Daily Devotion for Lent 2021 - Day 7

Scripture Reading: Galatians 2 (NRSV)

We see the drama accelerate as the story unfolds.  Earlier Titus as a Greek (and thus, a Gentile) was not circumcised.  Furthermore, he was not compelled in the faith in Jesus Christ to submit to the knife.  

And so, we see the controversy within the first twenty-five years of our faith.  

In order to be a Christian, do you need to be circumcised?

Certainly if you were originally Jewish, the matter was decided for you prior to your awareness.  But if you were an adult Gentile, like Titus, there were some claiming your illegitimacy before God.  They would have pressured any men to be circumcised - especially if they wanted to pursue any leadership opportunities.

Paul is struggling against this faction and according to his letter, even Peter (Cephas) is wavering on his commitment to inclusion.  This shows us how difficult change would have been.  Circumcision was the original sign of the covenant, commanded by God.  In fact, in Genesis 17:4, we hear God's direct teaching on the subject:

"Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

How does Paul disregard this obvious teaching?

He has prioritized the faith of Christ as what justifies us before God even over circumcision.  This is consistent with the prophetic tradition from Jeremiah 4:4 which reads:

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Do you think God ever mistakes us for ducks?

An outward sign is not as meaningful to God as changed behavior.  So Gentiles or Jews could move forward in this faith.  But it was enough to make many of the faithful sick.  Paul could sympathize in a way because he used to be one of them!

Maybe this is why he gets so worked up - he sees himself in his opponents.

Sometimes we get angry with others because we may feel guilty about the fact that we remember how we used to believe or behave.  It may not even be that the act itself was so bad, but because we have moved away from that position, it seems anathema to us.

We may ask them, "Why can't you see like I see now?"

Prayer for the day:

Blessed God, we give thanks that you measure our lives along a continuum rather than a specific moment of weakness.  We give thanks for this faith of Christ that justifies us.  Yet, we still find ourselves casting a wary eye on others - they may be lacking in some way.  Give us patience as we listen to one another.  Have patience with us as we grow in maturity.  We pray these things in Christ's holy name.  Amen.

Photo by Veit via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Helping God Out

Sometimes the weeds are so obvious!

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary Reading: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NRSV)

The parable of the weeds and the wheat causes us to stumble sometimes.  We want a clean field.  We don't want weeds taking any precious moisture needed by the growing wheat.  If things are orderly in the field, the rest of our universe becomes more orderly.  It is easier to deal with.

Yet, Jesus tells us to leave the weeds alone.

Don't bother them.

Well, why not?  We can easily identify them at an early stage - when they are easy to root out!

Jesus says to leave them.  We might uproot the wheat in our zeal to take out the weeds.

I think what it really means is that when we find an eye for the weeds in life, we may become more interested in pulling weeds than in nurturing wheat.  And the more we look for weeds, the more weeds we seem to see.  

Is that wheat or a weed?  It could be wheat.  Hmm.  Better not take a chance.  Pull it up.

Of course, Jesus is talking about people.  We don't really know the hearts and minds of people.  We don't know what God thinks about them.  But we think we do.  We're just helping God out a little.  God, we'll pull these weeds now and you won't have to worry about them later.  Oh, don't bother thanking us, we're glad to do it!

This also assumes that people are fixed - that they can never change.  Once they head down the wrong path, they are lost forever.  This kind of thinking would take out most of the disciples of Jesus!

How can we apply this parable of Jesus to our lives together today?  I'm sure you've never written anyone off as hopeless, have you?  No, of course I haven't either.  Maybe if we nurture a weed, it will begin to look like the wheat.  Of course, that's foolish thinking.  Weeds can't become wheat.  That would take a miracle.

Hmm.

Join us as we continue to explore this parable in worship on Sunday!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by alh1 via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 22

Scripture Reading: Acts 15:1-41 (NRSV)

We see in this chapter the council of Jerusalem that formally develops a doctrine surrounding circumcision.  Were Christianity only to remain a sect of Judaism, this would never come up as the circumcision of males would be assumed.

The covenant that God makes with Abraham is very clear in Genesis 17:9-14:

God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

This seems pretty direct.  Even foreign slaves should submit to this covenant which would speak in favor of Gentiles being circumcised if they want to be a part of the people of God.

