Help us!
Commentary
In the movie The Deep End of the Ocean, there is a toddler who is "lost" in a hotel lobby. The mother had gone to register and left the child with his a-little-bit-older brother. In a matter of minutes, the toddler was gone, not to be found until many years later. (He had been picked up by another woman who had just suffered the death of her infant and who absconded with this little boy as a substitute, named him as her own, and raised him.) When the police came upon the scene and tried to deal with the grief-stricken mother, the investigator offered these words in an effort to be consoling, "The thing we have to remember is that no one is at fault here." Wrong words! Not true! It was already obvious that the mother should not have left her toddler under the supervision of her too-young-to-be-responsible son in the middle of a busy hotel lobby. As the story unfolded, it became clear that the older brother deliberately let go of his younger brother's hand and told him to "get lost." No one is at fault here? Actually, two people are at fault here. Until we can accept our condition of being guilty, how can we hear the necessary word to address our need?
Acts 16:9-15
Just as Peter received a vision that inspired him to invite a Gentile into his Jewish world, Paul received a vision that invited him from his Jewish world literally to enter the Greek world. Asia and Europe became united in the missionary enterprise of the early church one night, when Paul experienced his vision. The kind of vision referred to would probably be compared to the experience of a profound dream, when one awakens and has a sense that there has been a vital communication given, whether between the subconscious and the ego or between God and the dreamer.
When Jesus gave his great commission to the disciples (according to Luke/Acts; key verse for the book of Acts is Acts 1:8), he identified the center out of which they would begin: Jerusalem. One of the most profound ways to influence an entire region, without having to walk every square foot of it, is to effect changes at the center, the hub of life. Jerusalem certainly was that for the Jews, the people of God who awaited the Messiah. Philippi was that for Macedonia, which became the beachhead for Christianity's incursion into the European continent and the world beyond.
Adverbs are fun constructions in the scripture; for example, Paul uses to express his sense of eschatological reality. Luke uses the word "immediately"; Mark predominantly uses a different form to express the urgency and excitement of what was happening through the ministry of Jesus to connect Paul's departure to Macedonia directly with the vision he experienced. Paul wasted no time in acting upon the message he received in his vision.
It is quite interesting to note that not only was Paul venturing off into unchartered waters in terms of evangelical outreach, but also that the first convert identified in this new land was a woman. One cannot help but pay attention to the prestigious role women play in the New Testament, both in witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus and in charting the way to accept him by faith as Lord and Savior. Such narratives as these underscore what Paul would write in Galatians 3:28 about how in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female.
Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5
In a teasing convolution of what is known and what cannot yet be known, the seer of Revelation is privileged to glimpse the wonder of what is yet to be from the hand of God. In images from earth we are treated to a view of heavenly glory. Drawing from the earlier appearance of "one like a son of man" (Revelation 1:13) who walked among the seven lampstands representing the seven churches of Asia Minor to which the book is addressed, the vision reaches a climax with this "one" identified clearly as the "Lamb," who himself now is the light that illuminates the new creation from the hand of God. Not only is it true that "the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5), but it will never overcome it! "There shall be no night there" (21:25). The victory over sin and evil is complete and the assurance is certain.
True religion is finally freed from its earthly trappings, like a temple, for God himself is the holy presence permeating all, not contained in temporal or spatially limiting places. This is a profound concept for a people who have been so conditioned to think in terms of holy places, like Mount Horeb and Bethel and Jerusalem. More than this, true religion is finally freed from earthly trappings like ritual actions to ensure and express purity, for there will be "nothing unclean" (21:27) present. The memory of Antioches Epiphanes and his Abomination of Desolation (sacrificing a pig on the altar in the Temple) will be erased. Roman polytheism will be a thing of the past. The constant worry about ritual purity for right worship of the Holy One will be set aside. The perceived need to store up good works to merit God's favor will be absolved. The struggle itself for purity of heart will be resolved. Kierkegaard can rest (Purity Of Heart Is To Will One Thing), for the sin that has interfered with the one thing necessary -- to draw near to God -- has been overcome by the good news that God ultimately draws near to us! The seer expresses this earlier when he writes, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them" (Revelation 21:3). Or, as he captured the Christmas narrative in a single sentence in his gospel account, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
Picture the rulers of this world bringing their "glory" (pale, of course, compared to the glory of the Lord) into the New Jerusalem, where it will be subject to the radiant splendor of God's glory. This visualizes what Paul writes about when he claims that Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11) and that at the last day God will subject all things under him (1 Corinthians 15:24-27). This is the fulfillment of the eschatological hope that Isaiah expressed centuries earlier: "Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:3).
