From Above
A common solution to uprisings in Roman times was to strike the head and cause the followers to scatter.
Then he said to them, "Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them-in that case you may even be found fighting against God!" - Acts 5:35-39
In today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the high priest is looking to stop the apostles from speaking about Jesus, but a Pharisee, Gamaliel, reminds them the approach used with others is not working with this group.
Jesus is dead, and yet the followers continue to spread news about him. How can that be?
If there was no truth to the story of Jesus having risen from the dead, would the apostles continue to talk about him when threatened with death?
A fabrication is a tough thing to keep alive, especially when it requires collaboration by others.
Gamaliel is telling the leaders to be cautious because this Jesus tale has all the signs of being from above, and not of human origin.
How do we know when we are fighting God?
The chief priests and Pharisees applied common sense and that didn't help them see the incredible story they were being told could be true. So, we are not always going to be able to see through fabrications or to recognize truths.
I think that is the real message here. Sometimes the improbable or impossible can be real.
We are so conditioned to believe that there is one right answer to every question, we may not be able to hear a different message.
Jesus warned us about that. He said we can read some signs and know what is true, while other signs are completely ignored.
Perhaps we should keep our eyes open, our hears clear, and our minds ready to contemplate something unusual or off the beaten path.
We might just learn a little more about ourselves, and get a bit closer to God.
More to come...