THE READERS GUIDE FOR THE NEXT FOUR DAYS IS POSTED TOGETHER IN THE POSTING. TO READ JULY 2ND, 3RD, AND 4TH SIMPLY SCOLL DOWN Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Monday, July 1, 2013 Read – Acts 10:23b-33 The scene now shifts back to Caesarea. Luke pictures this journey as taking two days although such a journey could easily be made in a single day. Standing on the beach in modern day Joppa one can look up the coast and easily see the city of Tel Aviv near the site of ancient Caesarea. Perhaps Luke has engaged in good storytelling technique to add suspense to the story. Upon his arrival two important things happen. First, Cornelius makes the mistake of worshiping Peter. Once again Luke makes it clear that this work is not the work of human beings but of God. Readers of Acts are reminded of a similar misunderstanding that may have taken place when Peter and John heal the lame man at the gate of the Temple (Acts 3). At that time Peter makes it clear that the man is healed not because of Peter and John but by the will of Jesus. In this story it is also clear that the Holy Spirit is in control – not Peter. Peter is simply the vehicle for God’s work. The second thing Luke tells us is that once again barriers are broken – Peter enters the house of the Gentile, Cornelius. To make sure that his readers understand this Luke quotes Peter to have said, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile” (Acts 10:28)! Peter goes on to explain why he must break through the barrier. His vision of the sheet filled with animals in interpreted – especially God’s word spoken then, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (Acts 10:15) – “but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean” (Acts 10:28). Peter has no choice in the matter – God is the one in control. Bridging the gap between Jew and Gentile is not any easy thing! The vision of the sheet filled with animals was not really about eating after all. We cannot overemphasize how difficult and how important crossing this barrier was – and is! Peter’s defense of his actions foreshadows the intense questioning Peter will face once he returns to Jerusalem (Acts 11:1-18). Cornelius now goes on to tell Peter of his encounter with the angel of God four days earlier. Cornelius’ description is reminiscent of the description of Jesus’ clothing during the Transfiguration scene (Luke 9:29) – the same word is used for “dazzling white.” Once again Luke describes Cornelius as a devout and God-fearing man – he is a good candidate to become the first Gentile Christian. Having told of his encounter with the angel – once again the way in which the story is told emphasizes that God is in control since God sent the angel to Cornelius – Cornelius and the great crowd who has gathered with him are left waiting to hear the word Peter has to proclaim. The prominence of “the Word” is once again evident. Tuesday, July 2, 2013 Read – Acts 10:34-48 We have encountered several speeches in the book of Acts. While each is distinctive we have noticed that all have a core message. Peter’s speech in the house of Cornelius does not disappoint us regarding that core message – “They put him to death … God raised him on the third day … that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:39-40, 43). The message is the same for Gentiles as it was for Jews – the one slight difference being that in Luke’s appraisal it is the Jews who were responsible for the death of Jesus. We should not make too much of this – Luke is speaking as a Jew from the inside. Over-emphasis on this point leads straight to anti-Semitism which we would do well to avoid. Historically, the Romans were as much to blame for the death of Jesus as the Jews, if not more so. In his speech Peter does a good job of summarizing the ministry of Jesus for a Gentile audience – the message begins in Galilee after the baptism of John and speaks of Jesus doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil. In a few short words Luke has provided the essentials. Yet, the main point of the coming of Jesus is to be found in the core message which we have noted earlier. Luke also speaks of the select few who were blessed to eat with Jesus and to witness to his physical resurrection. Jesus did not appear to everyone – only to those who were chosen for this witness. Once again Luke is controlling the exposure of Jesus and setting up the Apostles as the center from which the word is to go out. We have seen this concern of Luke throughout the book of Acts. Just like there cannot be a Hellenistic version of Christianity alongside of a Jewish version of Christianity, and later a Samaritan version; here there will be no place for a Gentile version of Christianity. Unity is important in Luke’s view! There is one Christianity! Once again Luke reminds his readers that the message of Jesus can be found in the reading and proper interpretation of the OT. “Messianic Exegesis” happens again as Luke tells his readers that all the prophets testify about Jesus. We have seen this theme in the story of the travelers on the Emmaus Road, the disciples in the upper room, the Ethiopian eunuch, and throughout Luke’s story. So, here too it is the message of Jesus filtered through the OT and the OT read through the experience of the death and resurrection of Jesus that is proclaimed. Luke is consistent in his narrative! Once the word has been proclaimed – in fact in the middle of Peter’s proclamation – the Holy Spirit that fell upon the first followers in the upper room at Pentecost falls upon all who hear in the house of Cornelius, the Gentile. The experience is described in much the same way as the Pentecost story – the Holy Spirit falls upon the hearers