UNOH

Grace

That we invite and support neighbourhood-based discipleship and worship.

Readings

• Acts 16:35-40
• Acts 17:1-9
• Acts 17:10-15
• Psalm 27 (Lent Reading)

Reading deeper…

Jim Reiher, The Book of Acts: A Social Justice Commentary, pages 163-168.

Devotion 1

Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, allowing space for God’s voice to be heard.

Read: Acts 16:35-40

In Matthew 5:38-41, we see Jesus teaching his disciples not to violently resist an evildoer.1 He then gives examples of what this nonviolent resistance might look like — refusing to be “whacked” into submission by someone who considers themselves more important or powerful than you; shaming someone who sues you for you outer cloak by giving them your underwear as well (not a pretty picture!); or potentially getting a soldier into trouble by walking an extra mile.

Here, Paul and Silas practice something of this kind of nonviolent resistance. They creatively use the legal channels to shame the magistrates who had mistreated them, and may well mistreat others in the future. Perhaps, through Paul’s actions here, they might think twice next time!

Ask:

• What stands out to you in this passage?
• What impact do you think Paul’s action might have had on the magistrates?
• What challenges does this passage bring to you?

Share:

• Communion

Pray:

• Finish with the Lord’s Prayer

1.  See Walter Wink, The Powers that Be: Theology for a New Millennium, New York: Doubleday, 1999, Kindle loc. 1295. My summary of Mt 5:38-41 follows Wink’s in this chapter.

Devotion 2

Wait: Take time to sit in silence, aware of the presence of God’s Spirit

Read: Acts 17:1-9

In today’s reading we see a phenomenon which has occurred countless times throughout history — mob violence. It’s heavily ironic that, though the mob charges Paul and Silas with “turning the world upside down”, and just as the Jewish leaders had charged Jesus with perverting the nation and stirring up the people (Luke 23:2, 5), it is in fact the “mob” who “set the city in an uproar” (v5). Those who have been proclaiming the nonviolent Messiah have found themselves — again — the subject of the violence. In his A Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. says:

“Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”

The way of nonviolence stirs up the tension in others and brings the violence which was under the surface to light. And when light comes, change is possible. It reminds me of a scene in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, when Scout inadvertently disperses a mob out to get her lawyer father, Atticus and his client, Tom Robinson. By innocently striking up a conversation with the mob leader, Walter Cunningham, the eight-year-old girl gives them no choice but to back down or shame themselves by harming a child. Later, Atticus says:

“That proves something — that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children… you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough.”

Perhaps Jesus’ innocent suffering worked something like this before the powers of his day. By nonviolently confronting the powers, he exposed their violence. Unlike Scout, the powers violently killed him, but his death touched off a nonviolent revolution which would spread throughout the world.

Ask: 

• How do you think Paul and Silas have exposed the hidden tension in the people of Thessalonica?
• In what ways have you seen the Way of Jesus expose the hidden tensions in your world?
• In light of this story, how might we live out the Way of Jesus this week?

Share: Communion

Pray:

• Take time to pray for violence to be confronted with peace in your neighbourhood
• End with the Lord’s prayer

Devotion 3

Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of thanksgiving together, aware of God’s loving kindness toward us.

Read: Acts 17:10-15

“The Jews of Berea were actually compared to the Jews in Thessalonica… The Jews in the synagogue in Berea, ‘were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica’ (17:11). The reason is given straight after that. Because the received the message with great eagerness, and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed.’”2

Ask:

• What do you imagine the community of the Berean synagogue might have looked like?
• What difference do you imagine their new-found faith might have made to them?
• What challenges does this bring to our faith communities?

Share:

• Pray for one another
• End with the Lord’s Prayer

Devotion 4

Wait: Take time to sit in the silence of repentance together, aware of our inadequacy and God’s grace.

Read: Read Psalm 27 as a Lectio Divina

1) Have one person read the verses through twice.

2) Speak out any words or phrases that stand out to you.

3) Read through the verses again.

4) What thoughts, feelings, and impressions do you sense? Share them.

5) Read the verses a final time.

6) What challenges or encouragements emerge? Share them with the group.

Pray:

Spend time praying for each of those present in the room and for the wider UNOH team.

Share:

Communion

 2. Jim Reiher, The Book of Acts: A Social Justice Commentary. Dandenong: UNOH, 2014, 167.