Eastertide

May 2, 2023

Scripture Reading: Acts 7:55-60
But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.

Stephen followed the example of Jesus when he prayed for the forgiveness of his killers’ sins. I wondered if he was present at the crucifixion. Jesus did not hold grudges. He always searched for the next thing he could do to bring about the Kingdom of God. He realized that hatred and bigotry are a waste of talent and time. That is easy enough to write; it is much harder to practice. I worked with a man thirty years after he came to the USA from Germany following World War II. I noticed that he usually paused momentarily before responding to a conversation. He told me he still translated what people said to him in English into German in his head and then prepared his response in German and translated it into English in his mind before he spoke it. He did it quickly. I am not bilingual, and that is hard for me to imagine. It, however, made me realize that I do the same thing when I try to find the right words for the circumstances rather than blurting out something that might make matters worse. Imagining how I would react to the words I first want to say helps me recalibrate. That is a good habit we all might want to practice.

Prayer: Lord, give me the language I need to use to make my communication more meaningful. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.