August 28: Hard Choices
Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=b4Eag4p-citagw9ZUZXgag August 28, 2011 Hard Choices Excerpt from Acts 21:17-26 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OMrr71UlBLqRhotEtnl4PQ “They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs… So do what we tell you… . Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus, all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law.” Reflection by Ron Buford My mother used to say, “I’m not one to throw a brick and hide my hand.” Well … sometimes, you may need to hide your hands and perhaps not throw any bricks at all. Whichever course we choose, the important thing, as Stephen Covey writes in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is to always keep your purpose in mind. What is the best way to reach your goal? In this biblical narrative about Paul and the early church in Acts, we see the early “Christians,” who were in fact practicing Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, in conflict with Jews who did not believe and were honestly seeking to keep their faith from being corrupted. And then along comes Paul, rapidly converting Gentiles into fellowship without making them go through circumcision and other established purification rituals traditionally required of gentiles wanting to become Jews. By what authority did he do this? Apostles who believed Jesus was the Messiah agreed on a shrewd strategy. Hoping to distract Paul’s accusers concerning his embrace of the Gentiles, they told Paul to come to temple dressed and shaved like a strict keeper of the law. They told him to “hide his hand.” In this instance, it didn’t work, and Paul was arrested. The Book of Acts, chapters 20 to 28, shows Paul facing hard choices and shrewdly flipping between hiding his hand and being as direct as my mother, but always keeping his purpose in mind. Prayer UCC forebear and great 20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr introduced the world to the now famous Serenity Prayer, which is perfect when we face hard choices: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” Amen. Ron Buford About the Author Ron Buford, former coordinator of the UCC’s God is still speaking campaign, consults with religious and nonprofit organizations, leads workshops, and preaches in churches across the U.S. and U.K. Ron also appears in the DVD-based progressive theology series, Living the Questions 2.0. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qmQuMVoYkXsPYqCNeXUB9A The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=QDwwOgVRdgd_Qirf6kRGuw Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=7WXLoH91jVvmq5oTt-FfoA More items written by the UCC Writer’s Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=r5vSmTtwZF7oOR9C2zCfEw http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=p4lWgOcFs3M_WSaPPruawA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=32BnDGEd7cC1em7h8PwOfg Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OZ-lboTcAgE4Yg0H1BxCbw Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=iFx77cDRYSFDEwLArc9T-A Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=A8SrEcai8j_htuJDYsCrWw The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=E9FuDFpyTjFL8nDlEnbEQg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=fx3AnbwIVQYwmYLNKKPRhorsPafsUonL&cid=1072
