Easter 4
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
Acts 4:5-12
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.
-- Acts 4:12
This verse along with John 14:6b, "No one comes to the Father except through me," is the basis for a triumphalist attitude of the Christian church toward other faiths. Unfortunately, the attitude derived from this absolutist claim has resulted in events such as the crusades and the holocaust. While such a conclusion is in complete contrast to Jesus who demonstrated openness to outsiders and who tried to heal rather than exclude, such behavior has been justified by these verses. The context of this verse is important. Peter and John have just healed a lame beggar and told the crowd that the power to heal him had come from their God who had also raised Jesus from the dead. Then Peter addressed the Sanhedrin who had been the authority that rejected Jesus and turned him over to the Romans to be crucified.
When Peter declares that "there is no other name under heaven," we have to decide whether he is speaking of Jesus as the revelation of the word or truth of God or whether he is speaking of Jesus as the exclusive instrument of God. If it is the latter, then Jesus can be possessed by others, but the unbelievers must come to Christians to receive God's blessing. If it is the former, then in Jesus we have seen the servant ministry of Christ as the way of salvation. In our increasingly pluralistic world, where we have met people of other faiths that demonstrate what to us is a "Christlike life," can we trust in the mercy of God for them as well?
Could this be what Jesus was referring to when he said, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold, I must bring them also..."? (John 10:16). Does this also raise a caution about those who claim Jesus' name but act in ways that betray that very name through arrogance and cruelty? Was Peter contrasting the faith of the Sanhedrin who had permitted the crucifixion of an innocent person with his faith in the one who had willingly given his life that others might live? Perhaps it was less a statement about people of other faiths and more a challenge to the authenticity of our own faith.
Psalm 23
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
-- Psalm 23:5
There is perhaps no more well-known passage in the book of Psalms than Psalm 23. The lectionary usually chooses a psalm to be read as a response to the previous lesson. If we think of this psalm in relation to Peter and John being dragged before the Sanhedrin, certain phrases take on new meaning for us.
In the gospels, Jesus predicts that the faithful will be hauled before councils and governments to give an account of their faith. At such time they were told that they need not worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit would provide them with the right words. So Peter, filled with the Spirit, has the right words to speak to his accusers.
Whether it is the turmoil of the world or the tension within a given congregation, there are times when we feel surrounded by our enemies. It is not only the Sanhedrin who challenges us to tell them by what authority that we do what we do. The psalm reminds us that even in the midst of the challenges of our life, we have a Lord who does provide us with everything that we truly need. By relying on God as our shepherd, we find restoration for our soul and the right path to follow.
God sometimes chastises us as a shepherd does with a rod and sometimes rescues us as a shepherd does with the crook of the staff. There are respites of goodness and mercy that sustain us even in the midst of our enemies. This is not a faith of arrogance that ignores the challenges of those who accuse us. Rather it is a faith of humility that recognizes that even accusations can be an opportunity for us to testify to our faith. This is what Peter discovered, and this same faith is available to us.
1 John 3:16-24
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
-- 1 John 3:18
John is a pastor of his flock. He has heard the words of faith and then watched people treat each other with a lack of love. Jesus said that all of the law and the prophets were summed up in the twin commandments of love of God and neighbor, and John urges his congregation to demonstrate that love. He uses the very actions of Jesus to demonstrate the true meaning of love. This is not a feeling we have that attracts us to another. This is an action we take on behalf of another. Love is a verb and not an abstract feeling. "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another" (v. 16).
Any pastor or active member of a church has sometimes been discouraged to see members who loudly proclaim their faith in Christ turn and take actions or make decisions for the church that reflect a cruel indifference to the needs of some other person or group. Historians suggest that the dramatic attraction of the early church to nonbelievers was that they saw these Christians risking their own safety and comfort to respond to the neediest of their society.
The powerful effect of Mother Teresa on the world was not based on her wealth, power, or even intellect. It was due to her almost single-minded devotion to serving the most needy of the streets in India. An individual or a church begins their renewal of faith when they shift their focus from themselves and begin to search out someone or some group that is clearly in need. When they respond without asking anything in return, they discover Christ waiting for them there.
John 10:11-18
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold, I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
-- John 10:16a
It is difficult to be sure of whom Jesus is speaking. On one level he is surely speaking of including the Gentiles as the church reaches beyond Judaism. But as the living Christ who continues to speak to the church in her ever-changing context, could he also be speaking to us as we become increasingly familiar with our pluralistic world? Can Jesus now be speaking to us with respect to people of other faiths as well? Jesus speaks of them listening to his voice and his needing to respond to them. The vision that he offers is that of one flock and one shepherd.
People have often dreamed of one world religion, and yet we often divide and even engage in religious wars over the particulars. It is important to note that Jesus speaks of others hearing his voice because he lays down his life for them. If the church is the extension of Christ on earth, then our voice speaks to those outside of the church when we voluntarily sacrifice on their behalf. Can you imagine the different outcome of the crusades or the holocaust if Christians had voluntarily risked their lives on behalf of the Muslims or the Jews? A faith that includes everyone is not a faith that overwhelms others but a faith that serves others.
The Korean church has designed an approach to evangelism that approaches another person at their point of need. Only when they have addressed that person's need and the person's inquires, do they proceed to tell the story of their faith. The good news of the gospel is that each person has a story to tell and that his or her life has meaning because it is part of a much larger story. When we address their need, we declare that their story is important. When they understand that their story is part of a much larger story of the unfolding of the universe, then their life has meaning. When we join their story with our story, we rediscover the meaning of our lives as well.