But the more Christianity moves into the Mediterranean, the more push back we see regarding this issue.  The Greeks thought that circumcision was barbaric and there was prejudice in this culture against males who were circumcised.  The inter-Testamental book of 1 Maccabees 1:11-15 shows that there was even Jewish resistance to circumcision:

In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.” This proposal pleased them, and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles.  So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.

So there is precedent in Jewish tradition in how they were to deal with this incursion of Greek culture: resist and continue to be faithful to God's covenant!

The difference here seems to be that the Gentile converts to Christianity have received the Holy Spirit just as Jewish believers, showing that God "has made no distinction between them and us." (Acts 15.9).  If the Holy Spirit is a gift from God, then God seems to declare that circumcision is inconsequential with regards to this new covenant in Jesus Christ. 

What is fascinating is that in Acts, Peter is shown as the early adopter of sharing faith with Gentiles while in Galatians, Paul states that he is now the authority of Gentile evangelism:

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.      (Galatians 2:7-9)

Many scholars seem to think that Galatians 2:1-10 is Paul's version of the Council of Jerusalem but others dispute this because it disagrees with much of Acts 15. 

Within Acts, this council seems to end peacefully enough with allowances to the uncircumcised as long as they continue to observe some purity laws around diet and sexuality.  Paul does seem to ignore the dietary laws while observing those concerning immorality in 1 Corinthians 10.

I'm not sure this shirt is accomplishing its intent!

While we may think they escaped without much contention, Luke does acknowledge that Paul and Barnabas split ways here.  Should Paul have been more forgiving of John Mark who he saw as a deserter?  It just goes to show us that the Christian fruit of the Spirit that Paul lifts up such as patience, kindness and generosity are sometimes easier to display in theory rather than in practice.

As Christians looking back on this ancient history, we may appreciate both Paul and Barnabas and wonder why they couldn't have worked things out.  In the moment, things can burn so hot!  In situations that may cause a split or arguments so sharp that we part company, how can we fast forward to a time of peace where we can look back and find greater love for one another?

It may be that we allow each other to go in ministry each to our own context.  But might we go with one another's blessing rather than a curse?

Prayer for the day:

God, let us mean it when we sing together,
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory!
Help us to live out this assumption more each day.
Amen.

Prayer based on lyrics by Eliza E. Hewitt, 1898.

Photo by greyloch via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 17

Scripture Reading: Acts 11:19-29 (NRSV)

We see the scattering of the devout that was first referenced in chapter 8. 

The Jewish diaspora that was ongoing prior to these events put pockets of Judaism on the map throughout the known world.  The early Christians meant to share their faith with those communities because they would be the natural recipients of a perspective that could be seen as essentially Jewish at the time.  Of course, some argued that it broke too far from Judaism and so there was persecution.

But even though the original recipients of the faith may have seen that sharing it to the ends of the earth meant for it to move among the Jewish populations already present, it begins to go beyond their expectations and understanding.

Persecution seems to do the opposite of the intended suppression.  It breaks out into the wider world and becomes unstoppable.

Here I'm enjoying a meal in Mexico outside of
a home we were building.  I was there to provide
bread and life for the community and found that
the woman who fixed this meal gave it to me instead! 

We see the faith travel to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch among the Jewish communities there.  Then in Antioch which is the third largest city in the Roman Empire, we see it jump to the Hellenists.  These were likely Greek-speaking Jews which shows some distance between them and their fellows who could still speak their native tongue.  One could see how this would quickly jump to other Greek-speaking non-Jews. 


Truth is truth, no matter the language or culture.  People will share truth.

As our routines are disrupted from the Coronavirus, we may have a variety of responses.  We might be afraid or irritated or annoyed.  We simply may be unsure about what will happen. 

What does the truth of the Christian witness say to those who are infected?  We see the early church respond to a famine that was worldwide to them (in their knowledge).  How do we make a difference even in our attitude toward one another in this time of crisis?

Prayer for the day:

God, we cannot love you unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other.  God, we know you in the breaking of the bread, and we know each other in the breaking of the bread, and we are not alone anymore.  We see that Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust where there is companionship.  Help us to live out this faith in Christ.  Amen.