As if all this were not enough, the vision continues with the sights of "the river of the water of life" (22:1) and "the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit" (22:2), guaranteeing an endless supply of nourishment for life eternal. The consequences of the Fall, symbolized by the leaves behind which Adam and Eve hid their shame, are reversed; for now the leaves of the tree are used to heal the nations. The victory of forgiveness over sin and life over death is complete. The concepts of beyond (the eschaton) are expressed through metaphors from below (Lamb, light, river, tree, leaves), so that we can grasp some sense of the marvel that is being presented for the understanding of faith.
Paul's insight into the difference between now and then (1 Corinthians 13:12) is correct with the added assurance that we will not just be with the Lord; we shall be the Lord's. His name written on every believer's forehead sets them apart for the Lord (see also Revelation 14:1), distinguishing them from those who have the name of the beast imprinted on them (Revelation 13:16-17). It also fulfills the Law which heretofore was tied "as frontlets between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8) to remind the believer of the dutiful life on earth in response to God's great acts of deliverance. Now (which is then), faith and hope give way to the endless, ever-present, i.e., eternal, love expressed by those who are in the Lamb's book of life enjoying the absolute presence of God the Almighty and the Lamb!
John 14:23-29
Jesus really is good to his disciples. During the anguish of Holy Week (dropping in the polls from first to last place -- "Give us Barabbas!" -- betrayed by one of his own, denied by his best, forsaken by his trusted, crucified by human injustice -- but for God's divine justice, buried in a borrowed grave, and, dare we add, descending into hell), he has taken time to wash their feet, comfort them and instruct them for the living of their days. He gives them these gifts for their sake, because he knows that his time has finally come (see John 2:4). The disciples being human, he understands that they will forget and construe what he has been training them in and for; so, he promises to send to them the Holy Spirit as adviser, helper to remind them what their experience of Jesus has been about for themselves and for the world. Luke would be the one to record the event in which this happened most dramatically (Acts 2). The testimony of the Holy Spirit will not be to a new doctrine; it will be to the revelation of God the Father through Jesus (14:24b). That is why Jesus can say that those who keep his word will be loved by the Father, since it ultimately is the Father's word that is being obeyed. Here is an expression of the Trinitarian economy of God: the Son reveals the Father as witnessed by the Holy Spirit.
One could spend a month of Sundays counting through the scriptures the number of times there appears such words as "Fear not; let not your hearts be troubled; peace be with you." These are words that should have been rightly spoken to Jesus by the Father during this week, but we have no record of it. On the cross, Jesus agonized whether this comforting word was true for him. Yet, he does not hesitate to offer it to his disciples, that they may be encouraged in their faltering walk of faith. Despite all the bravado, humans can be such timid creatures. Indiana Jones was afraid of snakes; Martin Luther, of the rustling leaves; how many countless, of the dark?
Jesus does not leave any doubt about how his disciples can demonstrate their love for him. "Keep my word," Jesus says. His word is defined as a life of love. His word is the commandment to love one another, just as he has loved. See John 14:15 and 15:12-17. Love responds to the wholeness and the hole-ness of the other. Though fallen, we are still created in the image of God. Though created in the image of God, we are still fallen. As we exercise love for one another, who are the created and re-created beloved of God, we reflect the love of Jesus for us all and echo his purpose for coming into the world -- to love the world, "not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17). Whatever help is needed on the face of this earth can be offered by the disciples of Jesus in his name, that his word may be heard by those longing to hear and that our love for him may be manifest for his pleasure and the Father's satisfaction.
Application
Where do we need to be listening and dreaming more intently in order to hear the cries for help that arise from our human condition? There are cries coming from all quarters, if we will only open our eyes and ears and hearts to that inner sense of discernment that is a gift from God. Just as with the Macedonian call for help (16:9), pleas in our present day arise from within the community of need to which the church must be attuned. This means that we can never slam any doors shut in the face of anyone that we may consider "outside the fold." This applies for the child molester, the homosexual, the chronic welfare family, and the parents who kill their offspring, to mention a few. This is not to set aside matters of justice and repentance where needed. It is to expose the hardened heart of those who claim to follow Christ, but close doors in the face of those who need Christ as much as anyone. Who else do you see being treated this way which robs them of their human dignity and their sense of belonging to the human race for whom Jesus died?
