Acts Now

Easter 5 – May 18, 2025

Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 148
Revelation 21:1-6
John 13:31-35

If you have been paying attention to what scripture lessons we read during our weekend services, you will note that we usually read a lesson from the Old Testament, a Psalm, the New Testament and a Gospel. That pattern changes during the season of Easter when we replace the Old Testament reading with one from Acts. Now if you have never read Acts I would encourage you to do so. (Actually we would all benefit from reading Acts again.) Acts was written by Luke. In fact Luke and Acts was originally one book. At some point it was broken up into two so that the first half of the book – Luke – matched Mark’s and Matthew’s story of Jesus. Acts is the story of the early church; how it began as a small group of Jewish disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem and grew to include the whole Roman empire and all people.

Reading Acts can be a bit deceiving. Acts tells of the early church’s growth as a smooth continuous event where one thing makes the next possible. Our story about Peter baptizing gentiles is an example of this. I am pretty sure baptizing gentiles was much more controversial than Luke makes it sound. I know because I have been involved in churches for 60 years and when something new comes along it's usually not greeted by everyone with joy. But Luke isn't really concerned about any controversies that arose as the church grew. He wanted to show that the church was God’s work and those involved understood that. 

In fact, if you look around you will see that the church today does not look like the church in Luke’s day. That’s because we live in a much different time and culture than Luke. It’s also an indication that the church always changes because of the life and time it's in. Sometimes that change is good. Other times it isn't. That’s why God often calls for a reformation of the church. Actually, if you think about it, God is always reforming the church as new problems arise within society. Those changes are so we, the Body of Christ, can serve those in need. And remember who we are to serve – the widow, the orphan, and the alien (read immigrant) in our land. Certainly there is a lot that the church is called upon to do in this time.

It is a large and difficult task to stand up to your own government when it isn't acting as God desires. But we do not do this as individuals. We do this as the church and each of us in our own social circle are called to proclaim God’s love for all people and work to protect the most vulnerable. Prepare yourself for the battle. Put on the armor of God, read scripture and pray that you will have the same courage that Peter had when proclaiming what is right, true, and just in God’s eye.