Daily Lenten Post, Day 12

I did read Acts 18:1-23 today, but I also read the Old Testament lection for Sunday, and I'm going to write about that today.

Exodus 20:1-17--The Ten Commandments
So, maybe we don't think of the Ten Commandments as anything that interesting to write about, but I actually think they are. For all the hoopla people make about them, I wonder how many could actually list them all. How many of us actually follow them, too? They may seem like basic rules, but they're not really all easy to follow. You can let me know if you disagree.

We convince ourselves that we're doing the first two pretty well--having no other gods and worshiping no idols--but I'm not always convinced of that, in my own life, at least. There are always lots of things that distract us from God, and I believe that we sometimes just worship them, in one way or another. I mean, I went to Duke Divinity School. When people crack the old "Duke Chapel isn't the only place people worship at Duke" joke, it's not entirely a joke...

So, we move on to the third commandment: don't use God's name frivolously. I'm sometime surprised at how I let this one slip. I never used to, when I was younger, but my habits have changed as I've found myself living and working around different people. I'd really like to break myself of this again, and reading this scripture makes that sound like a really good idea!

Ah, the fourth commandment--keep the Sabbath day holy. I probably shouldn't even get started on how much contemporary culture's disregard for this bothers me. Honestly, it's not even so much that so many people don't go to church that gets to me. What concerns me so much is the inability we have to ever stop and rest. I'm not exempt from the temptation to work, work, work, all the time, but I try to guard some time for rest and re-connection with God. Isn't there value in stopping everything for a day or so, every now and then? Do we really need stores that are open 24 hours a day, or stores that are open 365 days a year? Couldn't we all take a breather??

Moving on, we have the command to "honor your father and mother," which my study Bible says actually means to take care of parents in their old age. If that's the case, we have completely misrepresented this commandment for centuries. Also, if that's the case, there are a lot of people not following this one. I get frustrated when older members of a church are not being cared for by children who are capable of doing so. I won't preach about that here, though.

We might think that "do not kill" is pretty cut and dried, but some of your translations say "do not murder," instead, and that's where there's some debate.

"Do not commit adultery...Do not steal." Well, you get the point there.

I was always raised to believe that "do not bear false witness" just meant do not lie. It really is more of an injunction against slander, though, right? Don't drag someone's name through the mud and abuse it. Earlier, we were told not to do that with God's name. It makes sense that we shouldn't do that with others, too. I wonder if this means that I need to learn to speak more positively about people, even when I disagree with them. Probably so.

Finally, we're told not to desire what's not ours. My study Bible notes that this was meant for people who have wealth not to take advantage of people who don't. That's not really the way we boil it down for our kids, though, and it has a lot more implications for all of us who "have," if we look at it that way. The end game is not to amass wealth, and especially not at the cost of others.

Well, that's probably a closer look at the Ten Commandments than I've taken for a long time. I know of preachers who do whole sermon series on these, one at a time, though, so maybe this is something to keep in mind...

Lenten Daily Post, Day 11 (I think)

This whole keeping track of what day of Lent we're in AND not counting the Sundays might make my head explode, by the time Easter gets here!! So, whatever day of Lent it actually is, here's my post for today:

Acts 17:16-34--Paul in Athens
I like the story of Paul in Athens, at least in part because I've been to Athens and I know some things about Greek culture. I've seen the agora, the Acropolis, and the Areopagus (which the Common English Bible translates as "Mars Hill"), which are all mentioned in this passage. So, unlike other days when I said that all the place names are meaningless to me, these mean something to me, and that does make the story more interesting to me, I think. Maybe I need to do some more traveling!