Can the church delay in delivering Christian compassion and relevant assistance to anyone in need, as some congregations do by endless special interest study groups who explore issues, but never get beyond the talking stage? How might congregations better respond immediately with tangible expressions of the outstretched hands of the risen Christ, whose body we are in the world today?
We who claim to live by the light of Jesus must be active in pushing back the encroaching darkness wherever we find it. We have authority to do this as reflections of the light. Our courage and persistence and endurance to do so is inspired by the vision we have: day will rule night and eventually there will be no night. In Jesus, we have life to offer the world (John 8:12). The light of life is already in the world; we do not have to wait for the eschaton to see it or experience. It will shine brighter, for sure; but, for now we can expect there to be pockets of light in a dark world, that others may see and believe and shape their lives now for the life yet to come. This was the motivation behind Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof communities begun in Germany after World War I and continuing today in various parts of the world. Arnold writes of the necessity to live in community "as signposts to the ultimate unity of all people, which is found in God's love and in the power of his coming kingdom" (Why We Live in Community). Arnold heard in Jesus' message "the promise that ultimately the earth will be won wholly for God." So, with confidence he expected that there could be a realization now of the future invisible kingdom. He took Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to heart and trusted that God would shape such a lifestyle in Christian community now in anticipation of the fulness of such devotion yet to come. There are so many ways in which the light of Christ can make our individual and congregational lives more a reflection of the goodness of Jesus and his coming glory. He is the resurrected one, after all, walking in our midst with a life that promises more of goodness and glory than has ever been since the Fall.
Therefore, we should not be nonchalant about how we live our Christian lives. "Whatever" is a common expression that so easily dismisses that which we do not understand or conflicts with our perspective or with which we do not want to deal. But, Jesus' words come to us like a thunderbolt, jarring us to awaken to his commands and promises. Attached to his word of love for us are acts to substantiate it and promises to invite us into such a life as his. We cannot be enticed into the darkness, nor stand idly by when we see others walking blindly into the shadows. "Whatever" is not the cry of the Christian witness. "This is the way; this is the truth; Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life," is the cry of the Christian witness. This is the word with which we respond to any and all cries for help from those who have lost their way, whether making too much of themselves or too little of themselves.
Like Paul, the Christian is the voice "from without" which speaks to the need at hand. Like John, the Christian conveys the vision that comes "from without" to offer a totally new way of looking at the path on which one walks and the horizon towards which one is heading.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Acts 16:9-15
Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, schematizes Paul's missionary endeavors among the Gentiles into three great journeys. He says that Paul set out from Jerusalem on his first journey, preached the gospel as he went up the coast of Syria to Antioch, crossed over the southern region of Asia Minor, and arrived at Lystra in central Asia Minor. There Paul was joined by Timothy, a believer who was the son of a Jewish Christian mother and a Greek father. Because of Timothy's Greek heritage, Paul circumcised Timothy to satisfy the requirements of the law -- a rather strange action to attribute to Paul (16:1-5) -- and Timothy continued the journey with the apostle. Paul's plan then was to evangelize in Galatia and Bithynia, in the interior of Asia Minor. But our text for the morning tells us that they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit or by the Spirit of Jesus to enter those regions at that time (16:6-7).
What does that mean? How did the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, speak to Paul? Our Gospel Lesson from John tells us that Jesus promised his disciples that he would come to them in the Holy Spirit after his crucifixion and resurrection. But we have no inkling of how the Spirit spoke to Paul, directing his travels. Was that a mystical experience in which Paul actually heard a voice, as so many Old Testament prophets heard one? Was it the result of Paul's own meditation and inner conviction -- a method not really found in the scriptures? Or did the Spirit speak through the voice of Paul's many opponents, forbidding him from entering their territory? As we all know, God can indeed speak to us sometimes through the voice of our enemies, to correct our ways, if we will listen. How do you become aware of the voice of God speaking to you -- through a sermon, a friend, a consciousness of an unseen presence -- for sometimes, the Spirit does speak, doesn't he? Every devout Christian knows that.
