A New Center
How important is it to obey the law?
When they heard it, they praised God. Then they said to him, 'You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. 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. What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. - Acts 21:20-22
On today's reading, James is giving Paul a hard time. He is worried that the law abiding Jews who have become believers will abandon their faith when they hear that Paul has accepted the lawless Gentiles as Christians.
I guess James is right to be worried. He wants to maintain the gains he has made in growing the following, and he probably thinks Paul has gone too far.
What Paul does next is a bit surprising. He goes through a rite of purification and sponsors four men in their purification to show he is still an abider of the law.
But things don't turn out the way Paul might have hoped. He winds up getting arrested.
This is a turning point in the development of the early church. Do we remain conservative, a sect of Judaism, or do we veer off in a different direction?
Paul started off ultra conservative. As Saul, he fought and persecuted any who broke the laws of Moses.
But after his conversion, he moved farther and farther away from that position to the point where he eventually welcomed non-Jews into the fold.
How far should we veer off our central comfort zone to support and accept those who are different from us?
If we focus on the rules and the laws, we will have a solid foundation on which to stand our ground, but perhaps we should consider letting that ground swell a little.
We will never find peace among us if each of us holds firmly to one way, excluding all others.
So, maybe we are at a turning point in history as well.
We can continue to shout at each other and tear down each others rules, or we can reach out and find a new center.
It is our choice. I pray we make a good one.
More to come...