Anyway, I laugh when I read verse 21, where the writer says that all the people in Athens did nothing but talk about the newest thing all the time. That is so how we picture philosophers, isn't it? And it's how we might imagine theologians doing their "work," too, for that matter. Of course, Paul knows that is not the only way we "do" faith, but when in Rome, as they say, right? ;)

So Paul adapts really well to his audience here, to try to get the point across to some of these Athenians. He succeeds, too! Now, maybe he would have hoped for more converts, but at least he got some, right? Despite how annoyed we might get with Paul, I think his strategy here is really impressive--he is so learned and culturally aware, and he's very knowledgeable and clever. It's interesting that the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in this story, and that Paul does not mention Jesus' name, but I wonder if that's not a literary device. The identity of God is hidden, in order to appeal more to the Greeks, but God is at work so very plainly to see. It's like the story of Esther--Esther can't speak about God, but God is very much at work in her story, we believe.

What do you think about Paul's trip to Athens? Does he just try to blend in with the culture, or does he employ a good strategy for reaching people "where they are," as they say? I think the comments feature is enabled, so you can comment below. If not, you can email me at betzy.elifrits.warren@gmail.com and I'll see if I can fix it. I'd love to read your feedback!

Second Sunday in Lent

For today, we're back to Acts. This one is short, but hey, Sunday posts are bonus posts, right?

Acts 17:1-15

After reading verses 5-9, I have some serious misgivings about law and order in that society! The Jews found some thugs, and when they couldn't find Paul and Silas at the house where they'd been staying, they just made trouble for the homeowner and his family and got them arrested. What??!

So Paul and Silas headed on to Beroea, and at least things went slightly better there...until some jerks from Thessalonica showed up and stirred up trouble all over again. I really think they should have had something better to do.

That's a question I have a lot in the book of Acts. It seems like the "bad guys" spend a lot of time just following Paul and his companions around and trying to get rid of them. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising, though. After all, that's pretty much what Paul was up to when he was still called Saul, wasn't it? He spent so much time and energy searching for and persecuting people who were followers of The Way, that he was really well known for it. It's ironic how the tables have turned, eh?

Daily Lenten Post, Day 10

My morning devotional directed me toward two of the lectionary readings for tomorrow, so I'll post about those today, rather than about the book of Acts, just for something a little bit different!

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
It's interesting that the lectionary skips the verses here that focus on circumcision. Doing so allows the focus to be more on some other aspects of Abraham's encounter with God, I guess.

So God shows up here--El Shaddai, as he identifies himself--and seems to command Abram to follow him. "Walk with me and be trustworthy," God says. It might help us to know that this is not Abram's first encounter with God, and it's not without reason that God encourages Abram to do things honestly. (Check out the preceding 4 or 5 chapters to see what Abram's been up to since God first told him to head out from the place he'd always known. Not everything Abram did was on the up and up, so much...) But it is interesting that after quite a few years now--24 or so?--Abram's been on the go, trying to figure out what God meant when God promised to make many nations out of him. No matter what else Abram may have tried, the fact remains that he and Sarai still have no kids...and let's be honest, it's not looking very good for them. So God shows up. Maybe Abram needed the reminder of the covenant God had made with him so many years ago. Maybe Abram needed some encouragement to keep on going. Maybe Abram needed a kick in the pants. After all, he had listened to Sarai and had a kid with Sarai's slave girl, and that didn't end up working out so well. We can imagine that God has reason to be hesitant about how things are going to work out with this one!

But Abram remains faithful, scripture tells us. In fact, Paul expands on this quite a lot in the letter to the Romans. Romans 4:13-25 is the epistle reading for tomorrow, so let's get some of that in here, too:
18 When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations, in keeping with the promise God spoke to him: That’s how many descendants you will have.[a] 19 Without losing faith, Abraham, who was nearly 100 years old, took into account his own body, which was as good as dead, and Sarah’s womb, which was dead. 20 He didn’t hesitate with a lack of faith in God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith and gave glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised. 22 Therefore, it was credited to him as righteousness.

