But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55)
Stephen preaches a powerful sermon in Acts chapter seven, where he recalls the great record of God’s presence and promises in the life of Israel. He recalls the presence of God in and through the great ancestors of the faith: they hold stories of identity, the trauma of exile, belonging, and pain. God’s presence traveled through time through specific people in specific places. Stephen knows where he is situated in the great story of God and God’s faithfulness to God’s own people. God’s grace has abounded time and time again. As we near the end of Stephen’s life, we see that God has been with him in his every beginning, middle and ending. With gritty grace, Stephen tells the truth about their hearts. To those that cannot stand God’s grace and Good News spreading, he calls them “stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart” (Acts 7:51) and recalls how their ancestors always resisted the Holy Spirit. The Spirit always grants this grace whenever we are missing the mark and miss another’s heart. They drag Stephen a second time and they’re about to stone him. Stephen was the first (recorded) martyr in Acts. It’s a beautiful and brutal scene: brutal because this mob has the traces of an angry and aggressive lynching mob; but beautiful because in the midst of this chaos, Stephen gazes at heaven and the Trinity is present right there, in and around him. He beholds God the Father. The Son is standing at the right hand of the Father, witnessing Stephen’s suffering. The Spirit is within Stephen to help him see the glory of God. The gaze of grace is beholding Jesus’ face. Don’t let the sensational and supernatural aspect of this story intimidate you about your own story. God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit know their place in the story of your life and are actively working in and through you. Your story is no less meaningful and it’s made up of one thousand moments where Christ comes after you in the chaos that is your life: be it the carpool line heading to work, rush hour traffic, a deadline to meet, a therapy session to attend, a wayward child or friend. Grace in the ordinary. Author, speaker, retreat leader Paula D’Arcy wrote: “God comes to you disguised as your life.” This story was the end of Stephen’s life, but don’t miss this legacy of grace in everyday life. I want to share Tongua Williams’ benediction with you: “Where you are in your life is where God is and where God is, is where you are.” You have all the grace you need. Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. (Acts 6:8).
Stephen’s task, along with other men, was to serve tables and care for the overlooked Hellenistic widows in the daily distribution of food. Wisdom and the Holy Spirit were needed to discern this grave inequality that left a particular group underserved. The apostles did not want to neglect the ministry of the word and prayer, so they chose a group to care for the widows. However, Stephen, who was tasked to serve tables, performs signs and wonders and suddenly finds himself serving a sermon (Acts 7). Stephen is on trial before some of the men of the synagogue. They are stirring up the people, the elders, and the scribes and even bringing up false witnesses against him. Sound familiar? Stephen is a threat to those in power. The word of God was spreading. The number of disciples was exponentially increasing. Even priests were becoming obedient to the faith! In a world obsessed with acquiring and misusing power, they are afraid of Stephen’s grace. Stephen, full of grace and power… We may want to jump quickly to the word “power” and say “yeah, give me some of that!” But wait… Grace. The undeserved and unmerited favor of God. Grace. The gift and divine influence on our hearts. Grace. The one that cares more about the person than the rules and laws. Grace. The force that withholds retribution and revenge. Grace. The grounding that helps you stand in the face of those that oppose you. They were unable to cope with Stephen’s grace, unable to cope against the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking (v.10). Grace was the power that helped Stephen stand in truth. Grace offered him grit for his resistance. We need this great grace! We need God’s Spirit to fill us with grace. May we champion truth but not at the expense of grace. May we embody grace while not neglecting truth. God is gracious to us and He also hopes to be gracious through us. May the Holy Spirit send forth God’s grace to all the places in our hearts, our relationships, and our service where it is greatly needed. Where do you need God’s grace in your life? Whom can you surprise with grace today? Matthew 4:12-22
As you read the above passage, you will discover that it hearkens back to a familiar passage from Isaiah, most commonly read during the Christmas season. Isaiah’s prophecy proclaims that a great light would dawn, not only on the people of Israel, but on “Galilee of the Gentiles.” As Matthew tells the story of Jesus’s early public ministry, he notes that Jesus’ move from Nazareth (where He had presumably spent several years as a carpenter in the family business) to Capernaum fulfilled this prophecy (Matt. 4:12-17). The context of this move happens just after Jesus experienced His temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11) and had just found out that His cousin and forerunner John has been arrested. John’s arrest and death is a sad story in which we see Jesus reacting to it and grieving. Jesus picks up on and begins to proclaim the exact message which we know John was preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt. 3:2, 4:17). He also begins to call disciples to Him. In this passage, Jesus calls the brothers Andrew and Simon Peter and the brothers James and John. John 1:35-42 gives us the added, and intriguing detail that Andrew and Simon had been John’s disciples first. In the middle of a season that asks us where we see new signs of God at work, I think it’s very interesting that this passage reminds us that the new is not completely discontinuous from the old. Jesus moves to a new place to do a new thing – and it fulfills an old prophecy. Jesus begins doing the new thing – and He does not reject the message or the disciples of His cousin the prophet, but folds them into what He is doing, connecting them to the story of salvation history that has been going on since the very beginning. As you look for manifestations of God’s glory during this season, remember that some of them may