Today’s Scripture
Reading (December 13, 2017): Acts 9
Tom Steyer has recently
become a little more well-known to the general public because of his involvement
with the “Need to Impeach” movement which is attempting to find a way to end the Presidency of Donald Trump prematurely.
Steyer, an American Billionaire, pledged
in 2010 to donate half of his empire to charity during his lifetime and is
attempting to be seen as a friend of the
middle and lower classes. Steyer’s problem with Trump extends further than just
Trump being a representative from the opposing party to the one that he
supports (Steyer is a Democrat). According to Steyer, some fundamental things are just
wrong about Donald Trump’s presidency, which has now extended into the realm of
fiscal policy that threatens to undo a
lot of the financial safeguards that were put in place following the 2008 economic collapse.
Faced with these challenges, Tom Steyer felt that he had no choice but to get
involved, spending his money, to try and educate an unsuspecting public about
everything that is currently taking place in Washington that threatens their
well-being. Sometimes, action is needed,
and for Steyer, now is one of those times.
As a musician, I get
that. Sometimes my job with a band is to add something to the mix, to do
something, maybe learn a solo part or set up a specific
rhythm. But the other part of my job, and probably the most crucial part of my task as a musician, is to
know when I just need to get out of the
way. Something is happening in the band that is special, and I just can’t get
in the way and spoil the moment. This is
a musical truth, but it is also a life truth. We all have our “Tom Steyer”
moments when we feel that we have to do something, but we also have moments when our only job is to not get in the
way of something special that is taking place around us.
When Judas died, an
opportunity was presented to the
disciples. They felt that they needed to replace Judas. This was their “Tom Steyer” moment, there chance to make a huge
difference in the development of the Christian Church. The apostles went
through a process and chose Matthias as the replacement for Judas. And if we
only read the first few chapters of Acts, we are probably okay with their
decision. But then we are introduced to the story arch of Paul. And as we read the
story of Paul, it becomes apparent that while the apostles had chosen Matthias,
maybe God had someone else in mind; that perhaps
God had chosen to replace Judas with Paul. If Paul is God’s replacement for
Judas, then the apostles had taken a moment when all God required of them was
to get out of the way, and had instead inserted their will. Or maybe it is
phrased better this way, in choosing Matthias to replace Judas, the disciples
made the safe choice. If Paul was God’s choice, then that was a very dangerous replacement. And early on in Paul’s
journey, the disciples simply are not
comfortable around Paul. The decision to accept Paul into the Christian
community was a hard one. A decision to let him stand with them as Apostles of
Christ was even harder. And so, early on, the disciples rejected Paul.
But I also recognize that
this is often the way with God. If things are left up to him, he usually presents us with uncomfortable choices.
Many scholars have openly wondered when
the day comes, and we stand in the presence of the twelve apostles, which
apostles will be represented. More
specifically, will it be Matthias or Paul standing in Judas’s spot? In spite of the initial rejection of Paul
by the apostles, there is no doubt that the mark that Paul left on the church
was significant. And if it is not Paul who is standing with the twelve on that
day, we probably won’t have to look far to find him. If he is not one of The Twelve,
he will be in a category all by himself as God’s Apostle to the Gentiles.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 10
No comments:
Post a Comment