Prayer adapted from the Postscript of The Long Loneliness, the Autobiography of Dorothy Day, (Harper and Row, 1963).

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Third Sunday in Lent

Scripture Reading: Acts 11:1-18 (NRSV)

Is this little outsider how Peter saw
Cornelius and the other Gentiles?

Peter has some explaining to do.

Notice that his fellow apostles aren't immediately enthused about the success Peter has had in spreading the faith.  Rather, they criticized him for interacting and eating with Gentiles.

The fact that Luke retells the story that he just shared in the previous chapter should give us a clue as to how controversial this remained in Luke's church.

Leviticus 11 gives a long outline on which animals are considered clean and unclean.  It summarizes the discourse by ending with this idea in verses 46-47:

This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

In other words, basic to their cultural identity was to be discriminating.  In fact, you had stories such as Daniel who lived in the royal palace in Babylon but refused to eat anything but vegetables so that he wouldn't defile himself. 

Is it any wonder that Peter would receive some hostile feedback on his missionary journey?

After Peter relates everything that happened, I like how Luke records that "they were silenced."  Then they praised God but I wonder if "praised" fully encompassed all that they felt in that moment.

Experience reminds us that it is one thing to be transformed by the people we encounter but it is distancing to hear about it from someone else.  Doubts are more likely to creep in, especially when something fundamental to our identity is being dismissed.

Within my lifetime, one cultural change that seems minor today (in comparison to what Peter was trying to do) is eating and drinking in the sanctuary.  It was considered at one time the height of disrespect to even bring any drinking cup or glass into the sanctuary.  This still bothers some Christians and there seems a direct correlation between the age of the person to the amount of irritation it causes.  When I was appointed at Piedmont, we built the sanctuary to also double as a fellowship hall.  Chairs could be rearranged and tables brought in to provide meals for the congregation and community.  Many older members were disturbed by this multipurpose use of the sanctuary.

While no one came to blows over this, it wasn't near as ingrained as the dietary laws were in Peter's time.  His story today reminds us to reassess our own resistance to change.  Where is the next generation of Christians moving us that seems uncomfortable?  What do we hear that silences us?

Prayer for the Day:

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth revere him.


Photo by charamelody via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 16

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:24-48 (NRSV)

Peter meets up with Cornelius in today's reading and I find it interesting that he begins to worship Peter.  If he really thought he was divine, it seems a bit presumptuous to have those under you to fetch him to you rather than go to him.  This makes me re-evaluate how I treat God on a daily basis.

It may be surprising to see how Jews really thought of Gentiles.  The sense of separation that they were supposed to have was from one school of thought within Judaism.  That was the sense that they were set aside as a holy people.  To interact with Gentiles would profane them and thus their ability to be God's covenant people.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 lines this out quite clearly with lines that stand out when interacting with outside tribes like, "you must utterly destroy them", "show them no mercy", and "do not intermarry with them".  Of course, this reads differently if you are a minority, persecuted people.

Another school of thought was the idea that God's people were to be a light to the nations.  This occurs within the Suffering Servant passages in Isaiah that many Christians reinterpret to represent Jesus.  So it is no surprise that Christianity tends to fall more along the lines of this philosophy.  We see it as we are to witness to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 42:6-7 reads:

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,
       to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Of course, this sounds like the ministry of Jesus.  Would it be that much of a stretch to see the Gentiles as a people imprisoned "who sit in darkness"?

So when you have two schools of thought that sometimes clash, something has to give.  For Peter, it is their separation from Gentiles.  When he states that "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" in verses 34-35 of chapter 10 of Acts, we see him putting the controversy over God-fearers to bed.  There must have been some who would have questioned whether God would even hear the prayers of a Gentile in that day.  There always seems to be this limiting of God as we have had prominent Christian pastors question whether God receives the prayers of Jews today.

This understanding that God is universal is a part of the theology of prevenient or preceding grace.  It is a generosity of spirit and allows for God to be present in places that may be foreign to you. 

Jesus reminds us, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold."

So when Peter asks the question, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" it reminds us of the similarly loaded question that the Ethiopian eunuch asked of Philip.  Luke includes these questions in Acts because they are still being worked out practically in the churches of that day.  Some people would say "No, of course not" but others would undoubtedly say, "Yes, they are heathens and undeserving of baptism."