surprise you because you would never have thought to look for God in a new place – and some of them may surprise you because you never would have thought to look for God in an old place. The great hymn of the church, “Now Thank We All Our God” (copy and paste on your browser: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCKRHp2Yuzs) beautifully ties together God’s presence in the past with hope for the future as it reminds us” “Now thank we all our God, with heart, and hands, and voices, Who wondrous things hath done, in Whom His world rejoices; who from our mother's arms hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.” Listen to the hymn and think about the way Jesus has manifested His glory in your life and the lives of those you know and love. Ponder where his glory might lead you to follow. As you reflect on this passage, ask yourself two questions. First, where do you see God doing something new and unexpected? And second, where do you see God doing something continuous? Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
In my lifetime, I have attended dozens of weddings and I’ve also officiated many weddings during my 25+ years as a pastor. At every wedding, there is a passage of Scripture, usually chosen by the bride and groom. When I preside over a wedding, I encourage the couple to choose a passage that reflects the biblical truth that speaks to them personally. They almost always choose one of three passages. 1 Corinthians 13, “The Love Chapter,” is a favorite, especially for those who want a more traditional ambiance at their wedding. Colossians 3:12-17 is a frequent choice because of its practical exhortations and affirmation that love “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14). The third very popular biblical passage for weddings is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Brides and grooms understandably love the opening affirmation of this passage: “Two are better than one” (Eccl. 4:9). In a nutshell, this explains one main reason they’re getting married. They believe their lives will be better together. Moreover, they like the thought that “if they fall, one will lift up the other,” because they know that difficult times will come (v. 10). Brides and grooms are especially fond of this affirmation: “If two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?” (v.11) I’m not sure, however, that keeping warm is what they’re looking forward to most of all. Christian couples see in the final line of Eccl. 4:9-12 a veiled reference to the role of Christ in a marriage: “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (v. 12). The original saying referred to the simple fact that you need at least three braided strands to make a rope. Such a triple-strand cord will, of course, be much stronger than a single strand. So, though the author of Ecclesiastes was not thinking specifically about Christ in a marriage, the application of this imagery to Christian marriage works quite well. Couples for whom Christ is essential and welcome will have strong marriages, marriages that can sustain the challenges and hardships that husbands and wives routinely face. Yet, we should understand that Eccl. 4:9-12 is relevant not only to marriage relationships, but also to a wide variety of relationships, including relationships among friends, co-workers, roommates, neighbors, small group members, siblings, relatives, and so forth. Though you would be advised to reserve the lying together part for family life, the other benefits of relationships in this passage are more widely relevant. I think, for example, what my family and I experienced in early 2016 when I resigned from my pastoral position in a previous church. I was unemployed for more than two years. This was, of course, devastating to my sense of self. Yet my brothers in Christ from the church hung in there with me. When my family finances were pretty much non-existent, folks brought help in the form of money, food, and even some pretty amazing presents. One family relative helped me with a pastoral position opening, which finally helped me get a job. If my family had attempted to go through this time of life alone, it would have been so much worse than what we experienced. No matter where you are in life, no matter what you’re going through right now, whether you’re in a time of plenty or a time of want, whether you’re rejoicing or sorrowing, remember this: Two are better than one. If you want to thrive, or even just to survive, you need other people. And, yes, you also need the “third strand” in your life, in every part of life, not just in marriage. Christ is with you at all times, to strengthen you, guide you, protect you, heal you, and encourage you. The more you live each day in relationship with Christ and His people, the more you will never have to do it alone. Lord Jesus, thank You for the truth that two are better than one. Thank you for creating us to be in relationship with others. Thank you for being in relationship with us. We are already in March. The year has been filled with many different emotions; from mass shootings, to global catastrophes in earthquakes, snowstorms, and we have so much more of the year to go. Let’s be mindful of what we fill our minds with as God works in this season of our church.
Do we get caught up in the negative media and feel discouraged? Can we overcome the darkness we face with the light God gives us? Matthew 5 tells us we are the light of the world and we are not to keep it hidden, but to shine before others and glorify the Lord. We have been entrusted to bring light in the midst of darkness and share the hope we have in Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation, and a new thing has come out of the old. We can expect that God will do and is doing a new work today. As we approach Easter, let’s remember that we are no longer our old selves, but awaiting the return of Jesus after His victory at the cross. It was a dark day, but light came through, and salvation was given to all who call on Jesus, that is the hope we proclaim. As more things will occur outside of our control this year: Let’s ask ourselves how we can continue to be the light of the world, not being afraid of the dark, and standing up in the name of Jesus. Let’s be the new creations that don’t live in conformity to the world’s standards, but live in accordance to God’s heavenly standard. Let’s look to the hope and victory that He gives us, and live with the love and joy that is only found in Christ. |
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