and they speak in tongues extolling God. Once again God is the primary actor – and it astounds the Jewish believers who are with Peter. Who would have thought that God would do such a thing among the Gentiles? When Peter witnesses the outpouring of the same Holy Spirit in the same way as had happened to the Jewish believers at Pentecost he asks an important question, “Who can withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit us as we have?” The final barrier has been crossed – and it is God who did the crossing, leading his people into a new day. Christian Judaism is not just for Jews but it is for all. Those once barred from participation in the people of God are welcomed! It is important for us to realize that a new religion was not being born in this experience. We are apt to make too much of a distinction between Christianity and Judaism. Perhaps there is no other way for us to think. However, I doubt if Luke would have thought of it in this way. For Luke, Christians have not abandoned Judaism to join another religion – Christians are still Jews. And the Gentiles have now been grafted into Christian Judaism. Once again it is important that we “feel” the power of what has happened here. A very important and impenetrable barrier has been penetrated, in fact, smashed. And what once was clearly stated in the OT has been changed. There is still more to be said about the smashing of this barrier and Luke will get to all of that shortly. But what happened in the house of Cornelius is nothing short of miraculous and of monumental importance. The world would never be the same again – nor would what we have come to call Christianity. This story that we have been reading is indeed a watershed story. Thanks be to God that God has acted in this way – the door is now open to all who are Gentiles and that means almost all of us. We ought to be humbled by such a story of God’s amazing welcome – and we ought to be made welcoming of others who are not like us. Wednesday, July 3 Read – Acts 11:1-18 Luke has anticipated what happened next in the story. Remember how Peter has carefully defended what has happened – it was really God who was acting in the whole story of Cornelius. God sent an angel to Cornelius. God sent a vision to Peter. God brought the two of them together in one house. God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the Gentile hearers. When Peter arrives back in Jerusalem he has some explaining to do. We need to also remember that it is this center in Jerusalem which Luke has been careful to portray as the source of authentication of the ministry of God’s people. They select the replacement for Judas. They verify the ministry of Philipp in Samaria. They even authenticate the ministry of Saul/Paul. They will continue to be the control center of the church. So it is no wonder that when Peter arrives back in Jerusalem he must face the “powers that be” who reside there. And Luke tells us that they “criticized” Peter (Acts 11:2). It is interesting that the problem is described mostly as the violation of eating with uncircumcised men. One could argue that those who criticized Peter had the scripture on their side. The OT is clear about the necessity of circumcision (Genesis 17:14). There are plenty of other places in the OT when a hard and impenetrable barrier is laid down – in stone! There is nothing else to say than that in this story God has set aside what once was clearly God’s word. Peter’s defense is really a rehearsal of the events that happened in Joppa and Caesarea, at least those events which happened to Peter. God gave him the vision of the animals in the sheet. God told Peter that he was not to call profane what God had made clean. God told him to go with the messengers from Cornelius. And Cornelius had told Peter that it was God who gave him the vision through which he was to call for Peter in the first place. It was God who poured out the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles. What else was Peter to do? This was God’s doing – and even though a credible argument could be made from scripture that such an event was impossible, with God all things are possible. With that Luke tells us that the critics in Jerusalem were silenced. And, amazingly and to their credit, they praised God. I suppose they could have been silenced and remained in their opinion that what happened in Caesarea was just too much for them to handle. They did not. And we could learn from them. Change is never easy. Religious change is often even harder. But change does happen. And often God is behind it. Of course that does not mean that anything goes. The proof is in the outcome – in what God does through the changes. And clearly God is working in this change. The story of Peter’s report to the Jerusalem church sums up this episode for the time being. The Gentile question will need to be visited again. But for now Luke is ready to move on. Saul/Paul has been waiting in the background – it is time for him to make an appearance and for the rest of the story of Acts to be told. Thursday, July 4, 2013 Read – Acts 11:19-30 Luke really is a brilliant writer. As with the gospels it is likely that, except for the broad ordering of events, Luke is the creator of the storyline for the book of Acts. Luke had at his disposal a number of brief episodes and he is responsible for providing the order. Our text for today is a clear illustration of how Luke goes about his work. First of all Luke reminds his readers of the persecution that happened because of the ministry and martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:3). The reader is reminded that it was the persecution that spread the followers of Jesus abroad. Here we