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Posts Tagged ‘Acts’

The joys and agonies of new things (a biblical reflection prepared for the board of Overseas Council Europe, Frankfurt, Germany)

Posted in textures, tagged , , , , on April 1, 2009| 1 Comment »

    It often seems as though events move too quickly.

    We feel we live in a reality that is far too fluid. We wish for some stasis, a chance to catch our breaths. We are overcome, sometimes, by nostalgia for a time when things remained the same. Perhaps this static time exists only in our minds, perhaps it once existed in the wider reality. Regardless, it seems not to exist now.

    Even this meeting of the Overseas Council Europe (OCE) board occurs in a moment of pronounced change. We have a new director, the possibility of some newer board members, a new and close friendship between Andreas Kammer and the leader of OCTeam in the United Kingdom, to say nothing of his personal and professional network among the OC affiliates of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. (more…)

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mercy’s complications: Acts 15

Posted in textures, tagged , , on July 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Irrepressible mercy is both many-splendored and complicating.

The famous colloquy of Acts 15 is made necessary by the unanticipated vigor with which non-Jews respond to the proclamation that Israel’s messiah has died and come alive again. To James of Jerusalem is given the moment for summation. He responds by framing events in the context of prophetic anticipation:

This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up, so that all other peoples may seek the Lord—even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things known from long ago.’

It turns out that David’s fallen tent will house more than just Jewish tenants. All peoples are now understood to come into its shade. Hints given by the prophets of an incalculable mercy begin to take shape. (more…)

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irrepressible: Acts 14

Posted in textures, tagged , , on July 5, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Many Christians refer to one of Jesus’ final recorded statements as his great commission. As commonly translated, one might also consider it Jesus’ great imperative:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

However, the italicized words render a Greek participle that might just as well be understood to embrace a wider spectrum of circumstances: As you go, make disciples of all nations … (more…)

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honored by dishonor: Acts 5

Posted in textures, tagged , , on June 20, 2008| Leave a Comment »

It is difficult to impede the forward motion of men and women who find their honor in being dishonored for their cause. This is as true of people whose lives have been enobled by an admirable vocation as it is of those perhaps more obvious cases where the most pernicious of campaigns are carried forward by pathetic addicts to the sensation of other people’s hatred. (more…)

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