Daily Lesson for November 18, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Acts chapter 14 verses 19b and 20:

Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

With the passing of Congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis, many of us have been taken with what he liked to call "Good Trouble". Over and over again Lewis was called a troublemaker. But rather than reject it, he embraced it. If you were opposed to equality, to enfranchisement, to equal protection, and to a more just and inclusive democracy, then indeed John Lewis was a troublemaker for you. And, the Congressman said, it was "good trouble".

I used to not like so much the tactics of Paul and Barnabas and the early apostles. They caused a lot of trouble where they went -- in the synagogues and in the cities. I didn't think that was necessary, and certainly not polite. I didn't like it because I didn't understand it.

But when I was in my early twenties I discovered John Lewis, and started reading about "good trouble" and came to realize what he did was exactly like what the early apostles did. No, it may not have been polite -- in the sense of Southern politeness which said blacks needed to go along to get along; but it was absolutely necessary for changing things in America. And, it's what helped me see these tactics from the apostles in a whole new light.

Read chapter 13 and it says there was an apostle named John who departed, but left the others to continue on.

Our John has left us; but we continue on. And I pray we continue on in the same way -- with the "good trouble" the good apostle taught us.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible this year. Tomorrow we will diverge from Acts by reading the book of James.

Daily Lesson for Tuesday, November 17, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Acts chapter 11 verses 1 through 17:

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3 saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 4 Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10 This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11 At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14 he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

It must have been a terrifying moment for Peter to see that sheet being lowered down with all the birds, and crocodiles, and hogs and who knows what other kinds of unclean animals from lower Louisiana all coming down and being told to "eat" -- more than a metaphor to sit down and eat WITH those whom he had previously called unclean.

Indeed, this took courage. It took conviction. To know all he had been taught for all those years, and then suddenly say, "I'm going to listen to this dream. I'm going to trust this Spirit." And then he woke from the dream, and Gentiles were literally at his front door.

There is an old saying of the United Church of Christ, "God is still speaking . . ."

God is still speaking to somebody today. God is giving them a new vision for a new world. God is summoning them out of their prejudice and into inclusion. God is making them rethink all that they've been taught from an early age that they might learn to love more broadly and fully. And God is saying to them, "Trust this dream. Listen to this Spirit. I am in this."

And they are awakening now, with new opportunities right at their door, and something inside them is saying, "Who am I to hinder what God is doing in this world -- and also in me."

Thanks be to God!

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson will come from Acts chapters 13 and 14.

Daily Lesson for November 16, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Acts chapter 5 verses 12 through 14a:

12 Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. 13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women.

I don't know if I've ever noticed the Bible saying there were many who didn't dare to join the early church.

Perhaps if I had noticed it earlier on, I would have read it as a judgment. But after a long while of pastoring, I know there are lots of people watching the church, paying attention to its witness, drawing often quiet inspiration from its stands.

But, for whatever reason, they just won't or maybe even can't dare to join in. Maybe it's not safe to do so. Maybe it would destroy their family. Maybe they would lose their job at the seminary or with the denomination. Maybe they think they would lose the next election. Maybe they are afraid of being found out.

I don't know.

Nobody knows.

But what I do know is that the Bible tells us there were secret followers of Jesus like Nicodemus, and Joseph or Arimethea, and I am sure there are secret followers of the Way now.

Friends, they are watching. Perhaps they can't reveal themselves. But they are paying attention. And in desperately dark places where they can't dare to show their light, they need ours.

The world needs our light . . .

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson will come from Acts chapters 11 and 12.

Daily Lesson for November 13, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from the book of Acts chapter 2 verses 37 through 40:

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers,[i] what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

When I read the book of Acts I am struck by the early Church's insistence on redemption rather than revenge. Over and over again, the disciples are maligned, arrested, beaten, and even killed, yet there is at the heart of the movement a deep understanding that the Gospel of grace is to be made known to all people everywhere -- including, even the most vile and heinous.

Desmond Tutu, whom we named our first son Daniel Desmond after, wrote a book in the early aftermath of Apartheid titled "No Future Without Forgiveness". He knew that after all the evil of the Apartheid era, his nation could not proceed in a healthy and life-giving way if forgiveness was not the bedrock of its moral foundation. This was the essence of the country's establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

There is no future for our own country without forgiveness. This should not be cheap forgiveness -- there must be truth and reparation. But there must also be forgiveness. There must be a doorway to redemption.

God's will is that all should be redeemed. God's will is that this nation should be redeemed.

So let us commit ourselves to being about the redemption of this nation that we might live into the promise of our future.

For as Peter said, "The promise is for us, for our children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls . . ."

And the Lord does call us all.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend will read Acts chapters 4 through 10.

Daily Lesson for November 12, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from John chapter 20 verse 1:

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

"While it was still dark . . ."

I love that phrase. It is powerful and hope-filled and even more so at the end of the book of John which began by saying that the "Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

The darkness has not, and cannot overcome the light. And, into the dark, the light shines.

It is still dark while I write this; but the light is on its way. The light is shines, but will take some time to arrive as the first ray of crack of dawn. It is still dark now, but the light that will pierce the curtain of a new day is already shining.

And the one who is the Very Light of Very Light shines the same.

God does not abandon us in the darkness. God is still at work in the night. And though we may not yet see the coming of the Light, the Light is on its way, will soon be reveal, and will soon reveal.

Hold your hopes, dear ones struggling in the darkness; for the earth is still spinning and that means the night won't last forever.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow we read Acts chapters 1-3.

Daily Lesson for November 11, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 28 verses 11 through 15:

11 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You must say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told . . . to this day.

They said it was Fake News.

They said the Body had been stolen. They said the victory of God had been stolen.

And the priests and elders went to all kinds of great links to devise a plan to fool the people about the truth. For as Pilate the governor said, "What is truth?"

But Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life . . ."

And the truth is there is more life in His way than there is death and deception in the ways of this world.

And in the end, the truth prevails; and the goodness of God wins out over all the evil schemes of the world.

Thanks be to God!

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow we will read Luke 24 and John 20 and 21.

Daily Lesson for November 10, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from John chapter 18 verses 38 through 40:

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. 39 But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 40 They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.

The people had a choice. They could choose to save the life of Jesus of Nazareth or Barabbas, a notorious "bandit" -- a term we think of as a robber, but is one also linked with crimes of political chaos. Perhaps good analogies for Barabbas from American history might be Jesse James and Frank James, bank and train robbers whose exploits were types of guerrilla tactics during the Civil War and after the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. Just like the James Gang, Barabbas' gang was a part of the "rebellion" -- a word used to describe the Confederacy and also used explicitly when another book of the Bible talks about what happened with Barabbas.

The Jews present (Remember, importantly, it wasn't all the Jews. Jesus taught quite openly and was protected by huge crowds. But when he was found alone, his captors ushered in another crowd) yelled and screamed for Jesus' life. So Barabbas the bandit was spared and Jesus died, all because the people present wanted rebellion.

There is more, "Barabbas" means literally "son of the father". So it was, that so many there wanted one "son of the father", ruthless and violent and full of anger over another "Son of the Father", kind and peaceful and full of grace and truth.

And so it was, that this latter Son gave his life for the former, and for the crowd called for his crucifixion.

"And he never said a mumblin' word."

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson comes from Matthew 28 and Mark 16.