This would have us ponder the entire idea of grace.  Who does deserve baptism?

I do like the wonderful reminder as a United Methodist within our doctrinal document, By Water and the Spirit, which states, "There are no conditions of human life that exclude persons from the sacrament of baptism." 

While this may be aspirational for us today, I do think it is good to lift up what we're striving for and see that it comes from our very beginnings as a church.

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, 
it is through the Sacrament of Baptism
that you initiate us into Christ's holy Church.
We are incorporated into your mighty acts of salvation
and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is your gift, offered to us without price.
May we reaffirm our faith and renew the covenant declared at our baptism,
acknowledging what you are doing for us,
and affirming our commitment to Christ's holy Church.
Amen.

Prayer adapted from The United Methodist Church's Introduction to the Baptismal Service.

Photo by Jeff Ashton via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 15

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:1-23 (NRSV)

Luke has really been softening us up in the previous chapters.

We see Samaritans who are admitted into the fellowship.

The the Ethiopian eunuch.

Now, we have this Cornelius who is a Roman Centurion.  He was an officer who would have been in charge of 100 men.  Christian or Jewish zealots would have been opposed to ministry with any Roman soldiers and probably the higher the chain of command, the worse the opposition.  This would have been due to the fact that Roman soldiers were instrumental in their oppression rather than freedom.

Luke seems to have positive interactions with other centurions in his Gospel. 

In chapter 7, we see the story of Jesus not only healing a centurion's servant, but praising him for his faith.

Then at the crucifixion, Luke reports in a similar fashion to Mark and Matthew that a centurion speaks favorably of Jesus after his death:

When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.”  (Luke 23:47)

In any event, we see Cornelius having a vision at three o'clock.  I wrote in an earlier blog about a healing happening at this time and how this time was associated with the death of Jesus.  Cornelius is portrayed as a righteous Gentile - a God-fearer.  Will there be a place for him in the new fellowship?

There is often more freedom from today's
dietary laws at the kids' table.

Peter has his own vision prior to the arrival of the men from Cornelius.  It seems to be a vision that grants permission to the eating of unclean animals.  I wrote yesterday about Peter staying with a tanner who would have been considered unclean himself.  Now he is having this permissive dream concerning the Jewish dietary laws.  For many in his day, this would be too much. 

Rather than a vision from God, they would likely say that if his vision is contrary to scripture, you better check its source.

The greater commission seems to come from Jesus.  We are to be witnesses to the end of the earth.   

If this is the prime directive, it seems that other competing claims may be in jeopardy.  What are the things that may stand in our way today?  What is difficult to let go in order to reach the next generations? 

Prayer for the Day:

Jesus, my feet are dirty. Come even as a slave to me, pour water into your bowl, come and wash my feet. In asking such a thing I know I am overbold, but I dread what was threatened when you said to me, “If I do not wash your feet I have no fellowship with you.” Wash my feet then, because I long for your companionship.  Amen.

Prayer by Origen of Alexandria, 3rd Century

Photo by Greg Walters via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 14

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:23-43 (NRSV)

We see the tables turned for Saul.  Where he was once the hunter, now he becomes the hunted.  It doesn't take long for us to see the words of Jesus to Ananias come to fruition: "I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

Paul's own words from his second letter to the Corinthians verify Luke's account of his escape:

In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

We see that Saul's introduction to the apostles in Jerusalem is not a smooth one.  Evidently, they didn't have the same vision from Jesus that Ananias did.  Barnabas makes his second entrance in Luke's account of the church as a character witness for Saul.  He was introduced in chapter 4 as a Levite from Cyprus and who donated the money from the sale of a field to the work of the church.  He will later partner with Saul/Paul in their efforts to witness to the world.

I'm not sure that the apostles knew what to do with Paul and so they send him back to his home of Tarsus.  Whether this was for his safety or theirs, Luke doesn't say!

