The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Friday, 27 May 2016 - "Keeping God’s mission moving ahead"
Daily Scripture: Acts 15:13 Ya‘akov broke the silence to reply. “Brothers,” he said, “hear what I have to say. 14 Shim‘on has told in detail what God did when he first began to show his concern for taking from among the Goyim a people to bear his name. 15 And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written,
16 ‘“After this, I will return;
and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David.
I will rebuild its ruins,
I will restore it,
17 so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
that is, all the Goyim who have been called by my name,”
18 says Adonai, who is doing these things.’[Acts 15:18 Amos 9:11–12]
All this has been known for ages.
19 “Therefore, my opinion is that we should not put obstacles in the way of the Goyim who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For from the earliest times, Moshe has had in every city those who proclaim him, with his words being read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”
22 Then the emissaries and the elders, together with the whole Messianic community, decided to select men from among themselves to send to Antioch with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. They sent Y’hudah, called Bar-Sabba, and Sila, both leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter:
From: The emissaries and the elders, your brothers
To: The brothers from among the Gentiles throughout Antioch, Syria and Cilicia
Greetings!
24 We have heard that some people went out from among us without our authorization, and that they have upset you with their talk, unsettling your minds. 25 So we have decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our dear friends Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul, 26 who have dedicated their lives to upholding the name of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 27 So we have sent Y’hudah and Sila, and they will confirm in person what we are writing.
28 For it seemed good to the Ruach HaKodesh and to us not to lay any heavier burden on you than the following requirements: 29 to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will be doing the right thing.
Shalom!
30 The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the group together and delivered the letter.
Reflection Questions:
The Jerusalem Council did not address a big issue among Christians today. (No one is crusading for circumcision as a condition of being a Christian!) That makes the Council a useful case study. After hearing both sides, the Council chose to respect the evidence of God’s activity through the Holy Spirit, not the concrete demand that all Christians follow Genesis 17. James quoted Amos 9:11-12 and said it supported the conclusion that God wanted Gentiles welcomed without lots of imposed cultural rules.- Reflect on the story in Acts about this early Christian meeting to resolve a disputed issue. On what grounds did Paul, Peter and James decide God wanted them to follow Amos rather than Genesis in this instance? What can we learn from their example about how to apply the Bible to issues we face today?
- Peter, Paul and “believers from among the Pharisees” met at the Jerusalem Council because they disagreed about circumcision. But vitally important was the fact that they agreed on the more central truths. They were all committed to following Jesus, and to trusting him as their Savior. In what ways did the Council’s decision allow God’s saving mission through the church to keep moving forward, rather than dragging it to a halt until they could totally resolve each point of difference?
Lord Jesus, remind me, in the words of John Wesley, that it is possible for me and other Christ-followers to “love alike” even when we do not “think alike.” Amen.
-------Insights from Ginger Rothhaas
Ginger Rothhaas is a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology and is serving in Congregational Care at The Church of the Resurrection.One of the most powerful things I have learned in seminary is the history of reverence toward the “Two-Spirited” persons in Native American theology.
Two-Spirits were people who had both feminine and masculine characteristics. In parts of our culture today, they might be described as a “man who is too feminine” or a “woman who is too masculine,” and treated as if they lacked a clear gender.
However, in native tribes the Two-Spirit person was viewed as gifted in their superior abilities to communicate with every member of the tribe. They were relevant leaders who could speak the language of both women and men.
Two-Spirits were often gifted healers and wisdom guides for the tribe. It was thought that the Great Spirit above had blessed Two-Spirits with a complete set of human characteristics and they were thus capable of greater visions and wisdom.
Author Will Roscoe has published multiple books on this topic, and in his research has found similar traditions of reverence in many indigenous cultures. It appears that some of our human ancestors honored and revered differences.
What if we approached everyone today as a gift of potential rather than focusing on what they lack or how they are different from us? What if we listened to one another with open eyes and hearts to learn a new perspective? What if we stopped judging and began to look at all people through eyes of love?
Imagine the possibilities if we could see each other as God sees us: whole and fully gifted for our purpose of contributing love to one another in our own unique way.
The history of the Two-Spirited people invites us to see things in a new ancient way.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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