At Troas on the coast of Asia Minor, Paul is given a more direct summons, however. He has a vision -- a frequent occurrence in the scriptures -- of a man from Macedonia, in the Greek peninsula that reaches down into the Aegean Sea, calling him to "come over to Macedonia and help us" (v. 9). For that reason, Paul and Timothy journey to Philippi, an ancient city in northeastern Greece, where Paul founded his first European church. The Philippian church was one of Paul's favorite congregations, and he wrote the joyful letter to them that is now found in our New Testament. In addition to Paul's epistle, we still have a letter, dating from A.D. 125, that was written to the Philippian Christians by Polycarp of Smyrna. Philippi became an important church center. The episodes that follow in Acts 16:12-40 all take place in that city.
It is interesting that in verses 10-17, as well as in Acts 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1--28:16, Luke's third person account of Paul's adventures are described in the first person, with "we." It was thought for a time, therefore, that such passages were written by a travel companion of Paul's and were then inserted by Luke into his account. However, the style of the "we passages" is the same as that of Luke, and we now believe that Luke himself was so caught up in Paul's story that he identified with it, using the first person plural.
Verse 13 of our text tells us that on the sabbath day, Paul and Timothy sought a place of worship, but apparently the Jewish population of Philippi was not large enough to form a synagogue. There was, however, outside of the city gate, beside a river, a place of prayer where women gathered together for their worship of the Lord. In other words, it is a group of women who are carrying on the covenant faith in the Gentile Roman colony of Philippi, and that is not an unusual phenomenon in the church of any time. The faith of devoted women has always been a mainstay in the maintenance of the life of the church. It was a group of women who remained at the foot of Jesus' cross when the male disciples of Jesus fled for safety. It was women who went to his tomb to anoint his dead body and who first announced his resurrection. It is mainly women who are still seen in the meager congregations of dying churches in Great Britain, or who are the first attendees in churches recovering from communist and totalitarian repression. It is women who have staffed our Sunday schools and largely supported the missionary endeavors of churches in this country. The persistent faith of women has preserved the ongoing life of the church, and apparently it was no different in the time of Paul.
Lydia, with whom Paul talks at the place of prayer, is described in our text as a worshiper of God, from the city of Thyatira, an Asian city north of Ephesus. Apparently the Gentile Lydia had come into contact with a community of Jews in that city, and had adopted their covenant faith. Or it may be that she had adopted Christian beliefs from a small Christian community in Thyatira, because that church there is later addressed as one of the seven churches in Revelation (2:18-29). But Lydia has not yet been baptized into the church, the body of Christ.
In addition, Lydia is described as a "seller of purple goods," and apparently had gained some wealth, because purple cloth was a luxury item, associated with royalty and high standing. It was used for the garments of priests (Exodus 25:4), for the veil of the temple (Exodus 36:35), for Solomon's royal seat (Song 3:10), for a rich man's clothes (Luke 16:19), and for the kingly robe placed on Jesus' shoulders in mockery by the soldiers of Pontius Pilate (Mark 15:17-20). The purple dye was extracted from the shells of mollusks found along the coast of Syria and Lebanon, but each shell yielded so little that the dye was quite expensive.
When Lydia heard Paul's words about Jesus Christ, our text says that the Lord opened her heart to heed and believe the gospel, and as a result, Paul baptized her into the church. Her faith in the lordship of Christ, in the forgiveness of sins, and in the gift of eternal life was given her through Paul's preaching, as the faith of so many through the ages has been given through the instrument of the preached Word. Where the good news of Christ is truly preached, the church is nurtured and grows.
Interestingly, however, Paul baptizes not only Lydia but also her household. That can indicate Lydia's husband and children, but it also may indicate that a house church is formed, with Lydia as its leader. Churches in the first century were house churches, groups of Christians meeting together in homes, and Lydia is specifically mentioned first here, as the head of her house church. There are some denominations in our time who forbid women, on the basis of biblical texts lifted out of their canonical context, to have positions of leadership or authority in the church. But that prohibition is contradicted by the leadership of females in the New Testament churches. So Lydia joins a company of Prisca (Romans 16:1) and Junia (Romans 16:7) and female prophets (1 Corinthians11:5) and other women (cf. Acts 1:14) who exercised important leadership roles in the first century churches. (Space does not permit the full explication of the many scholarly studies that have shown such female leadership to have taken place.)
