Acts 6. The New Heaven and the New Earth. God’s final work of the cosmos is done, and humanity lives in fully restored relationship with God and the rest of creation. This is where we’re headed. That ending is inevitable. In the meantime, while we’re still in Act 5, what is our responsibility towards moving us to that grand finale?
Heaven has a lot of descriptions, but what will it be really? It’s a feast; a banquet. There is no more hurting or pain, but instead there is love and community. Will we be there? Will everyone be there? What is necessary for us to get to experience Heaven? Like any finale for a series, there are a lot of questions to be answered. The one thing we can say with confidence is: It will all be set right. What started Good will end Good.
Last week, the church leaders came to an understanding on how the Christian way of life was applicable for both Jews and Gentiles. The timing was perfect because the church was rapidly expanding into different nations and regions. What the early church leaders quickly realized was the universal nature of Jesus’s message of grace and redemption. Paul began to plant church communities in different cities, appealing to the culture and language of that group. (e.g. When Paul was writing to a culture that venerated military service, he used military analogy and language.)
This same universality of the Church continues to exist today. The church is rapidly expanding in different countries such as those in Africa and Asia. Yet it is also growing in areas around the US. Every time we engage with other stories, backgrounds, and cultures, we have the opportunity to see God in a deeper and more meaningful way. Paul discusses God from several different perspectives in his Epistles, and as a result, the language used around God reflects the people he was writing to. None of this contradicts itself, and in every letter, we see a fuller picture of God.
6/4 - 6/5/2022 (June 4 and 5) | Revelation
John of Patmos, or John the Revelator, offers us the final piece of scripture to round out the bible. The book of Revelation has long been the most misunderstood aspect of scripture since its inception. It is and apocalyptic writing that was customary at the time. Apocalyptic in this context is not world ending destruction however, but instead it is a great unveiling of previously unknown information. In this case, it is full of fantastical imagery, wild prophecy, and laced through it all is the image of Christ and his final redemption of the world.
Much like every other book of the Bible, the words in these pages are historical, contextual, and relevant to our daily lives. The imagery of the beasts in Revelation are specific references to worldly people, groups, and events happening to the early church when this was written. WYet we can find meaning in those images for our lives as well. The questions for us to ponder in this book is why it was written, what were all these confusing symbols representing, and what do they mean for us today. More importantly, how do we understand the importance of revelation today? What is the difference between the words of these pages, and the words of the preachers of St. Andrew? Or any other church leader for that matter? Can we have revelation, and if so, how do we recognize it?
5/28 - 5/29/2022 (May 28 and 29) | Revelation
As the church moved to welcome in both Jew and Gentile, a natural division remained. This division spawned many questions as to what was expected of the Gentiles in order to claim their faith fully. The Jews had served as a fraternity or sorority of sorts, having passed down traditions and culture for generations. Their natural question was obviously, “Should these new members not do what we had to do?”
Gathering for a Council in Acts, Peter and Paul help lead a debate between whether new Gentile believers must be circumcised to be saved. While this was a specific question of tradition, how it was settled would set the precedent on how every debate about Christian practices would be settled. The church ultimately decided that circumcision was not necessary because the Gentiles were saved by grace through faith. It was also determined that there was specific things which are necessary in the faith, such as not worshipping other idols. To this day, we must see what are the things that we ought to do as a result of having faith, and what are the things which we can do but are not essential for our faith to flourish.
5/21 - 5/22/2022 (May 21 and 22) | The First of Many
The early Christian church was a church of Jewish faithful. Jesus was Jewish; the disciples were Jewish; the listeners were Jewish. The question in front of them was if the good news of Jesus’s resurrection was available to people who didn’t look like them or have upbringings like them.
Last week we started hearing how Paul’s story is seen with the individual; with us. God uses us even with our imperfect pasts. This week we move from us to the people around us. In the story of Cornelius, we see the first Gentile convert he and his family to be servants of Jesus. Peter himself is initially skeptical that Cornelius can be a part of the faith. It takes a vision from God for him to see what the future kingdom will be, and the coming together of all different kinds of people to the Christian faith. The Church is going to grow and expand with more people over time. They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.
The church could not stay a church of just the original 11 disciples forever. They understood this, as they brought new disciples, and anointed the position of deacons, to help with the work. God would help this process of expansion as well by enlisting the help of a man named Saul who was an ardent persecutor of followers of The Way. God opened Saul’s eyes, ordained him to spread the Gospel message, and thus began one of the most significant ministries of the past 2000 years.
We think of Paul as this upstanding Christian leader, but in his time and life, he spent every day working to move beyond his former deeds. He was not trusted by the other Christian leaders, nor was trusted by other followers. Yet, he persevered, always setting his eyes on the grace of God, and allowed his new life to not erase his past but use it to preach God’s goodness. Our pasts are real, and they actually make our present lives in Christ that much more meaningful.