Grace
To release our identities to be defined by the hands of the living God.
Readings
Reading deeper…
Jim Reiher, The Book of Acts: A Social Justice Commentary, Chapter 8.
Devotion 1
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, allowing space for God’s voice to be heard.
Read: Acts 8:1-3
Reflection:
Stephen had spoken truth to power. He had challenged the legitimacy of the temple in the face of those who profited from it the most, the priestly ruling elite. Inevitably, they responded, and a time of persecution broke out. Curiously, only a short time before, we are told that “the people held them [the followers of Jesus] in high esteem” (5:13). Had anything changed? Perhaps not as much as we sometimes think.
In the earlier passage (5:12-16) we see the followers of Jesus living out their faith in beautiful ways- bringing healing and “signs and wonders” to those around them. It’s God’s reign lived out in lived out in tangible ways in the world, and people are attracted to this stuff- after all, everyone longs to see the world made right. At least, almost everyone.
Whenever we see persecution in the Bible, you could make a fair case to say that it is those with power who are doing the persecuting, and it is those who have somehow challenged or threatened such power who are being persecuted. In Acts, it is the ruling elite or those who have a vested interest in maintaining the dominant order who persecute the followers of Jesus. You see, when followers of Jesus live out God’s love and justice, sooner or later it’s bound to step on the toes of those who benefit from the injustice of the way things are.
Ask:
- In your experience, are there ways that living out God’s love and justice have led to persecution?
Allow prayerful space to reflect on these questions:
- How might God be prompting you to live out God’s love and justice, even in the face of consequences, this week?
- How might we, along with those who buried Stephen in this story, mourn for others who have suffered because of they ‘spoke truth to power’?
Share:
- Communion
Pray:
- Share in a time of prayer
- The Lord’s Prayer
Devotion 2
Take time to sit in silence, aware of the presence of God’s Spirit
Read: Acts 8:4-25
As persecution scattered the early followers of Jesus, Philip found himself in, of all places, Samaria. We shouldn’t forget the great animosity that Jews had for Samaritans- they were looked down upon ethnically-they were not fully Jewish- and religiously-they didn’t worship in the ‘right’ way. Like so many other stories in Luke’s two volumes, this turns out to be a story of radical inclusion.
But radical inclusion can sometimes get messy. Simon, though he is clearly attracted to the good news of the Kingdom of God, is not able to leave behind the values of the dominant order. It’s a story which is left somewhat unresolved. Did the apostles pray for him? Did Simon turn around, or did he remain “full of bitterness and captive to sin” (8:23)? Was his plea for prayer genuine, or was he just trying to avoid the consequences? We’re not told. We’re just left to wrestle with the tension of radical inclusion in our own contexts.
Ask:
- What are some of the tensions you have found in practicing radical inclusion?
- Are their ways in which you are prompted to dig deeper in this practice?
Share: Communion
Pray:
- End with the Lord’s prayer
Devotion 3
Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.
Read: Acts 8:26-40
“…the text [of Acts 8:26-40] itself points over and over to what must be the driving force of Luke’s inclusive theology in this account—the rider in the chariot is not referred to by Luke as a man. Luke calls him a “court official” and a eunuch (8:27), and later calls him a eunuch four more times, but never a ‘man.’ He has been castrated before puberty and trained to take sensitive positions not entrusted to males. He is beardless with a higher voice. Torn from his birth family and enslaved at a young age, he has no family of his own. Loyal only to his queen, he is ‘in charge of her entire treasury.’”1.
Ask:
- How do you see God’s Spirit active in this story?
- How might you practice this kind of radical inclusion in your neighbourhood?
Share: Communion
Pray:
- Share in a time of prayer
- End with the Lord’s prayer
1. Reta Halteman Finger, “What is to Prevent me from Being Baptized?” Sojourners, April 2014. https://sojo.net/magazine/april-2014/what-prevent-me-being-baptized.
Leave a Reply