Easter Week 5

Psalm: Psalm 148

Acts: Acts 11:1-18

Gospel: John 13:31-35

Epistle: Revelation 21:1-6

In our reading from Acts this week we see a shift in the thinking of the early church away from the idea that salvation was purely for the Jews (and those who were Proselytes--people who were Jewish in practice and followers of God, but not Jewish by birth) to a more inclusive view that included Gentiles as well. An example of this is the first Gentile convert in the book of Acts: the Ethiopian eunuch in 8:25-39. As an aside, there are some interesting dynamics at play within the book of Acts and in church history concerning the actual identity of the first Gentile convert. Luke, the author of Acts, is a bit vague on the identity of the Ethiopian eunuch and whether he was a Gentile. Perhaps this vagueness is because the primary actor is Philip, one of the Seven chosen to help the poor in Acts 6, rather than the Apostle Peter. I think it is clear that the eunuch was a Gentile and Acts doesn’t try to hide it, rather the narrative presents it as a one-off, or a precursor, to what happens in chapters 10-11 with Peter and Cornelius and the subject of our reading today.

Easter Week 4

Psalm: Psalm 23

Acts: Acts 9:36-43

Gospel: John 10:22-30

Epistle: Revelation 7:9-17

We continue with the Easter Season this Sunday and also continue our readings from Acts, John, and Revelation. On the surface this week we have 4 very different passages and it is difficult to see where they intersect.

First let us look at Acts. These verses relay the story of Tabitha being raised from the dead by Peter. This is the first of two people confirmed to rise from the dead due to the Apostle's ministry. (The other being Eutychus by Paul in Acts 20:9-12) Of course, Jesus raised a few people from the dead and also arose from the dead himself. What is interesting here is that the people in Joppa didn't ask Peter to bring Tabitha back to life. It is actually unclear why they send for Peter, but perhaps it is because Tabitha was a well-respected leader in the church. (This goes back to the role of women in ministry which we have discussed the last two weeks.) I think this is most likely because the text doesn’t say they sent for Peter for him to perform a miracle, and indeed they were preparing Tabitha's body for burial. But when Peter showed up, he sensed (Spirit lead?) that he should bring her back to life. So, like Jesus in Matt. 9, Peter asked the crowd to leave the room. But unlike Jesus, he prayed before he told Tabitha to “arise.” This is a minor detail, but one which revealed who Jesus is and where Peter drew his power.

Easter Week 3

Psalm: Psalm 30
Acts: Acts 9:1-6, 7-20
Gospel: John 21:1-19
Epistle: Revelation 5:11-14

In the Gospel of John today we have another story about Jesus appearing to his disciples after his resurrection. In fact this is the third and final appearance that John relates. We have all no doubt heard countless sermons on this text. Generally the ones I have heard focus on two elements. The first one is the idea of the "charcoal fire" that Jesus had ready on the shore and comparing that to the charcoal fire Peter stood around on the night Jesus was arrested. Similarly, sermons have often also focus on Jesus asking Peter three times, "do you love me?" Especially expounding on Jesus use of the word "agape" the first 2 times, and finally using, "phileo" the third time. Hopefully you all are tracking here and can recall sermons or reading something about these points. They are definitely great places to go and reveal a lot about Jesus, the disciples, ourselves, and even the author of the text.

Easter Week 2

Psalm: Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150
Acts: Acts 5:27-32
Gospel: John 20:19-31
Epistle: Revelation 1:4-8

Last week I talked a lot about the important role the women in Jesus' life played in the Gospels, particularly in the resurrection narrative. We looked especially at Luke's account on Easter Sunday. And this week the theme returns in the Gospel of John and the immediate days after that first Easter morning. Any reading of John alongside the other Gospels reveals that John is different in a ton of ways. For example, on Jesus' last night before his death with his disciples, the 3 other Gospels tell of the institution of the Last Supper. John however ignores that entirely and instead showed Jesus washing his disciples feet and instructing his followers to do likewise. For this reason Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels and it is postulated that in some way they had the same source for parts of their texts and/or used each other. But John's Gospel, whether due to another oral tradition or even firsthand recollection, goes its own way. So when there are points of similarity, we ought to take note and recognize that something important is afoot.