside Barnabus and Saul. Barny and Saul set off for Cyprus. Even prophets and teachers are not always above being homesick or a little bit of nepotism. That is probably the last decision the Barnabus gets full reign on. They preach their way accross the Island and straight to the capitol city or Paphos. That is Paul if his letters are any hint. Go to the center. Go to the heart of the matter.

And the Spirit throws them before princes - one proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. Somewhere in this post is a boundary marker found in Paphos with his name. Paulus has a staffer interestingly called Bar-Jesus (also elymas). Same as in our day, in the absence of a firm belief in the creator God, things from horoscopes to psychics to meditation on your inner light find there way into our lives. When those large crowds from all over follow Jesus in the gospel, obviously some of them went home and told tales (although Jesus is a common name). For a charlatan to take the name Bar-Jesus surely was play off of that fame. Saul set this guy straight. He blinds him for a time in front of Sergius Paulus.

From this story Saul goes by the name Paul. Jews often has hebraic names (i.e. Saul) and greek names (i.e Paul), but this is an interesting story. Did Paul become Paul in light of or in honor of his convert?

In the end, I read the story as speaking of transitions. Barnabus and Saul, teachers and prophets at Antioch, become Paul and Barnabus, apostles of the church. The magician becomes blinded and the smart man under his sway sees the light. The Word of the crucified one goes into the courts of an important proconsul. The story of Peter we have been hearing changes over to the story of Paul. Transitions. What transitions are we going through that we need the apostles’ guidence?

May the Lord grant you His light to see your way through transitions.

Meditation
I’m sure today’s reading in Acts has some deep theological meaning. It probably has to do with the juxtaposition of Herod not giving glory and dying and Barnabus and Saul completing the mission of mercy to the Jersusalem church (the Antioch greek church had taken a collection) and the Word increasing. Those against the Word perish while those with it have life. As I said, I’m sure there is something to make of it, but there is something more interesting. Herod dies, and this text says why. He didn’t give glory to God. It is very specific, an angel of the Lord struck him. How and why is this story in Acts? The scene plays out between a delegation of Tyre and Sidon and Herod - no apostles, maybe no christians. Why does Luke tell us this? Josephus, a Jewish writer who was also a Roman, tells the story. Herod wears a silver cloth into the meeting. The sun glints off it so bright that he is hailed as a god. Immediately he fell ill and died. Josephus, from a completely secular viewpoint, confirms the story the Luke writes, except that Luke gives the explanation. The Bible does this on several occasions. It inserts stories or place names or rulers like time and reality markers. The entire trek of the exodus is recorded. We can’t identify most of the places, but they were ment to be found. The Assyrians and the Persians play roles in the OT. Secular history doesn’t really know why they rose and fell, but the OT says they did so to fulfill God’s purposes. Here we have Luke inserting one of those rulers and stories. Josephus records it becuase of the odd nature. Luke says it was for the glory or protection of God’s name. There are just enough of these reality markers, that say - look, this is real, not just myths or pious stories, what this book records is the real history of God’s plan of salvation. In that way, I think today’s lesson was written more for us later believers than the early one’s. Our natural worldview is more precise or critical than theirs. We need these confirmed remiders of what to them were just events they lived or that were passed down.

May the Lord make plain to you his salvation and the markers he has placed in your life.

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.

Meditation
How much do we care about what takes place in other congregations? And what do we care about? Do we have any obligation sister congregations? The reading in Acts today is descriptive, by that I mean it talks about how the early church approached major questions. It is not necessarily prescriptive, by that I mean that we are bound as a law to follow it. Even though it is not prescriptive, it does come from the inspired and apostolic example and is meant for our teaching, it is worth understanding. We have seen with Cornelius and the Ethiopian the Word reaching beyond just Jews, although both of those were ‘god-fearers’, a special class. Now we see the Gospel starting to go out to the ends of the earth. Some of those evangelizing spoke to the Greeks in Antioch, and a great number believed. Here is where those first questions come in. Did the Jerusalem church, undergoing persecution (remember Stephen), yawn or say not our problem? No, news came and they sent Barnabas. He main message was two-fold: 1) remain faithful to the Lord and 2) with steadfast purpose. He wanted to be sure the doctine was correct and that they were practicing it. He went beyond that though. These were greeks. They would not ‘know the scriptures’ which at the time were the OT. Barnabus goes to Tarsus and brings back Saul to Antioch. Barnabus not only checks on the teaching and practice of the church, but goes and finds a geat teacher to guide them in the future. The early church most definitely care about sister congregations. Specifically they cared about their teaching first and their practice. What are practices that congregations could follow today that might carry out this ministry? Does you congregation have any interesting ones? Is something like this possible in protestantism which mostly operates as individual congregations? Some questions to think about on a minister’s Monday off along with everyone else on Labor Day

May the Lord bless your day off and grace your labor and thought in visiting and in your chosen vocation.