At the close of our text, in humble and hospitable fashion, Lydia invites Paul and Timothy to lodge at her house, and perhaps to worship with her little congregation, during their stay in Philippi. How remarkable it would have been to participate in that gathering of the faithful! But how remarkable it continues to be for us to meet together in our worship and to hear the words of Paul read still to us! Our faith spans centuries of committed discipleship. Thanks be to God for all of those followers of our Lord who have preserved and who still preserve the good news of Jesus Christ!
Acts 16:9-15
Just as Peter received a vision that inspired him to invite a Gentile into his Jewish world, Paul received a vision that invited him from his Jewish world literally to enter the Greek world. Asia and Europe became united in the missionary enterprise of the early church one night, when Paul experienced his vision. The kind of vision referred to would probably be compared to the experience of a profound dream, when one awakens and has a sense that there has been a vital communication given, whether between the subconscious and the ego or between God and the dreamer.
When Jesus gave his great commission to the disciples (according to Luke/Acts; key verse for the book of Acts is Acts 1:8), he identified the center out of which they would begin: Jerusalem. One of the most profound ways to influence an entire region, without having to walk every square foot of it, is to effect changes at the center, the hub of life. Jerusalem certainly was that for the Jews, the people of God who awaited the Messiah. Philippi was that for Macedonia, which became the beachhead for Christianity's incursion into the European continent and the world beyond.
Adverbs are fun constructions in the scripture; for example, Paul uses to express his sense of eschatological reality. Luke uses the word "immediately"; Mark predominantly uses a different form to express the urgency and excitement of what was happening through the ministry of Jesus to connect Paul's departure to Macedonia directly with the vision he experienced. Paul wasted no time in acting upon the message he received in his vision.
It is quite interesting to note that not only was Paul venturing off into unchartered waters in terms of evangelical outreach, but also that the first convert identified in this new land was a woman. One cannot help but pay attention to the prestigious role women play in the New Testament, both in witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus and in charting the way to accept him by faith as Lord and Savior. Such narratives as these underscore what Paul would write in Galatians 3:28 about how in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female.
Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5
In a teasing convolution of what is known and what cannot yet be known, the seer of Revelation is privileged to glimpse the wonder of what is yet to be from the hand of God. In images from earth we are treated to a view of heavenly glory. Drawing from the earlier appearance of "one like a son of man" (Revelation 1:13) who walked among the seven lampstands representing the seven churches of Asia Minor to which the book is addressed, the vision reaches a climax with this "one" identified clearly as the "Lamb," who himself now is the light that illuminates the new creation from the hand of God. Not only is it true that "the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5), but it will never overcome it! "There shall be no night there" (21:25). The victory over sin and evil is complete and the assurance is certain.
True religion is finally freed from its earthly trappings, like a temple, for God himself is the holy presence permeating all, not contained in temporal or spatially limiting places. This is a profound concept for a people who have been so conditioned to think in terms of holy places, like Mount Horeb and Bethel and Jerusalem. More than this, true religion is finally freed from earthly trappings like ritual actions to ensure and express purity, for there will be "nothing unclean" (21:27) present. The memory of Antioches Epiphanes and his Abomination of Desolation (sacrificing a pig on the altar in the Temple) will be erased. Roman polytheism will be a thing of the past. The constant worry about ritual purity for right worship of the Holy One will be set aside. The perceived need to store up good works to merit God's favor will be absolved. The struggle itself for purity of heart will be resolved. Kierkegaard can rest (Purity Of Heart Is To Will One Thing), for the sin that has interfered with the one thing necessary -- to draw near to God -- has been overcome by the good news that God ultimately draws near to us! The seer expresses this earlier when he writes, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them" (Revelation 21:3). Or, as he captured the Christmas narrative in a single sentence in his gospel account, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
Picture the rulers of this world bringing their "glory" (pale, of course, compared to the glory of the Lord) into the New Jerusalem, where it will be subject to the radiant splendor of God's glory. This visualizes what Paul writes about when he claims that Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11) and that at the last day God will subject all things under him (1 Corinthians 15:24-27). This is the fulfillment of the eschatological hope that Isaiah expressed centuries earlier: "Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:3).
