November 22 / Acts 3-5

Acts 3-5

As we saw in the Gospels, Jesus warned His followers that they would face opposition, that since the world hated Jesus, the world would hate them (us), too. (John 15:18-19) Today we see that opposition rising against the Apostles, and — surprise, surprise — it comes from the same source, the religious leadership that stood against Jesus. When questioned by these leaders, Peter pulls no punches:

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:8-12

Peter is as direct as can be. He does not hem and haw about Who is responsible for healing the lame man. He does not shy away from proclaiming that Jesus is the only Way to salvation. He does not beat around the bush as to whether or not God raised Jesus from the dead. And he does not hesitate to remind his audience of their sin, that it is they who crucified Jesus, that they are the builders that rejected the Cornerstone. He does not try to soften the blow with some namby-pamby “I’m OK — You’re OK” blather.

Today it seems that much of the western Church (or what purports to be the Church) seems more concerned with not ruffling feathers, and thereby avoiding persecution, than with speaking the truth. Maybe we should take a few notes from Peter instead.

See also:

November 21 / Acts 1-2

Acts 1-2

We’ve read through all four Gospels. We’re half way through the New Testament. Today we start “the rest of the story”. Recalling Luke 1:1-4, we can see from Acts 1:1-3 that the Book of Acts (or “The Acts of the Apostles”) is a sequel to Luke’s Gospel, a sequel in which Luke chronicles the history of the early Church and the spread of the gospel message. We get a summary preview of the entire book from Jesus Himself before His Ascension into heaven:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Sure enough, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit does indeed come upon Jesus’ followers in dramatic fashion and they do indeed receive power. Those who once denied Christ now stand up for Him. Those who once hid behind locked doors in fear now boldly proclaim Christ’s Resurrection.

But the Holy Spirit is not just for those present in Jerusalem on that Pentecost Day. He is for all who repent and are baptized. (Acts 2:38-39) He may not always manifest Himself with a mighty rushing wind or with visible tongues of fire. Usually He is much more subtle. But He is available just the same, and He always points to Jesus.

See also:

November 20 / Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:12-20; Luke 24:13-53; John 20:19-21:25

Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-49; John 20:19-31;
Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18; John 21;
Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:30-31

Having now read through the Gospels, ask yourself:

  • Who is Jesus?
  • What is faith (or believing)?
  • What is life?

And please spend more than a few seconds pondering those questions, especially if you think you know the answers.

See also:

November 19 / Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18

Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-13;
Matthew 28:9-15; Mark 16:9-11; John 20:14-18

If you have not already read the passages of Scripture we have for today, please do so now. I’ll wait…

Now, consider honestly: what is your reaction to this reading in this current moment? I’m guessing that “surprise” is not part of your answer. For most of us, these passages are very familiar territory, replayed every Easter morning. And even if you’ve never before read these passages yourself, chances of your never having heard of Jesus’ Resurrection are almost nil. But does our inherent lack of surprise then turn to a yawn? Are we so familiar with the facts of the story that we miss the greatest Fact of human history?

He is risen!

Do we, in fact, believe these Gospel accounts, or do these words seem to us an idle tale? (Luke 24:11) If we say we believe, then what does that mean? So what if this Man rose from the dead 2,000 years ago? What relevance does this ancient event have for us today?

See also:

November 18 / Matthew 27:32-66; Mark 15:21-47; Luke 23:26-56; John 19:17-42

Matthew 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:17-37;
Matthew 27:57-66; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this He breathed His last.

Luke 23:46 (cf., Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37, John 19:30)

Is this the final whimper of a man dying of asphyxiation, the usual cause of death from crucifixion? Is this the voice of delirium? Is this the voice of despair?

No, this is a loud voice. This is a shout of victory. This is a war cry as Jesus enters into Death and single-handedly storms the gates of Hell!

See also:

November 17 / Matthew 27:1-31; Mark 15:1-20; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19:16

Matthew 27:1-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-40;
Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:1-16

Jesus answered, “… Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

John 18:37-38

Though coming from a wildly different background, Pilate is just like the Pharisees in that He cannot perceive Truth. The Truth is standing right before him, speaking to him face to face, yet he cynically asks, “What is truth?”

So Pilate turns from Jesus and listens instead to the crowd, that crowd that asks for the release of a criminal, but regarding the Son of God cries, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21)

And so I ask the same question I’ve asked several times before this year: To whom do you listen?

