22 News of this reached the ears of the Messianic community in Yerushalayim, and they sent Bar-Nabba to Antioch. 23 On arriving and seeing for himself the grace of God at work, he was glad; and he encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with their whole hearts; 24 for he was a good man, full of the Ruach HaKodesh and trust.
25 Then Bar-Nabba went off to Tarsus to look for Sha’ul; 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They met with the congregation there for a whole year and taught a sizeable crowd. Also it was in Antioch that the talmidim for the first time were called “Messianic.”
Saint Peter Chanel, Priest and MartyrThe hand of the Lord was with them. (Acts 11:21)
History is filled with unlikely pairings that work amazingly well. Think, for instance, about food pairings: bacon and chocolate, caramel and salt, or bananas on pizza. Or think about how opposites often attract in marriage: the slob and the neat freak, for example.
Well, in ancient Antioch, another kind of pairing, but no less unique, appeared: Jews and Greeks sharing the same religious convictions. Historically, there was a great enmity between these two groups, and in a city as big as Antioch, they could have easily kept to themselves. There were plenty of synagogues to go around, as well as more than enough Greek temples. Yet in the midst of this divided city, the Holy Spirit touched the hearts of Jews and Gentiles alike, making them into “Christians” (Acts 11:26).
When word reached the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, they were intrigued and perhaps a bit skeptical. Would the Gentiles dilute the purity of the Jews’ faith? Would the Jews look down on their Gentile brothers and sisters? Such a potentially volatile and delicate situation needed some attention. So they sent Barnabas to study the situation. Though this was clearly a unique pairing, Barnabas could see that it was God’s doing, so he “rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
Just as the Holy Spirit created an unlikely pairing in Antioch, he is doing something similar today. He is encouraging Christians from different faith traditions to come together and pray for greater unity. For example, in a video he recorded on a Protestant pastor’s iPhone, Pope Francis addressed a gathering of Pentecostal leaders. “Let’s move forward,” he urged them. “We are brothers; let us give each other that spiritual embrace and allow the Lord to complete the work he has begun.”
Whenever Christians from different traditions, whether in ancient Antioch or in the cyberspace of today, come together, it’s a sign that “the hand of the Lord” is at work (Acts 11:21). Today, let’s all pray for Christian unity. May we become witnesses of our own unique pairings with our brothers and sisters in Christ!
“Holy Spirit, thank you for my brothers and sisters of all faith traditions. Come and make us one!” Amen!
Psalm 87:1 (0) A psalm of the sons of Korach. A song:
(1) On the holy mountains is [the city’s] foundation.
2 Adonai loves the gates of Tziyon
more than all the dwellings in Ya‘akov.
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God. (Selah)
4 I count Rahav and Bavel
among those who know me;
Of P’leshet, Tzor and Ethiopia [they will say],
“This one was born there.”
5 But of Tziyon it will be said,
“This one and that was born in it,
for the Most High himself establishes it.”
6 When he registers the peoples, Adonai will record,
“This one was born there.” (Selah)
7 Singers and dancers alike say,
“For me, you are the source of everything.”
John 10:22 Then came Hanukkah in Yerushalayim. It was winter, 23 and Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Shlomo’s Colonnade. 24 So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, “How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!” 25 Yeshua answered them, “I have already told you, and you don’t trust me. The works I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf, 26 but the reason you don’t trust is that you are not included among my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice, I recognize them, they follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life. They will absolutely never be destroyed, and no one will snatch them from my hands. 29 My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them from the Father’s hands. 30 I and the Father are one.”
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