Standing Out for the Way God’s Grace is at Work

Seeking Christ and his Spirit

Luke 5:27-39 | Acts 6:8-15

The terms and characteristics of the Kingdom…it’s so crucial to be in tune with the spirit in knowing who Christ was and is. The terms and characteristics of the Kingdom…not tradition, not customary understandings of faith and religion, but the manner in which we come to see Jesus at work and in ministry.

As we continue to journey through both Luke and Acts, we continue to see the work of Christ and the Church received as threatening to the establishment. The Pharisees don’t like Jesus eating with Levi and other tax collectors. Those from the Synagogue of Former Slaves didn’t like what Stephen was saying that they themselves began to lie about it all, just to see his demise (we’ll read his long response tomorrow).

Reading these ancient accounts is one thing. It’s easy enough to see what’s going on - that religious authority and power had dipped its head so far in the bucket that they were blind to actual faith and the power of God.

But today? There are so many persuasions and options and movements and factions.

Are you convinced of the great need for Christ’s spirit to lead us today? One reason you’ve been invited to read these gospels over and over again is to study and know the terms of Christ’s Kingdom. Many things that “look good” turn out to have no connection to Christ as we know him in the gospels. Righteousness (“that which is right”) must be measured against what we know of him, not against cultural or political “seems-right-to-me” assumptions.

Luke 5:27-39

Afterward, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

Levi got up, left everything behind, and followed him. Then Levi threw a great banquet for Jesus in his home. A large number of tax collectors and others sat down to eat with them. The Pharisees and their legal experts grumbled against his disciples. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”

Some people said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast often and pray frequently. The disciples of the Pharisees do the same, but your disciples are always eating and drinking.”

Jesus replied, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? The days will come when the groom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.”

Then he told them a parable. “No one tears a patch from a new garment to patch an old garment. Otherwise, the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t match the old garment. Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the new wine would burst the wineskins, the wine would spill, and the wineskins would be ruined. Instead, new wine must be put into new wineskins. No one who drinks a well-aged wine wants new wine, but says, ‘The well-aged wine is better.’”

Acts 6:8-15

Stephen, who stood out among the believers for the way God’s grace was at work in his life and for his exceptional endowment with divine power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose from some who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Former Slaves. Members from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia entered into debate with Stephen. However, they couldn’t resist the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly enticed some people to claim, “We heard him insult Moses and God.” They stirred up the people, the elders, and the legal experts. They caught Stephen, dragged him away, and brought him before the Jerusalem Council. Before the council, they presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law. In fact, we heard him say that this man Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and alter the customary practices Moses gave us.” Everyone seated in the council stared at Stephen, and they saw that his face was radiant, just like an angel’s.

Prayer

God,

Help me know your way. Show me Jesus as he is and not as I assume him to be.

The world around us is full of politics, persuasion, and people pontificating about what is right. Honestly, some of it seems pretty good, whether to the left or to the right. And perhaps some of it does resonate in ways with your Kingdom. But Lord, I know that truth nuggets wrapped in filth and lies are no truth at all.

So help me, God: Give me and others vision for what is right and to stand firm, even if in the midst of a losing battle.

By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.