This was a fifth Sunday of the month and a holiday weekend, so I knew attendance would be lite. So the sermon was set within a very stripped down service. I had intended to use matins on Sunday Morning, but when I saw the attendance, I switched to the prayer service that was used on Saturday night. There would not have been the voices to sustain the liturgical songs. Lesson learned.

In regards to the sermon. I made one big mistake, I think. I always try to come up with modern and thought provoking examples. Part of the theme of the sermon was the spiritual need to take risks - that we like staying in past success or fading glory. Those risks might lead us through the cross, but they are necessary when following Jesus. As one of 4 examples of people refusing to take risks to their detriment I used a current political example. Sen. Obama gave a great speach in 2004 that even filled this cynical man with hope. And his whole campaign has been an attempt to live in a recreate the Hope of that speach. I still think it is a valid example of our tendency not to take risks to our detriment, but I get the impression that two things happened: 1) many just tuned me out after that and 2) the political reference will be the only thing remembered. I put it in there becuase: 1) I thought it was a compelling current example and 2) it was a risk in line with the theme - a series of risks that included a direct call for the congregation to find the final needed Sunday School teacher for next week. I will try my best to avoid such references in the future. It was an unnecessary risk. Lesson learned.

Given that I still feel good about the sermon, but I know I could write a better one. It might be the cumulative effect of the two lessons above, but this is the first lesson that I’ll look forward too in three years. I’ve got more ideas and thoughts and a clearer understanding of the message. Too bad there are no mulligans in preaching.

Meditation
We hear an echo of the Ethiopian and Philip. The eunuch’s question was, “Here’s water, what is to prevent me from being baptized?” The eunuch knew there used to be a wall, a law separating him from that washing. Now Peter asks, “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people?” There used to be a firm wall to Cornelius. That is why he was called a God-fearer. He believed, but could not be received into the assembly of Israel. Now, after Christ has torn the temple veil, after Christ has fulfilled the law, is there anything that forbids baptizing, forbids bringing these people into the assembly? No! In Christ there is no Jew or Greek. It is not that the catagories ceased, but that Christ fulfilled them. In Christ we find our common new humanity. And Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

May God remind you of your baptism and keep you in the new creation.

Meditation
Evangelism is a odd thing. The typical corporate response is to set up a “spear-catcher”. One of the group has to tell the bad news about the quarter or the event, and that person catches the spear because the messenger is always shot. After that sacrifice, the higher-ups can look good talking about the plans, visions and what-not to make the future look better. The guys in charge give the bad news to lower totem pole people and keep the good news. God did the opposite. He proclaimed that we are all sinners, and He caught that spear, a centurion’s spear right in His side. He then tells us to go and tell the good news of forgiveness. God’s ways are not ours.

Evangelism is also odd in who is prepared to hear the Word. Would a Gentile Roman Captain living in Caesarea have been Peter’s first choice for evangelism. Probably not. In fact Peter even admits that he would not be there at all except for a vision. Yet, Cornelius was prepared while those with the revelation and the law were not. We just don’t know who God has prepared to hear his Word.

But the point for the disciple is that when called you respond. God has prepared things in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10). We can throw off that planning, it is called sin, but the better spiritual path is to say yes, however reluctantly. Peter, why he is often an example, he just goes. And it is not like we are sharing bad news. The law is on everyone’s hearts. They know they are sinners. What they don’t know is the gospel. Jesus lived and dies and rose for them. Jesus took care of that sin. We get the message of a solution.

May you recognize and respond to the various good works that God has planned for you in advance.

That link takes you to a page for a Support Group Ministry based out of Ridgeland Community Church. This Tuesday (8/26) I met with the sponsors and people behind this ministry. You might have seen the front page ad in the Penny Saver this week as well. They will be sponsoring three Groups:

Grief Share - This is a support group for people who have lost loved ones and are finding their way through the grief
Divorce Care - This is a support group for those going through or who have gone through a divorce and the pain that it can cause
Celebrate Recovery - This is a more general group based around hurts, hang-ups and habits. Serious substance abuse might not be the best use, but recognizing and altering personal bad habits.

Part of the vision of this ministry is allowing smaller churches to come together and address hurts and needs in a way they might not be able to otherwise. The groups are 13 week (one quarter) meetings which you can join at any point. They are biblically based and produced originally out of Saddleback (Rick Warren’s church). The organizers clearly have a pure heart for this ministry.

If you are having trouble in any of the areas these would address, please contact me. As your minister, I would like to support you in any way that I can. If you would like to enroll, I would also want to be sure that you have the time and opportunity to process the experience after the 13 weeks.

For further information, the link is above or in the side-bar, or please contact me directly.