Now, I don't know what version of Genesis Paul is reading, but I gotta say that I think Abram doesn't always come off as quite so faithful. I mean, he questions God sometimes--"How are you going to keep your promise, when I don't even have one son, God??" which isn't necessarily unfaithful, but he also tries to hurry up God's plan by having this child with Hagar--why would he think that would be the solution?! We might want to pick on him a bit, but I think that doing that might ultimately just make us more comfortable with the ways we lack faith and faithfulness, at times, ourselves. So, I'll take it easy on Abram today. His faith, even with a few mistakes, is still pretty impressive. And he got the bonus of hearing God make promises, first-hand. That's pretty cool!

One other part of this passage seems noteworthy at the moment--there's much more that could be said, of course--and that is the name change that happens here. Abram becomes Abraham, and our Bibles tell us that means something significant. Sarai becomes Sarah, which nobody can really figure out--it doesn't really seem to mean anything different. No matter how meaningful or not it was meant to be, though, we often read it as a new beginning and a shift in identity, as God's promises are being fulfilled in these two elders' lives. Maybe it's good to spend some time considering how my identity changes in noticeable ways, as God's promises are revealed in and around me. Hmm...

Daily Lenten Post, Day 9

Acts has so many wonderful stories! Today's are some of my favorites, so this may be a little bit long.

Acts 16:6-10--Vision of the Macedonian

As cool as reading about the Holy Spirit is, it seems weird that the Spirit wouldn't let them speak or visit some places, and it makes me wonder how much I'm missing the Holy Spirit in my own life and ministry. How many of us practice being truly aware of the Spirit's presence and leading in our lives? How would our discipleship look different, if we were more open to how the Spirit is at work? The stories of the early church ask us these questions.

Verse 10 says "we prepared to leave," which is a bit of a surprise, and maybe even kind of startling. All of a sudden, this story gets a little more real to us because it's written in first-person--we're reading this story from a real person's perspective. Someone was actually writing about his own experience. Who is it? It doesn't tell us. Interesting!

Acts 16:11-15--Lydia's conversion

I have to admit that the place names that are mentioned in Paul's journeys don't always mean much to me. I should remember the geography of the New Testament better, but without reviewing that or looking at a map while I'm reading, I sometimes feel like I'm drowning in place names that are foreign to me, or names that I've heard before but still don't remember where they are.

Anyway, they arrive here in Philippi, and they go down to the river to pray! Lydia sounds like good people, as they say, and I appreciate her role in starting one of the first churches. (Maybe she wasn't a clergywoman, but hey, she was certainly a leader.) I wonder if there was anything unusual about these foreign men sitting down to talk with the local women. It reminds me a little bit of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.

I'm surprised that after Paul teaches and preaches and Lydia is converted--"the Lord enabled her to embrace Paul's message"--she says to him, according to the Common English Bible, "Now that you have decided that I am a believer in the Lord..." Other versions sound a little bit different, and maybe it means something like, "Stay with me if you judge me faithful..." Still, it's an interesting way to phrase things.

Acts 16:16-40--Paul and Silas in Prison

This is such a fantastic story!!My study Bible notes that the servant girl's spirit (v.10) is sometimes referred to as a "python spirit," which connects her with the myth of the oracle of Delphi. I did not know that! Of course, I also don't remember the whole myth, but I do remember enough to know that the oracle at Delphi was something important.

As far as the story about Paul and Silas goes, this is such a meaningful story for Christians. I can think of half a dozen songs that refer to it, in one way or another. There's so much amazing Spirit activity here. Paul and Silas were severely beaten and put in high security, and they sat there singing and praying all night, and the other prisoners listened to them. It just sounds plumb crazy! And now, I have to admit that my study Bible suggests something that I have never really concluded before, about Paul and Silas' singing and praying: God answers their prayers. Duh! God answers their prayers--that's why they get out of jail! Duh!

The story of the jailer's conversion brings us to a lot of interesting questions, too. His act of believing somehow brings salvation to his whole household, verse 31 tells us, yet we are so often quick to make faith such an individual endeavor. What does this story really teach us about that? It's not that it was magic--everyone else in the house was taught, and we don't know what they did later in life--but it's that the jailer's act wasn't just done for himself.

