Eastertide

April 19, 2022

Scripture Reading: Acts 5:27-32

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

Speaking up and speaking out is a challenge in a world where people want to bury their heads in the sand and not face the realities of the injustice all around us.  Injustice stacks the deck against many and is not limited to racism, sexism, and misogyny although they are too often present in the miscarriage of other types of injustice.   Many people are arrested for non-violent crimes who cannot afford bail and thus may be jailed for weeks or months until they are tried causing them to lose their jobs and possibly their homes. The poor do not receive the same health care as the rich.  Most hospitals are required to take necessary steps to save a life but if they cannot pay for service, they most likely will not receive treatment to return them to wholeness.

Peter demonstrated a lot of intestinal fortitude when he proclaimed ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. How many of us would be willing to say that? Jesus does give us wise advice regarding righting wrongs in Matthew 10:16, ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Jesus was an advocate for those whose status did not allow them to be treated justly. We are called to do that also.

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are to weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
Ooh, no matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march, march into hell
For that heavenly cause*

Prayer: Lord, show us your quest for each of us and grant us the strength and courage to be wise as a serpent and innocent as doves as we carry out our calling. Amen.

*First and second verse with the chorus of the song The Impossible Dream written by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, see at https://www.themusicallyrics.com/g/546-greatest-musical-songs-2/7996-man-of-la-mancha-the-impossible-dream-lyrics.html

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.