For the Fifth Sunday of Easter, we hear or read the five verses that are the culmination of Stephen\u2019s ministry and his life. Luke\u2019s description is shocking and disturbing, and amazing, especially when read within the entirety of Stephen\u2019s story. Take a few moments to read it all, starting with Acts 6:1 and continuing through 8:3. How does this change your understanding of Stephen\u2019s death?<\/p>\n\n
How does it change your understanding of Paul? According to Luke Timothy Johnson, in his \u201cSacra Pagina\u201d series commentary on Acts (Liturgical Press, 1992), the witnesses\u2019 laying of their cloaks at Saul\u2019s feet indicates their \u201crecognition of Paul as a leader of those opposed to Stephen\u201d (p. 140). Verse 8:1 says, \u201cAnd Saul approved of their killing him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cBut they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.\u201d All I can imagine here is of a group of men putting their fingers in their ears and vehemently going, \u201cla-la-la-la-la-la,\u201d as people \u2013 not just children \u2013 do when they want to make it clear that they do not want to hear the words, when they do not want the ideas getting through. This gesture is comical at best and annoyingly childish at worst. For Stephen, it signaled his death.<\/p>\n\n
A pair of jugglers with fake French accents, were always my favorite performers at a Renaissance festival near Pittsburgh. One was the tall, smart straight man, and the other was the goofy, short jokester. At one point in the routine, the straight man uses an analogy that goes right over the jokester\u2019s head; the jokester goes for the literal interpretation. This annoys the straight man, who explains that it was a metaphor, to which the jokester replies, \u201cI never met a phor I didn\u2019t like.\u201d I laughed at the corny joke the first time, the tenth time, and still chuckle at the memory of it. Obviously, it still enters my head when encountering metaphors within a text, as in today\u2019s psalm. Metaphors allow for such expression in human narrative, both through humor and through seriousness.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cCome to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
As you consider how to respond, keep these ideas in mind. According to Donald P. Senior, in the \u201cSacra Pagina\u201d series commentary on Peter (Liturgical Press, 2003), lithos (Greek for \u201cstone\u201d) may mean a common stone, but more frequently connotes \u201ca dressed or specially cut stone suitable for building.\u201d In addition, the Greek word oikos not only translates as \u201chouse,\u201d but also as \u201chousehold\u201d; in other words, the people within the house.<\/p>\n\n
How do we feel when we say farewell to a friend, or when he or she says farewell to us? Someone with whom you have been living in close community for say, two or three years? How do you feel with the realization that you will not hear this person\u2019s voice on a daily basis any longer, nor will his or her simple physical presence have a place in your daily routine? Is this not what the disciples felt? Can\u2019t you hear it as the disciples ask their questions? \u201cWhat will we do without you here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cServe God, love me, and mend,
\nThis is not the end,
\nLive un-bruised, we are friends\u201d<\/p>\n\n
These are lyrics from a popular Mumford & Sons song, \u201cSigh No More,\u201d which embodies well today\u2019s gospel lesson, echoing Jesus\u2019 response to the anguish of his disciples.<\/p>\n\n
Today we experience part of Jesus\u2019 farewell to the disciples; all that it means for Peter, Philip, Thomas and the others \u2013 and for Christians today. Scholars and theologians have long debated the meaning of Jesus\u2019 words, such as \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life,\u201d and whether John\u2019s work teaches \u201crealized eschatology\u201d (the end has come in the person of Jesus) or \u201cfuture eschatology\u201d (the end will come at a future time). Both are important theological concepts; however, as I prepare to graduate from a community so important in my life and spiritual growth, it is the saying of farewell between teacher and disciples, between friends, that calls out to me from this reading. The end is now and not now, as we all move into the future.<\/p>\n\n
Acts 7:55-60 For the Fifth Sunday of Easter, we hear or read the five verses that are the culmination of Stephen\u2019s ministry and his life. Luke\u2019s description is shocking and disturbing, and amazing, especially when read within the entirety of Stephen\u2019s story. Take a few moments to read it all, starting with Acts 6:1 and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,22,52,3],"tags":[125],"class_list":["post-767061","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-easter","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-easter-5a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":22,"label":"Easter"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":125,"label":"Easter 5A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/767061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/767061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951770,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/767061\/revisions\/951770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}