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.
-- Acts 4:12
This verse along with John 14:6b, "No one comes to the Father except through me," is the basis for a triumphalist attitude of the Christian church toward other faiths. Unfortunately, the attitude derived from this absolutist claim has resulted in events such as the crusades and the holocaust. While such a conclusion is in complete contrast to Jesus who demonstrated openness to outsiders and who tried to heal rather than exclude, such behavior has been justified by these verses. The context of this verse is important. Peter and John have just healed a lame beggar and told the crowd that the power to heal him had come from their God who had also raised Jesus from the dead. Then Peter addressed the Sanhedrin who had been the authority that rejected Jesus and turned him over to the Romans to be crucified.
When Peter declares that "there is no other name under heaven," we have to decide whether he is speaking of Jesus as the revelation of the word or truth of God or whether he is speaking of Jesus as the exclusive instrument of God. If it is the latter, then Jesus can be possessed by others, but the unbelievers must come to Christians to receive God's blessing. If it is the former, then in Jesus we have seen the servant ministry of Christ as the way of salvation. In our increasingly pluralistic world, where we have met people of other faiths that demonstrate what to us is a "Christlike life," can we trust in the mercy of God for them as well?
Could this be what Jesus was referring to when he said, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold, I must bring them also..."? (John 10:16). Does this also raise a caution about those who claim Jesus' name but act in ways that betray that very name through arrogance and cruelty? Was Peter contrasting the faith of the Sanhedrin who had permitted the crucifixion of an innocent person with his faith in the one who had willingly given his life that others might live? Perhaps it was less a statement about people of other faiths and more a challenge to the authenticity of our own faith.
Psalm 23
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
-- Psalm 23:5
There is perhaps no more well-known passage in the book of Psalms than Psalm 23. The lectionary usually chooses a psalm to be read as a response to the previous lesson. If we think of this psalm in relation to Peter and John being dragged before the Sanhedrin, certain phrases take on new meaning for us.
In the gospels, Jesus predicts that the faithful will be hauled before councils and governments to give an account of their faith. At such time they were told that they need not worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit would provide them with the right words. So Peter, filled with the Spirit, has the right words to speak to his accusers.
Whether it is the turmoil of the world or the tension within a given congregation, there are times when we feel surrounded by our enemies. It is not only the Sanhedrin who challenges us to tell them by what authority that we do what we do. The psalm reminds us that even in the midst of the challenges of our life, we have a Lord who does provide us with everything that we truly need. By relying on God as our shepherd, we find restoration for our soul and the right path to follow.
God sometimes chastises us as a shepherd does with a rod and sometimes rescues us as a shepherd does with the crook of the staff. There are respites of goodness and mercy that sustain us even in the midst of our enemies. This is not a faith of arrogance that ignores the challenges of those who accuse us. Rather it is a faith of humility that recognizes that even accusations can be an opportunity for us to testify to our faith. This is what Peter discovered, and this same faith is available to us.
1 John 3:16-24
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
-- 1 John 3:18
John is a pastor of his flock. He has heard the words of faith and then watched people treat each other with a lack of love. Jesus said that all of the law and the prophets were summed up in the twin commandments of love of God and neighbor, and John urges his congregation to demonstrate that love. He uses the very actions of Jesus to demonstrate the true meaning of love. This is not a feeling we have that attracts us to another. This is an action we take on behalf of another. Love is a verb and not an abstract feeling. "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us -- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another" (v. 16).
Any pastor or active member of a church has sometimes been discouraged to see members who loudly proclaim their faith in Christ turn and take actions or make decisions for the church that reflect a cruel indifference to the needs of some other person or group. Historians suggest that the dramatic attraction of the early church to nonbelievers was that they saw these Christians risking their own safety and comfort to respond to the neediest of their society.
The powerful effect of Mother Teresa on the world was not based on her wealth, power, or even intellect. It was due to her almost single-minded devotion to serving the most needy of the streets in India. An individual or a church begins their renewal of faith when they shift their focus from themselves and begin to search out someone or some group that is clearly in need. When they respond without asking anything in return, they discover Christ waiting for them there.
John 10:11-18
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold, I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
-- John 10:16a
It is difficult to be sure of whom Jesus is speaking. On one level he is surely speaking of including the Gentiles as the church reaches beyond Judaism. But as the living Christ who continues to speak to the church in her ever-changing context, could he also be speaking to us as we become increasingly familiar with our pluralistic world? Can Jesus now be speaking to us with respect to people of other faiths as well? Jesus speaks of them listening to his voice and his needing to respond to them. The vision that he offers is that of one flock and one shepherd.
People have often dreamed of one world religion, and yet we often divide and even engage in religious wars over the particulars. It is important to note that Jesus speaks of others hearing his voice because he lays down his life for them. If the church is the extension of Christ on earth, then our voice speaks to those outside of the church when we voluntarily sacrifice on their behalf. Can you imagine the different outcome of the crusades or the holocaust if Christians had voluntarily risked their lives on behalf of the Muslims or the Jews? A faith that includes everyone is not a faith that overwhelms others but a faith that serves others.
The Korean church has designed an approach to evangelism that approaches another person at their point of need. Only when they have addressed that person's need and the person's inquires, do they proceed to tell the story of their faith. The good news of the gospel is that each person has a story to tell and that his or her life has meaning because it is part of a much larger story. When we address their need, we declare that their story is important. When they understand that their story is part of a much larger story of the unfolding of the universe, then their life has meaning. When we join their story with our story, we rediscover the meaning of our lives as well.
