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Introduction to Worship for 5/14/2017

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Stand Firm:

This week’s scriptures set up a strange tension. On the one hand, rock is used in a positive way: God is referred to as a rock and a fortress in Psalm 31:3. In 1 Peter 2:1–10 we are told Jesus is a living stone, and that we ourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. And yet, in the reading from Acts we read the story of Stephen the deacon being stoned to death because he stands firm in faith and witness to Jesus. Like fire which we will celebrate in a few weeks at Pentecost, rocks are both good and bad.

Acts 7:55–60

When we last read about the early Christian community, they enjoyed the “goodwill of all” (Acts 2:47). This regard was short-lived. In Acts 4 we learn that Jewish leaders came to Peter and John, “annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:2). The leaders ordered Peter and John to cease their witness. They did not, and the number of Jews believing that Jesus was God’s Messiah continued to grow. Again, in Acts 5:17–42, there is an account of the growing tension between these two groups within the Jewish community. As the Body of Christ grew, the disciples appointed elders – individuals to care for the physical needs of the members. One such individual was Stephen.

In Acts 6:8–12 we learn that Stephen “did great wonders and signs” and spoke with “wisdom and the Spirit.” The temple leaders charged Stephen with blasphemy—showing contempt or a lack of respect for God. This charge was punishable by death (see Leviticus 24:13–16). Stephen stands trial and defends his witness in a fiery sermon, recorded in the first part of Acts 7. As we enter the focus scripture, Stephen has stopped speaking and the stage is set for the sentence for the charge of blasphemy.

In Acts 7:55–56, we learn that as Stephen faced his executioners, he “gazed into heaven” and “saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” This is the Easter message embodied: Christ reigns in glory. Those who heard this covered their ears to block out what were, to them, words of blasphemy.

Note the parallel between Stephen’s dying words in verses 59–60 and Jesus’ dying words. Stephen entrusts his spirit to the resurrected Christ. Like Jesus, Stephen prays that his executioners’ sin not be held against them. (See Luke 23:34, 46.)

One wonders what effect these words of forgiveness may have had upon those who took up the stones to kill and upon the young man who held their coats, Saul (verse 58). We shall meet Saul again in Acts 9, first in avid persecution, then in awestruck conversion, and eventually in faithful witness.
The story of Stephen is part of the enduring witness of the early followers of Jesus. The story seems to end in Acts 8:1 with the scattering of the Jerusalem church. But very soon, those who are scattered begin to preach and the gospel message disperses.
• • • • • 
In the days of the early church, when people believed the return of Jesus was imminent, dying for one’s faith was seen as brave and admirable. Two thousand years later our attitudes have changed somewhat. Yet we still look positively at someone who is proclaiming the gospel. How are those who risk for the sake of the gospel like living stones? How do they help us be built into a spiritual temple?

Additional scriptures: Psalm 31:1–5, 15–16; 1 Peter 2:2–10; John 14:1–14

Connecting scripture and life

Stones fill the reading for this week: killing stones, cornerstones, living stones, refuge rocks. Our words and actions reveal which of these stones define us.

  • As living stones, what are we building? Is it a building up or a tearing down?
  • In what ways are you, individually and as a church, choosing faithful witness to God – rock, refuge, and redeemer?

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