Readings for today: Acts 18:19-19:41
Happy Thanksgiving! As many gather around tables for food and fellowship today, there are certain subjects bound to be off-limits. Politics. Religion. Hot-button cultural issues. Then again, maybe your family is like mine and we enjoy these conversations. We have strong people with many strong opinions and the conversation can be fiery at times. ;-) Our number one is rule is that we can talk about anything, provided we remain respectful, humble, and loving towards each other. Sadly, far too many of us have a hard time navigating these kinds of conversations. The result is deep brokenness, hurt feelings, and a spoiled holiday.
I often experience the same challenges in the church. On the one hand it’s not surprising. Healthy churches are full of people from all kinds of different backgrounds and life experiences. They are strung out along a spectrum of spiritual maturity. Some are brand new to the faith and just learning to walk like Jesus. Others have been walking with Jesus for years and have more practice. It makes for a difficult environment as people try to apply the gospel to their lives. It’s equally challenging to apply the gospel to the culture around us. How many times have I heard the comment, “why can’t the preacher just stick to the gospel?” Why does he or she have to bring politics into worship? Or social justice? Or economics? As my southern friends used to say, “Stick to preachin’! Stay away from meddlin’!” The problem with this approach is clear when you read passages like the one we read for today. We’ve already seen how the early Christians were accused of “turning the world upside down” with their preaching of the gospel. It is impossible to separate the preaching of the gospel from the implications of the gospel. Preaching Jesus by definition challenges our notions of justice, power, social class, economics, etc. because He Himself challenged those same things through His preaching and the apostles followed His example.
Ephesus was one of the great cities of Asia Minor in the 1st century. A commercial trading center. A major port. In the early second century, the great library of Celsus was built here, housing over 12,000 scrolls and putting Ephesus on the map alongside Alexandria as one of the main centers of learning in the ancient world. It had an amphitheater that held over 25,000 spectators. But perhaps the greatest draw was the famed Temple of Artemis. One of the seven wonders of the world. Pilgrims came from all over to pay their respects to the great goddess. As a result, tradesmen and craftsmen made a lot of money supporting the cult by selling idols and little shrines for the people to carry home with them. Enter the Apostle Paul. He comes preaching the gospel of a God not made with human hands. A God who cannot be represented by idols here on earth. A God who is the maker of heaven and earth. A God greater than Artemis (the moon goddess) and many of her former adherents came to faith. Sales drop. Profits crumble. Money is lost. A riot ensues as the entire economic structure of the city is now in danger.
Such accusations are nothing new to Paul. He’s already been accused of preaching a “king other than Caesar.” He’s already been accused of treason and sedition. He’s already been accused of upending entire social systems and ways of life. He’s already been accused of blasphemy by his fellow Jews. No wonder he’ll remark to his Corinthian friends, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10) Paul understands to preach the gospel places one at odds with the social systems of this world. The economic systems of this world. The political systems of this world. The gospel is the good news of a different Kingdom. A Kingdom that is in this world but not of this world. A Kingdom ruled from a heavenly throne not an earthly one. A Kingdom driven by eternal values not temporal ones. A Kingdom that is pure and noble and righteous. A Kingdom unwilling to compromise with the sinful and broken ways of this world. So one cannot preach without meddlin’ in politics, social systems, economics, and justice. The gospel cannot be privatized. Jesus will not rest until He is Lord over every facet of human existence. Until every knee bows in heaven, on earth, and under the earth and every tongue confesses that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 1-4