Easter 2
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
We must obey God rather than any human authority.
-- Acts 5:29
Our whole life consists of obeying some form of human authority. Most likely you are told by those who employ you the hours that you are expected to be at work. The legislature enacts laws that we are expected to obey as we live in our society. We are expected to stop at stoplights and travel within a predefined rate of speed. Our teachers expect us to complete our homework and attend the majority of our classes.
In most cases, we can think of exceptional circumstances that would encourage us to act in ways that were contrary to what the authority had defined for us. It is possible that if you told a policeman, who had stopped you for speeding, that you were rushing to visit your dying mother in the hospital, he might assist you in your journey. Even if you were an obvious member of the clergy, what would you expect the reaction to be if you told a policeman who had stopped you for speeding that you must obey God rather than human authority?
As Christians, we believe that God should be the ultimate authority in our lives, but we rarely assume that applies to the practical everyday events in our lives. If we believe that they are sincere, we can admire those who are, in the name of God, willing to defy their government in protest against some horrendous policy of the country. We often fear the results if such an attitude would become general policy. As they grew in numbers, this radical freedom of Christians became a threat to the power of governments.
What would it mean for you to continually ask yourself if this is what God would want of you in this situation? Peter was willing to defy his nation and its religious authorities rather than disobey Jesus who he believed had been exalted by God and called the people to repentance. Would a Christian church respond differently to the issues of our society than the general populace? Is the fact that many polls suggest little difference between the response of Christians and non-Christians to the issues of our society evidence of the fact that we have chosen to obey human authority rather than God in the everyday decisions of our lives? Does our Easter faith call us to a more radical obedience?
-- Acts 5:29
Our whole life consists of obeying some form of human authority. Most likely you are told by those who employ you the hours that you are expected to be at work. The legislature enacts laws that we are expected to obey as we live in our society. We are expected to stop at stoplights and travel within a predefined rate of speed. Our teachers expect us to complete our homework and attend the majority of our classes.
In most cases, we can think of exceptional circumstances that would encourage us to act in ways that were contrary to what the authority had defined for us. It is possible that if you told a policeman, who had stopped you for speeding, that you were rushing to visit your dying mother in the hospital, he might assist you in your journey. Even if you were an obvious member of the clergy, what would you expect the reaction to be if you told a policeman who had stopped you for speeding that you must obey God rather than human authority?
As Christians, we believe that God should be the ultimate authority in our lives, but we rarely assume that applies to the practical everyday events in our lives. If we believe that they are sincere, we can admire those who are, in the name of God, willing to defy their government in protest against some horrendous policy of the country. We often fear the results if such an attitude would become general policy. As they grew in numbers, this radical freedom of Christians became a threat to the power of governments.
What would it mean for you to continually ask yourself if this is what God would want of you in this situation? Peter was willing to defy his nation and its religious authorities rather than disobey Jesus who he believed had been exalted by God and called the people to repentance. Would a Christian church respond differently to the issues of our society than the general populace? Is the fact that many polls suggest little difference between the response of Christians and non-Christians to the issues of our society evidence of the fact that we have chosen to obey human authority rather than God in the everyday decisions of our lives? Does our Easter faith call us to a more radical obedience?