As if all this were not enough, the vision continues with the sights of "the river of the water of life" (22:1) and "the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit" (22:2), guaranteeing an endless supply of nourishment for life eternal. The consequences of the Fall, symbolized by the leaves behind which Adam and Eve hid their shame, are reversed; for now the leaves of the tree are used to heal the nations. The victory of forgiveness over sin and life over death is complete. The concepts of beyond (the eschaton) are expressed through metaphors from below (Lamb, light, river, tree, leaves), so that we can grasp some sense of the marvel that is being presented for the understanding of faith.
Paul's insight into the difference between now and then (1 Corinthians 13:12) is correct with the added assurance that we will not just be with the Lord; we shall be the Lord's. His name written on every believer's forehead sets them apart for the Lord (see also Revelation 14:1), distinguishing them from those who have the name of the beast imprinted on them (Revelation 13:16-17). It also fulfills the Law which heretofore was tied "as frontlets between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8) to remind the believer of the dutiful life on earth in response to God's great acts of deliverance. Now (which is then), faith and hope give way to the endless, ever-present, i.e., eternal, love expressed by those who are in the Lamb's book of life enjoying the absolute presence of God the Almighty and the Lamb!
John 14:23-29
Jesus really is good to his disciples. During the anguish of Holy Week (dropping in the polls from first to last place -- "Give us Barabbas!" -- betrayed by one of his own, denied by his best, forsaken by his trusted, crucified by human injustice -- but for God's divine justice, buried in a borrowed grave, and, dare we add, descending into hell), he has taken time to wash their feet, comfort them and instruct them for the living of their days. He gives them these gifts for their sake, because he knows that his time has finally come (see John 2:4). The disciples being human, he understands that they will forget and construe what he has been training them in and for; so, he promises to send to them the Holy Spirit as adviser, helper to remind them what their experience of Jesus has been about for themselves and for the world. Luke would be the one to record the event in which this happened most dramatically (Acts 2). The testimony of the Holy Spirit will not be to a new doctrine; it will be to the revelation of God the Father through Jesus (14:24b). That is why Jesus can say that those who keep his word will be loved by the Father, since it ultimately is the Father's word that is being obeyed. Here is an expression of the Trinitarian economy of God: the Son reveals the Father as witnessed by the Holy Spirit.
One could spend a month of Sundays counting through the scriptures the number of times there appears such words as "Fear not; let not your hearts be troubled; peace be with you." These are words that should have been rightly spoken to Jesus by the Father during this week, but we have no record of it. On the cross, Jesus agonized whether this comforting word was true for him. Yet, he does not hesitate to offer it to his disciples, that they may be encouraged in their faltering walk of faith. Despite all the bravado, humans can be such timid creatures. Indiana Jones was afraid of snakes; Martin Luther, of the rustling leaves; how many countless, of the dark?
Jesus does not leave any doubt about how his disciples can demonstrate their love for him. "Keep my word," Jesus says. His word is defined as a life of love. His word is the commandment to love one another, just as he has loved. See John 14:15 and 15:12-17. Love responds to the wholeness and the hole-ness of the other. Though fallen, we are still created in the image of God. Though created in the image of God, we are still fallen. As we exercise love for one another, who are the created and re-created beloved of God, we reflect the love of Jesus for us all and echo his purpose for coming into the world -- to love the world, "not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17). Whatever help is needed on the face of this earth can be offered by the disciples of Jesus in his name, that his word may be heard by those longing to hear and that our love for him may be manifest for his pleasure and the Father's satisfaction.
Application
Where do we need to be listening and dreaming more intently in order to hear the cries for help that arise from our human condition? There are cries coming from all quarters, if we will only open our eyes and ears and hearts to that inner sense of discernment that is a gift from God. Just as with the Macedonian call for help (16:9), pleas in our present day arise from within the community of need to which the church must be attuned. This means that we can never slam any doors shut in the face of anyone that we may consider "outside the fold." This applies for the child molester, the homosexual, the chronic welfare family, and the parents who kill their offspring, to mention a few. This is not to set aside matters of justice and repentance where needed. It is to expose the hardened heart of those who claim to follow Christ, but close doors in the face of those who need Christ as much as anyone. Who else do you see being treated this way which robs them of their human dignity and their sense of belonging to the human race for whom Jesus died?
Can the church delay in delivering Christian compassion and relevant assistance to anyone in need, as some congregations do by endless special interest study groups who explore issues, but never get beyond the talking stage? How might congregations better respond immediately with tangible expressions of the outstretched hands of the risen Christ, whose body we are in the world today?
