God’s Reign in Our Lives – 7 May 2023
John 14:1–14 and 1 Peter 2:2–10
In the first epistle of Peter, we are admonished to long for spiritual nourishment, that we might be fortified and strengthened and mature in the faith. . . Building your life upon Christ invites us to a dynamic but not static life, one in which we have the opportunity to stretch and grow and be fed.
The passages assigned from the book of Acts illustrate this principle in the way the Christian community in Jerusalem accommodated its numeric growth to provide for its spiritual growth. The pericope from Acts 6 describes the beginning of the story of the care for the Greek widows. The apostles' energies were being diverted by caring for the physical needs of these women, while they were also charged with the spiritual needs of the entire community. So seven men of high spiritual repute were set apart to serve the widows and release the apostles to teach and preach the word of God without distraction. Acts 7 describes the end of the story, where Stephen, one of the seven, was stoned for his faith. Here we see the sort of person a Christian has the potential to become, conformed into the likeness of Christ in life and in death. And it ends with another beginning, an introduction to Saul, who would also change and grow, building his life upon Christ.
The reading from John's gospel synthesizes these themes. Jesus begins by offering reassurance: Don't worry about the future, I will provide. Jesus will prepare a place for us, he has taken care of our ultimate retirement; he knows and cares for our future. To know Jesus as Christ is to know God, and to know God is to be transformed. So transformed will we be by the resurrecting power of Christ in the lives of our communities built upon Christ, that we will accomplish greater things than Christ himself (14:12–13). If we ask for growth—for our own spiritual growth, for growth of the kingdom of God and expansion of God's justice—God will provide.
We plan for the future, investing our time and resources in anticipation of days ahead. We plan hoping for growth in the value of our investments and the opportunities they will afford us. Today's texts ask us to consider a different horizon, the future of the reign of God in our lives and our world. –– Todd E. Johnson
Acts 7:55–60
One of the seven, named Stephen, was arrested by the religious authorities. Unfortunately, the lectionary selects only the verses that tell how Stephen was stoned to death by agents of the high priest. This portion of the account is nearly incomprehensible without reference to the accusations of blasphemy against Stephen (6:11) and Stephen's inflammatory speech, in which he recites Israel's history of failure and accuses his antagonists of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. It comes as no surprise, then, that the crowd became increasingly enraged at Stephen. When Stephen reported a vision of Jesus as exalted Son of Man, his enemies acted to silence him. The remarkable thing about Stephen's death is his imitation of Jesus, praying that God would forgive his murderers. –– Aaron J. Couch
Todd E. Johnson served for a number of years as associate professor of worship, theology, and the arts at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, and is now the Senior Pastor of First Covenant Church in Seattle, Washington.
Aaron Couch is a co-pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.
Homily Service 41, no. 2 (2008): 145–154.