The end of this story is a little bit funny. I guess the beginning was, too--Paul got annoyed and just cast out the girl's spirit. When the local authorities find out that Paul and Silas are Roman citizens, they realize they've kind of made a big mistake. Maybe the local officials should make decisions on something other than what the crowd yells for them to do!

I really like this story! If you haven't read it recently (or ever), take time to read it today. Know that you are never guaranteed an easy faith, but you are guaranteed that the same crazy Spirit that cracked Paul and Silas out of the depths of a local jail is with you, no matter where you are!

Daily Lenten Post, Day 8

There was a scary moment when I couldn't get my computer to turn on, and then how would I post on my blog for the rest of Lent?? But I got it to work again, so here's today's post.

Acts 15:22-35--Letter to the Gentile Believers
The church in Jerusalem writes a letter to the gentile churches, telling them what was decided about circumcision and the laws, and it gives the bare bones of what is expected, in terms of conduct from all believers. This still seems like a better way to handle things than we usually do in churches today, but I guess we still don't really know how people received it and how many people in Jerusalem didn't like the decision. The book of Acts is not an exhaustive account, so I probably shouldn't try to impose on it more than it tells me about the details of what really went on in the early church. Nonetheless, it seems like Acts gives us a good model for how to handle disputes in the church.

I think it's really interesting that Judas and Silas, who were sent with Paul, were also prophets. "They said many things that encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters." This doesn't seem like what prophets normally do, at least as we read them in the Old Testament. I'm curious about that title "prophet." (My study Bible doesn't explain it further, though.)

Acts 15:36-41--Paul and Barnabas Part Company
It's sad that Paul and Barnabas parted ways. This is one of few serious conflicts among believers that doesn't get resolved in Acts, and it's ironic that it happens right after the Jerusalem council comes to consensus about something and a dispute is resolved. You can see Paul's point in not wanting to have John Mark with them again, after he left them before, but was it worth parting ways over it? I guess it worked out well enough. We don't know much about Barnabas after this, so what Paul did was at least more written about than whatever Barnabas and John Mark ended up doing.

Acts 16:1-5--Paul adds Timothy
More irony here, as Paul circumcises Timothy, right after all gentiles are told they don't have to be circumcised. My study Bible explains that Paul did it because Timothy's mother was Jewish, so he didn't want to offend other Jews by not having Timothy properly circumcised. Still, I'm sure it wasn't fun for poor Timothy!

...And then all the churches continued to grow...sounds great! What will happen next??

Daily Lenten Post, Day 7

Acts 14:21-28--Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch
So, Paul and Barnabas return to their last two stops, after making converts somewhere else. These are the same two places where they've been harassed and kicked out by Jewish leaders. How dumb were they, part of me wants to ask! But I guess the history of the church is a witness to persistence, not stupidity, after all. At least they let people know what they were in for: they set up churches at these places and they told the people that there would be trials and hardships. It's a wonder any of them stuck around! How many of us would stick around when we actually believe that kind of hardship will come because of our faith? I mean, in other countries, people are still persecuted for their faith every day, but not so much here in America. So, would we stay if we faced what these early Christians and so many Christians today face? That's hard to say. I guess we give the Holy Spirit credit for the fact that many of those early Christians did stick around.

Acts 15:1-21--The Jerusalem Council
So, then Paul and Barnabas had to go back to Jerusalem, but they stopped at all the churches along the way and reported all the great things that were going on. I would imagine that made the trip to Jerusalem better, even as they knew they were going to face the council and it could get pretty contentious. Was it like a trip to General Conference? I imagine those can be pretty unenjoyable...

It's interesting that Paul and Peter were apparently in agreement on the topic of circumcision (unless I'm reading this wrong, which is possible...). Peter's testimony about the issue seems pretty reasonable, and James actually agrees with it. This would be a nice way to handle problems in the church. The church changed on its position on something, and everyone survived and the church grew. Imagine that!