learn that some traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch – actually some traveled even further to Cyrene which is in northern Africa near modern day Libya. Luke is picking up the story where he left it in chapter 8. Readers will also remember that the persecution resulting from the ministry of Stephen had introduced Saul/Paul to the narrative as a persecutor of the followers of Jesus. Luke has since told his readers about how Saul has been changed by God from a persecutor to a proclaimer and then sent back home to Tarsus (Acts 9:30). As we will soon hear a long period of time had passed since we first met Saul – Saul tells us that it was at least 14 years since he first visited Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18) and 17 years since his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road (Galatians 2:1). Readers of Acts are left to imagine what might have happened in Saul/Paul’s life during that time. Finally, Barnabas is reintroduced to the reader in this narrative. Luke has woven a tightly linked story. His narrative is well constructed. We will soon find out that it is the mention of Antioch that is important for Luke. Antioch was a very large Roman city just to the north of the Holy Land. Likely over 500,000 people lived there – most of whom were Gentiles though a large contingent of Jews also settled in Antioch. It was a very important city in the Roman world. Now the story takes on a new flavor. Luke tells us that some of those who had traveled to Cyprus and Cyrene returned to Antioch proclaiming the good news of Jesus to the residents there. At first it seems those who had spread out from Jerusalem as a result of the persecution had proclaimed the good news only Jews (Acts 11:19). But now those coming to Antioch were also proclaiming the message to the Gentiles who lived there. Unfortunately, the NRSV translates those proclaimed to as “Hellenists” which might lead one to believe that they were Greek speaking Jews as had been the case back in chapter 6. This is clearly not a good translation – Luke uses a completely different word – and beyond any doubt he means Gentiles. The mission begun in Caesarea by Peter is expanding. Once again Luke tells us that the church in Jerusalem sent representatives to Antioch to legitimize the ministry. The person sent is Barnabas who was introduced as a devout Jewish follower who was originally from Cyprus (Acts 4:36) – likely the reason he was chosen since the evangelists who were working in Antioch were from Cyprus too. Barnabas discovers that ministry is going very well in Antioch – likely, mostly among the Gentiles but perhaps also among the Jews. Where the question about the legitimacy of the mission to Gentiles in the previous story of Peter’s report about the events in Caesarea is prominent, Barnabas finds nothing wrong with what is happening in Antioch. The church has grown and changed. The Gentile mission is legitimate. Barnabas becomes so aware of the great expansion happening in Antioch that he journeys on the Tarsus to find Saul/Paul who has been residing there. Barnabas had been the one who Luke tells us first accepted Saul/Paul on his return from Damascus and brought him to the rest of the Apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 9:27). Saul/Paul and Barnabas work together in Antioch for a year and the mission grows and expands. Almost as a side note, Luke tells his readers that it was at Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians” – prior to that and even in much of the rest of the book of Acts they are referred to a “followers of the Way” which is probably Luke’s preference and likely the way in which early Christians referred to themselves. Luke now tells his readers a small episode that seems very unimportant. From a theological point of view that is surely the case. But this small episode provides Luke’s readers with a historical marker through which the events in the story can be placed on a historical timeline. Luke tells us that it was during the reign of Claudius that a prophet from Jerusalem visited Antioch. Claudius was the Roman Emperor from 41-54 AD. Luke also tells us that the message of the prophet Agabus centered on a severe famine that covered the entire known world. Such a famine can be dated between 46 and 48 AD from other historical records. This small, and theologically unimportant episode, is one of those rare points where the story of the Bible can be dated with extra-biblical history. This is important for us because we know this famine occurred at least 13 and perhaps as much as 18 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. That’s a significant amount of time. As we think about it much must have happened in those 13-18 years. Luke has actually told us very little about the events that happened during that time. The impression we get from his story is that the events at Antioch and the event at Caesarea regarding Cornelius are fairly close together in time. That means, of course that Christianity lived for a considerable number of years as an expression solely of Judaism. It took a while for the first followers of Jesus to be pushed outside their comfort zones and into the Gentile mission. We may think that things move far too slowly when it comes to the church. Likely that has always been the case. It takes God a long time to accomplish God’s will with God’s people. One more item of note is the decision on the part of the “Christians” at Antioch to send food relief to the believers living in Judea. It seems this mission of collecting an offering to provide food for the church in Jerusalem is something that stuck with Paul throughout his ministry. We will hear of it again.