Show Notes
In this sixth week of Eastertide, we reflect on how we can help manifest something of the kingdom of God in and through our everyday responsibilities and endeavors.
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Episode Transcript
In the glorious light of the resurrection, we see everything differently: ourselves, our neighbors, our world, our calling. In this sixth week of Easter, we are invited into a new way of living, offering the best we have while receiving the better God has for us.
A reading from the book of Acts, chapter 16, verses 9 through 15.
9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
There is no shortage of books on church growth and leadership that draw from best practices of the business world. And we certainly have things to learn from innovators and entrepreneurs who’ve made fortunes, but their wisdom can only take us so far because there comes a point where good business and God’s business part ways. Or perhaps better put, they need to come together in a new and revolutionary way. It is doubtful that some of the twelve disciples would make it past the first round of interviews for a position with a contemporary startup. Yet these unlikely candidates were the ones Jesus chose to help establish the most successful enterprise in the church. Just like Samuel when he went to anoint Israel’s new king a thousand or so years before, Jesus did not look on the outside, but on the heart. Being about God’s business means blending common sense with supernatural sensitivity, making our own best efforts while relying ultimately on His divine leading and empowering. Just like Paul and his companions in Acts 16, they went to Macedonia in response to God’s clear leading. But once they got there, they had to take things into their own hands. On the Sabbath, they went outside Philippi to the river because it seemed likely they might find a peaceful place for prayer. And so they did. Their encounter with Lydia led to the birth of the pivotal first church there. None of this from, I had a dream we should go there, to, let’s just wander about and see what we find. None of that constitutes a solid plan that will earn you a small business administration loan. What does that mean for us in the 21st century? As we go about our daily lives, how do we balance following prophetic direction and pursuing personal professionalism? How do we live in this world and operate by its rules, while recognizing that it is neither our ultimate authority nor our ultimate home? How do we help manifest something of the kingdom of God in and through our everyday responsibilities and endeavors?
A reading from John’s Gospel, Chapter 14, verses 23 to 29.
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
Dr. Mark Roberts at Fuller Theological Seminary’s Max De Pree Center writes our prayer for today:
Lord, today we ask for your guidance. With the Psalm writer we pray, make us to know your ways, O Lord. Teach us your paths. Show us today how we should walk in order to honor you and contribute to your work in the world. You care about everything. How we think and plan, how we write and speak, how we manage and sell, how we create and lead. Whether we’re cranking out a spreadsheet or standing against racism in our workplace, you care. It all matters to you. So when we ask to know your ways, we mean in every little part of our work. The Psalm writer says, I wait for you all day long. This reminds us that our openness to you shouldn’t end when we say Amen at the conclusion of a prayer. We need to keep the line open to keep on speaking to you and listening for you. Teach us, Lord, to wait for you throughout our work days. May we work today with you, for you, in you, and for your glory. Amen.
The 67th Psalm:
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
