DAY 210

THE END OF A STORY MEANS A BEGINNING

Psalm 46, 47 & 48 and Acts 28

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble – Psalm 46:1

Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to god with a cry of joy – Psalm 47:1

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised – Psalm 48:1

So begin each of our Psalms for today. It would appear that the Psalmists are in a good mood…or maybe it is more than that. Our external situations often drive our countenance. There are certainly days of great joy and great sorrow in our lives. There are also seasons, some where we must endure long periods of trouble or hardship. Paul has been experiencing a long season. Have you added up the years since arriving at Jerusalem until he gets to Rome? It is years and not months. His ability to be rooted in Christ Jesus carries him through the times of plenty and the times of hardship.

We have come to the end of the Acts of the Apostles; from here on what happens to Peter, Paul, and the rest will be the stuff of tradition and legend. Remarkably the Book of Acts ends with the Paul under house arrest. I am told the way some “jails” worked in Rome is that they would send a guard to your home and chain you to the guard. Imagine yourself being Paul’s guard…might you have heard the Gospel? No doubt you heard it, and no doubt you saw the people come and seek counsel and guidance from him. And while, at least for me, it is fascinating to muse about what was happening at the end of Paul’s life, what is probably more important is for me to reflect on the Book of Acts and what is has shown me…after all, it is the book of the early Church, that group of people who love Jesus and are struggling to figure out how to follow him.

The story of Acts is a story that begins with God: Father-Son-Holy Spirit. Jesus ascends to the Father and the Holy Spirit descends upon and fills the disciples. Our walk is a walk following this “three-person’ed God.” All we have read in the Old Testament (for we have finished the “history” books) have testified to God’s love and faithfulness…His hesed.  We see it come to its fullness in humanity in the Acts of the Apostles. We see that now those who follow Jesus are the chosen people. “Chosen” not to flaunt ourselves, but chosen to humble ourselves and point the way to the Father.

Over and over we saw disciples humbled. Stephen being stoned, Peter having to struggle with the “Gentile Question,” Paul the “Jew’s Jew” struggling with the “Jewish/Gentile Question,” and then there is the issue of how to present the Gospel when opposed…and these folks were opposed, weren’t they! There is much to ponder and reflect upon. The one BIG point I am taking away is almost in the background, it is almost the color of the canvas that all the stories are painted upon…and that is their determine-ness. There are no stories about doubt in Jesus, there are just stories about how they, because they have been transformed by God, are now living for God…and for me that is the biggest message to take away…and in many ways those first three verses of the Psalms today I can imagine coming off the Apostles lips…may they always be on ours.