We'll get back to Paul but right now our focus shifts to Peter.  His witness to the resurrection is punctuated by resurrection.  While Peter's redemption might not be as contrasting as Paul's, we do remember in Luke's Gospel that Peter declared to Jesus, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Now Peter is beginning to perform miracles just as Jesus did.  He heals a man paralyzed and then raises Tabitha from the dead.  The command for her to get up reminds us of when Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus from the dead:

And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!”  Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. 

Restoration to society is a key part of the Christian witness.

We also remember within that story that Jesus had just come from an encounter with a woman who was bleeding for twelve years.  She touches him and this should make him ritually unclean.  However, she is healed and Jesus then goes on to restore a girl to life.  It seems that contact with Jesus makes one clean rather than the opposite.

We see that with Peter as he provides healing.  The last thing we hear is that he was staying with another man named Simon but rather than a fisherman, this Simon was a tanner.  Tanners were considered unclean due to their profession of stripping the hides from animal corpses.  Leviticus 11:35, 39-40 emphasize this officially:

Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you.  If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.  Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.

This would make it difficult for this profession to ever be considered clean.  And this is where Peter chooses to stay?  It seems that Christianity is about restoring the outcast into society.  How does the church continue to provide restoration today?  What kind of resurrection can we provide for a society that seems to be moving ever more toward isolation?

Prayer for the day:

O God, you have ordered this wonderful world
and know all things in earth and in heaven.
Give us such faith that by day and by night,
at all times and in all places,
we may without fear commit ourselves
and those dear to us
to your never-failing love,
in this life and in the life to come.  Amen.


Prayer from the United Methodist Service of Committal

Photo by Αναστασία Slow for the Summer via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 12

Scripture Reading: Acts 8:26-40 (NRSV)

We see Philip the Evangelist continue in his witness.  He is led by an angel and encounters an Ethiopian eunuch that worked in the treasury of his queen - a prominent position.  He seems to be a follower of Judaism even though he was a Gentile.  These were known as God-fearers by Jews of that time and were known across the Mediterranean world.

The Ethiopian was studying Isaiah and we see 53:7-8 quoted.  This is a part of the passage of the Suffering Servant motif in Isaiah which Christians often interpret to be Jesus.  The silence of the Suffering Servant can be seen in the questioning of Jesus by Herod.  We see this recorded in Luke 23:9:

"He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer." (NRSV)

Philip then begins to witness to this Gentile about Jesus.

It is interesting that the eunuch said that he had come to Jerusalem to worship and was now returning home.  We are unsure whether or not he was successful in his attempt to worship.

The Hebrew Law was clear on forbidding eunuchs entry into the assembly.

So when he asks Philip, "What is to prevent me from being baptized?" it is a loaded question.

Well, it could be your status as an Ethiopian.  Would Gentiles receive baptism?  We have seen Samaritans receive baptism but they are somewhat related.  Ethiopians are further removed culturally.

It could also be your status as a eunuch.  Their sexual ambiguity made them a target of ridicule in the ancient world.  People were not comfortable with them and did not see them as equals.  His occupation as a court treasurer would confer higher status on him certainly but this might make him even lonelier as other eunuchs would likely not feel high enough in status to associate with him.

Water is cleansing and life giving to all people.
There is good reason we utilize it in baptism.

Philip decided that these things would not prevent his baptism.  This single baptism (and Luke's record of it) opens the body of Christ up to a wider world.  It moves God's grace even beyond the rules recorded in the Hebrew scriptures.  It could have been seen as a subversive act by the Jewish Christians of the day.  It may have been controversial among the apostles.  But it was done and Luke lifts it up as an example of how the church will operate in the world.

As The United Methodist Church debates how we will be in ministry with the LGBTQ+ community, this passage may challenge the church just as it did for the first century Christians.  It seems to remind us that God's love transcends our social boundaries and often pushes us past our comfort zones.  If you think about baptism in your local church, can you imagine your pastor baptizing anyone that would make you uncomfortable?

This would be undoubtedly similar to feelings that early Christians would have had when Philip related what he had done.


Prayer for the day:

God, we give thanks for the gifts you have already given the baptized.
Helps us to welcome them in Christian love.
May we renew our covenant to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church with them.
Let us be united in our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness
that in everything, you may be glorified in Jesus Christ.  Amen.


Prayer based on the United Methodist baptismal covenant response.

Photo by Javier Morales via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.