Pat Deckert, member since 1988

Acts 28:17-20, 23-26 (New King James Version)
17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, 18 who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. 19 But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. 20 For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. 24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. 25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26 saying,

‘Go to this people and say:
“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”’

Reflection:
As I began thinking about writing this reflection and praying for the Holy Spirit to lead me to the passage and the words that might inspire, I kept coming up dry; maybe a small nudge that went nowhere, but the days were going somewhere–near deadline! I read Acts over again and wondered, “How do I choose one idea out of all the wonderful Acts of Paul, the Apostles and the cloud of saints that gave us the Church?” Oh, was I ever inadequate to the task. I stared at the computer and all I saw was an Apple and a blank screen. There it was!

It’s a large apple with a small bite out of it. This time that apple was the book, The Acts of the Apostles. It’s full of stories of unlikely people chosen by God, Paul being the most unlikely by our standards, to carry the story of the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises of a Savior to all people everywhere. It was many hard journeys in 60 AD and it’s hard work in 2020, but we, who often feel inadequate to the task, can take small bites of scripture, ACT them out, “use words, if necessary” to do our part in transforming the world for Jesus Christ.  

Putting our faith in action is overwhelming, and our inadequacy weighs heavily on our shoulders. But the fruit of God’s Kingdom has been in the process of being made manifest over thousands, and thousands, and thousands of years through small people like you and me. Over time, we see that the little bites of the apple are more significant than they initially appear. Doing our part in transforming the world in the name of God is overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Christ did not charge us with saving the world—only God can do that. Christ instead invites us to participate in the goodness of this Kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

By the way, sometimes in order to participate in this good work, we must slow down as I did when I stepped away from my MacBook and wrote this out in longhand. 

Prayer:
Dear Father of your unlikely servants, thank you for sending your Son to save us if we only believe. Help us in whatever way we can, to spread the Gospel as Paul and the followers of Christ did in the early days of the Church. Strengthen us in our faith as we meet opposition to your message in the world around us. Amen.