Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Easter 3 - Year A
All who are called are welcome.
Can you imagine someone not called by GOD to life and life renewed and life eternal? If you can you've slipped into the strange land of judgment that will come around to bite.
To be devoted to good news (rather than Fox or other media-driven news), to fellowship (all the way to sharing of possessions), to ritualize (connecting to the presence of GOD through memory of previous connections), and to contemplate (more than we yet know) is to open oneself to the mystery of renewal. In these basics we open our eyes to more than our self and are ready to engage it to deepen peace and to widen mercy.
So, say, you have an opportunity to raise your voice in a gathering, what several points would you have as your goal? Would they include assisting others in catching a new vision of themselves and their relationships? intentionally gathering folks together to explore their heart-level connections? aiding folks in sticking with spiritual disciplines over the long haul? exploring the "more" of life?
Hopefully you are reminded for at least the third time today that it is possible to live at peace and in mercy with everyone (whether they live that way toward you or not).
http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2005/april2005.html
"Save yourself from this corrupt generation." So goes the appeal in every troubled time.
The question is not so much an us/them mentality or saved/unsaved designations. Those are constantly changing according to experience and willingness to have same. Rather, how does one be in while not of the world (and it's lesser known counterpart which is just as important - to be of while not in the world)? This question comes from the little word "from" [apo in the Greek] that has two definitions:
1) from - "of separation"
2) in - "of origin"
So it might also read, "Save yourself within your originating generation."
In particular this is a question of intention or direction. Does saving oneself mean oneself alone or does it mean that saving oneself entails the salvation of all?
Repentance and Baptism are very much like a Sabbath. Is the Sabbath made for us or are we made for the Sabbath? Sabbath, Repentance, and Baptism (and other Sacraments) are best considered as stimuli for the reestablishment of community that has fractured. They are mediational tools. They are vehicles for saving a generation.
- - -
purified truth in angry hands
is dangerous to one and all
such truth becomes organized
for its own sake, not yours
growing truth in hopeful hands
builds genuine mutual love
among differing generations
for their sake, not mine
cooperative truth in faithful hands
grows heart-deep love in our midst
binding our differences with balm
for healing wounds, including yours
birthed anew from perfect to whole
fractures perish in a new light
living enduring inviting feasts
for bountiful living, including mine
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
The model used here can be expanded.
Who have you “crucified”, demoted, defamed, destroyed, made invisible?
Coming to understand our participation in the world has wounded some or someone, we can choose a three-fold journey to a new wholeness or new meaning.
- change behavior
- enter belovedness in tandem with the crucified
- move into a new community together (community as gift)
Is this something you think is doable? Then test it.
Who or what group do you have the most difficulty with? Can you put them in the place of the Jesus marker in this passage and proceed to walk the steps with them. (Yes it takes two to accomplish this, but without one to begin it certainly won’t work.)
http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2011/05/acts-214a-36-41.html
To everyone who lives in Judea or Jerusalem, is a pretty grandiose introduction. Likewise with the entire house of Israel. I'm here to express surety and that has a certain amount of persuasive power. You should believe things known to be true: I know Jesus as Lord and Messiah: therefore you should know this, too.
See how well this works, some 3,000 people agreed to the point of baptism (not legally binding as it is today). Presumably folks were not caught up in crowd pressure, but were called. (This is an out, though, for those whom Peter was not able to reach with his extravagant rhetoric.)
While it may have been this easy, the odds are that the response is out of proportion with the stimulus. This makes a good story.
Today is a "dialog" set up as a result of an intervention by Love Prevails last November. A task force with no known LGBTQ presence has set up a panel "dialogue" about "the gays". Not an auspicious beginning. It should be interesting to see people dance around the United Methodist weird-speak of "incompatibility with Christian teaching" (Note: original language was about "Christian doctrine" and was changed to the more generic "teaching" a day after the "doctrine" language was passed. Folks caught on early that they the doctrine language would not stand scrutiny and fudged to the generic and highly interpretable "teaching".)
LovePrevailsUMC.com and LovePrevailsUMC on Facebook and Twitter will be looking to see if there is a miracle that happens from a benign panel to a conviction of needed repentance for 42 years of intentional discrimination and a commitment to change the current harmful legislation. This is no more a long-shot than Peter's speech leading to 3,000 spontaneous baptisms.
[Note: One of the clearer tweets about the live streaming "die-a-log" — Soulforce: "This is not a first step or just the beginning or historic day. This is going sideways not forward. We need leadership."]