Friday 12 May 2023
- Bible Book:
- Acts
The apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him … (vs 1-2)
Background
This story is one that those in church leadership can relate to all too easily. A really good and surprising thing has happened, new people have come to faith and the Church is growing, but somehow rather than focus on that, the focus is on the perceived breaking of a church rule. At its heart, this story is about a lack of imagination and seeking to fit God into our mould rather than expand our understanding as God shows us new things.
The Jewish background believers were still holding on to their traditional understanding that relating to God involved keeping a wide range of religious laws. Gentiles, being gentiles, couldn’t meet those requirements. What God demonstrated in Joppa is that the Spirit will work without limitation (John 3:8). The first followers of Jesus still hadn’t understood this, despite Jesus and the disciples deliberately breaking some religious laws and Jesus' fairly constant criticism of the Jewish religious leaders. Perhaps, more than their belief, it was their longstanding custom and practice that they struggled to see past.
When John Wesley was criticised for going into the parish of another Church of England minister without being invited, his response was not to be sorry or to ask for forgiveness. Wesley was clear that God was calling him to minister in a different way and so responded with ‘the world is my parish’. It was not so much a statement about global mission but rather saying that a church rule was not going to stop Wesley sharing the gospel.
A challenge out of this passage for Christians today is to understand that tradition can be simply that – a tradition that we have accepted without much thought. We need to place every area of our lives under the spotlight of God’s word to enable us to respond as God wants and not in the way tradition has pointed.
To Ponder:
- What are the areas where we risk being held back by tradition?
- Why do we struggle to break rules when those rules clearly are no longer fit for purpose?
Prayer
Holy God, help us to sweep away generations of tradition and practice that are no longer helpful for us or for others today.