We who claim to live by the light of Jesus must be active in pushing back the encroaching darkness wherever we find it. We have authority to do this as reflections of the light. Our courage and persistence and endurance to do so is inspired by the vision we have: day will rule night and eventually there will be no night. In Jesus, we have life to offer the world (John 8:12). The light of life is already in the world; we do not have to wait for the eschaton to see it or experience. It will shine brighter, for sure; but, for now we can expect there to be pockets of light in a dark world, that others may see and believe and shape their lives now for the life yet to come. This was the motivation behind Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof communities begun in Germany after World War I and continuing today in various parts of the world. Arnold writes of the necessity to live in community "as signposts to the ultimate unity of all people, which is found in God's love and in the power of his coming kingdom" (Why We Live in Community). Arnold heard in Jesus' message "the promise that ultimately the earth will be won wholly for God." So, with confidence he expected that there could be a realization now of the future invisible kingdom. He took Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to heart and trusted that God would shape such a lifestyle in Christian community now in anticipation of the fulness of such devotion yet to come. There are so many ways in which the light of Christ can make our individual and congregational lives more a reflection of the goodness of Jesus and his coming glory. He is the resurrected one, after all, walking in our midst with a life that promises more of goodness and glory than has ever been since the Fall.
Therefore, we should not be nonchalant about how we live our Christian lives. "Whatever" is a common expression that so easily dismisses that which we do not understand or conflicts with our perspective or with which we do not want to deal. But, Jesus' words come to us like a thunderbolt, jarring us to awaken to his commands and promises. Attached to his word of love for us are acts to substantiate it and promises to invite us into such a life as his. We cannot be enticed into the darkness, nor stand idly by when we see others walking blindly into the shadows. "Whatever" is not the cry of the Christian witness. "This is the way; this is the truth; Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life," is the cry of the Christian witness. This is the word with which we respond to any and all cries for help from those who have lost their way, whether making too much of themselves or too little of themselves.
Like Paul, the Christian is the voice "from without" which speaks to the need at hand. Like John, the Christian conveys the vision that comes "from without" to offer a totally new way of looking at the path on which one walks and the horizon towards which one is heading.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By Elizabeth Achtemeier
Acts 16:9-15
Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, schematizes Paul's missionary endeavors among the Gentiles into three great journeys. He says that Paul set out from Jerusalem on his first journey, preached the gospel as he went up the coast of Syria to Antioch, crossed over the southern region of Asia Minor, and arrived at Lystra in central Asia Minor. There Paul was joined by Timothy, a believer who was the son of a Jewish Christian mother and a Greek father. Because of Timothy's Greek heritage, Paul circumcised Timothy to satisfy the requirements of the law -- a rather strange action to attribute to Paul (16:1-5) -- and Timothy continued the journey with the apostle. Paul's plan then was to evangelize in Galatia and Bithynia, in the interior of Asia Minor. But our text for the morning tells us that they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit or by the Spirit of Jesus to enter those regions at that time (16:6-7).
What does that mean? How did the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, speak to Paul? Our Gospel Lesson from John tells us that Jesus promised his disciples that he would come to them in the Holy Spirit after his crucifixion and resurrection. But we have no inkling of how the Spirit spoke to Paul, directing his travels. Was that a mystical experience in which Paul actually heard a voice, as so many Old Testament prophets heard one? Was it the result of Paul's own meditation and inner conviction -- a method not really found in the scriptures? Or did the Spirit speak through the voice of Paul's many opponents, forbidding him from entering their territory? As we all know, God can indeed speak to us sometimes through the voice of our enemies, to correct our ways, if we will listen. How do you become aware of the voice of God speaking to you -- through a sermon, a friend, a consciousness of an unseen presence -- for sometimes, the Spirit does speak, doesn't he? Every devout Christian knows that.
At Troas on the coast of Asia Minor, Paul is given a more direct summons, however. He has a vision -- a frequent occurrence in the scriptures -- of a man from Macedonia, in the Greek peninsula that reaches down into the Aegean Sea, calling him to "come over to Macedonia and help us" (v. 9). For that reason, Paul and Timothy journey to Philippi, an ancient city in northeastern Greece, where Paul founded his first European church. The Philippian church was one of Paul's favorite congregations, and he wrote the joyful letter to them that is now found in our New Testament. In addition to Paul's epistle, we still have a letter, dating from A.D. 125, that was written to the Philippian Christians by Polycarp of Smyrna. Philippi became an important church center. The episodes that follow in Acts 16:12-40 all take place in that city.