Of course, it is easy to look back on this sham trial of Jesus with 20/20 hindsight and to side with the one innocent Man. We know how this turns out, so we know the right answer here. But how about in our own daily lives? It gets a bit more challenging there. Are we of the truth? Do we listen to His voice? Or do we listen to all those other voices clamoring around us — the news media, social media, Hollywood, friends, family, employers, employees, politicians, pundits, preachers, protesters, Big Tech, experts in this, experts in that, advertisers, AI? Or how about that ever-present voice inside our head: Self?

To whom do you listen?

See also:

November 16 / Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:12-27

Matthew 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:12-27

And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Luke 9:23

Today’s reading, as dark as it is, should shed some light on the above verse, giving us a graphic illustration of what it means to “deny” someone. Here, though, Peter does not deny himself. Instead, he denies the Lord, swearing, “I do not know the Man!” And that is our daily choice. I can either deny myself or I can deny Jesus. It’s one or the Other. There is no middle ground.

So what will it be? Whom are you going to deny today?

See also:

November 15 / John 17:1-18:11; Matthew 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53

John 17;
Matthew 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53; John 18:1-11

How would you define “eternal life”? Would you say, “living forever” or “not dying” or perhaps “going on living, even after dying”? Or maybe it’s “going to heaven (and not hell)”. We could build a pretty good case for any of these notions from various Bible verses. Yet the core of eternal life is missing from them. Jesus gives it to us here in His “High Priestly Prayer” to His Father:

And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent.

John 17:3

So, do we know God? Or do we just know a bit about God?

See also:

One more thing…

I don’t think we can come anywhere close to imagining the agony Jesus faces in the Garden of Gethsemane. All our attempts at description or portrayal are flawed in one way or another and fall far short. But that does not mean that we should not try to enter in, try to relate to Him, try to join Him in His struggle to submit His will to the Father’s. So even if you think you are familiar with this story, spend some extra time with Jesus in Gethsemane today.

November 14 / John 14-16

John 14-16

Once again the Gospel of John overwhelms us, like trying to get a drink from a firehose. I would therefore urge us all to spend some extra time — quite a lot of extra time — on these few chapters of John (and the next), prayerfully reading and rereading what Jesus has to say and letting it all soak in.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

I expect that most of us are somewhat familiar with this verse. We’ve read it before, multiple times. We’ve heard it before, too, with sermons on the vine and branches, bearing fruit, etc. And we nod our heads in assent to the truth of Jesus’ words. But my own lived experience, coupled with my observation of many others, is that we continually need to be reminded of this truth, because otherwise we have a tremendous capacity to try to “live the Christian life” on our own. Oh, yes, we may pray for Jesus’ assistance, but when it comes right down to it, where “the rubber meets the road”, we try to go it alone. Yet Jesus tells us right here that any attempt to follow Him while disconnected from Him is futile — for apart from Me you can do nothing! So we need to carefully evaluate our relationship with Jesus Himself. Are we abiding in Him? Is He abiding in us? If not, then our best efforts will only turn us into Pharisees, and I think we all know that does not end well. So it is time to lay aside the burden of striving to follow Jesus without Jesus. Let Him in. Let Him lead. Let Him do.

See also:

November 13 / Matthew 26:17-35; Mark 14:12-31; Luke 22:7-38; John 13

Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-30; John 13:18-30;
John 13:1-17, 31-35;
Matthew 26:30-35; Mark 14:26-31; Luke 22:31-38; John 13:36-38

In today’s readings, Jesus employs two tremendous physical activities to build up and instruct His disciples (including us). He establishes the Sacrament of Holy Communion, feeding us with His body and blood, and He washes the disciples’ feet. With both actions, He says words that we are to take to heart:

Take, eat; this is My body.

Matthew 26:26b (cf., Mark 14:22b; Luke 22:19b)

Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 26:27b-28 (cf., Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20b)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:34-35

Yet it would seem that we are poor listeners. Large swaths of the (Protestant) Church treat Communion as mere memorialism, devoid of any notion that Christ might really be present in the bread and wine. How would things change if we all were to truly discern the Body and Blood of Christ? And what would the Church look like (or the whole world, for that matter) if we Christians were to — shock of shocks! — actually love one another as Christ has loved us?!

Hmmm. Maybe we need to again listen to Jesus and actually do what He says.

See also: