Green Pastures and Still Waters
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J.B. Phillips translated “The Acts of the Apostles” back in the early 1950’s and wrote something quite interesting in his preface to the translation. “It is impossible to spend several months in close study of this remarkable short book…without being profoundly stirred and, to be honest, disturbed.” Stirred because the factual account of the newborn church in action “without money, influence or power” reminds us that God is at work in the world! Behind the scenes, and in spite of the enemy, God is drawing, wooing, winning, redeeming and transforming people. His means are creative but His partners are always the same…people. The accounts we’re going to study are not merely the Acts of the Holy Spirit, they are the Acts of the Holy Spirit through His apostles. God has created us for coregency and we have a choice of whether or not to participate with Him. The Apostles said “yes” to this opportunity and we are proof of the ongoing story. Why did Phillips write that his study caused him to be disturbed? Because as he considered church history, the state of his own Anglican Church in England and the state of many churches around the world, he saw little resemblance to the original. He wrote of the young church that it was “vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it ever became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or muscle-bound by over-organization.” Of course JB was not suggesting that today’s church should be an identical replica of the Acts 2 description. Such mimicry would not be true to the changes our culture has experienced and the various contexts of human expression. However, a “vigorous flexibility” should in fact characterize the church’s ongoing ministry in the world. Bowing to tradition and structure can be idolatry. Refusing orthodoxy leads to heresy. Interpreting what is descriptive (what they did), and what is prescriptive (what we should do), can be tricky sometimes. The track record of the church historically is a bit disturbing on these matters for sure. As we study Acts together I am both excited and worried. Excited as JB was, to immerse ourselves weekly in these stories of our ancestral apprentices. Worried because I wonder if I am ready for some “fresh wind and fresh fire.” I do hope and pray that we will be both stirred and disturbed to the point of participation in God’s Mission. I hope to see you Sunday for “Acts: The Story Continues.”
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I have mentioned Philip Yancey’s book, “Disappointment with God” a number of times. I have read it or portions of it on several occasions over the years. I also read a reaction to the book a few years ago and the writer was incredulous that someone could possibly be disappointed with God! He thought Yancey was virtually a heretic. I felt convicted because I confess I have been disappointed with God. Sometimes it was because it “felt” like He didn’t keep His end of a promise. Sometimes I just “felt” like He must have been looking the other way when something bad happened. As I read the New Testament it seems like Mary and Martha were disappointed in Jesus when He waited four days to show up and didn’t make it until Lazarus was dead and buried. They had to grow in their understanding of what He was “really about.” I am learning to trust Him more and I think in recent years I have been disappointed with Him less as a result. Another lesson I am learning may be even more important… I am reading the Ladies Book Club book titled “Sensible Shoes.” I read a portion that has transformed my thinking and renewed my mind. A spiritual director in the story reminds a hurting woman that “God cannot be disappointed.” That stopped my eyeballs in their tracks. I have believed for years that my teen years were a “real disappointment” to Him. I have lived under a shadow of despair in pastoral life quite often because a failure or sin of mine “surely disappointed God.” I “feel” like my inability to figure things out or fix problems must be “quite a disappointment.” Disappointment is the result of a failure to perform up to perceived expectations. I have been disappointed in God because He didn’t live up to my perceived expectations. I have been disappointed with other people for the same reason. But, here is the simple thought that transformed my thinking this week, God already knows what I am and what He was getting and He saved me and called me anyway! I know I should have grasped this before but wowser! God commends His love toward us in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That’s grace! That’s unmerited favor. That’s liberating. Because of Jesus’ perfect obedience I can rest in the smile of the Holy One. I am not saying that I can sin so that grace can abound. I am saying that the work of Christ and my union with Him by faith means that God cannot be disappointed with those who are His. That is grace; truly unmerited favor means that my performance has nothing to do whether He is happy or not. That may seem too simple to make your heart beat but it sure blessed this child. Now, to live in light of His joy this week is my goal because grace is truly amazing.