It is interesting that in verses 10-17, as well as in Acts 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1--28:16, Luke's third person account of Paul's adventures are described in the first person, with "we." It was thought for a time, therefore, that such passages were written by a travel companion of Paul's and were then inserted by Luke into his account. However, the style of the "we passages" is the same as that of Luke, and we now believe that Luke himself was so caught up in Paul's story that he identified with it, using the first person plural.
Verse 13 of our text tells us that on the sabbath day, Paul and Timothy sought a place of worship, but apparently the Jewish population of Philippi was not large enough to form a synagogue. There was, however, outside of the city gate, beside a river, a place of prayer where women gathered together for their worship of the Lord. In other words, it is a group of women who are carrying on the covenant faith in the Gentile Roman colony of Philippi, and that is not an unusual phenomenon in the church of any time. The faith of devoted women has always been a mainstay in the maintenance of the life of the church. It was a group of women who remained at the foot of Jesus' cross when the male disciples of Jesus fled for safety. It was women who went to his tomb to anoint his dead body and who first announced his resurrection. It is mainly women who are still seen in the meager congregations of dying churches in Great Britain, or who are the first attendees in churches recovering from communist and totalitarian repression. It is women who have staffed our Sunday schools and largely supported the missionary endeavors of churches in this country. The persistent faith of women has preserved the ongoing life of the church, and apparently it was no different in the time of Paul.
Lydia, with whom Paul talks at the place of prayer, is described in our text as a worshiper of God, from the city of Thyatira, an Asian city north of Ephesus. Apparently the Gentile Lydia had come into contact with a community of Jews in that city, and had adopted their covenant faith. Or it may be that she had adopted Christian beliefs from a small Christian community in Thyatira, because that church there is later addressed as one of the seven churches in Revelation (2:18-29). But Lydia has not yet been baptized into the church, the body of Christ.
In addition, Lydia is described as a "seller of purple goods," and apparently had gained some wealth, because purple cloth was a luxury item, associated with royalty and high standing. It was used for the garments of priests (Exodus 25:4), for the veil of the temple (Exodus 36:35), for Solomon's royal seat (Song 3:10), for a rich man's clothes (Luke 16:19), and for the kingly robe placed on Jesus' shoulders in mockery by the soldiers of Pontius Pilate (Mark 15:17-20). The purple dye was extracted from the shells of mollusks found along the coast of Syria and Lebanon, but each shell yielded so little that the dye was quite expensive.
When Lydia heard Paul's words about Jesus Christ, our text says that the Lord opened her heart to heed and believe the gospel, and as a result, Paul baptized her into the church. Her faith in the lordship of Christ, in the forgiveness of sins, and in the gift of eternal life was given her through Paul's preaching, as the faith of so many through the ages has been given through the instrument of the preached Word. Where the good news of Christ is truly preached, the church is nurtured and grows.
Interestingly, however, Paul baptizes not only Lydia but also her household. That can indicate Lydia's husband and children, but it also may indicate that a house church is formed, with Lydia as its leader. Churches in the first century were house churches, groups of Christians meeting together in homes, and Lydia is specifically mentioned first here, as the head of her house church. There are some denominations in our time who forbid women, on the basis of biblical texts lifted out of their canonical context, to have positions of leadership or authority in the church. But that prohibition is contradicted by the leadership of females in the New Testament churches. So Lydia joins a company of Prisca (Romans 16:1) and Junia (Romans 16:7) and female prophets (1 Corinthians11:5) and other women (cf. Acts 1:14) who exercised important leadership roles in the first century churches. (Space does not permit the full explication of the many scholarly studies that have shown such female leadership to have taken place.)
At the close of our text, in humble and hospitable fashion, Lydia invites Paul and Timothy to lodge at her house, and perhaps to worship with her little congregation, during their stay in Philippi. How remarkable it would have been to participate in that gathering of the faithful! But how remarkable it continues to be for us to meet together in our worship and to hear the words of Paul read still to us! Our faith spans centuries of committed discipleship. Thanks be to God for all of those followers of our Lord who have preserved and who still preserve the good news of Jesus Christ!
