Jim:
Acts 6:1-16
Look at verse 8: “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” Now look back at the beginning of chapter 6. There we read that Stephen had been set aside essentially to wait tables and make sure that the Hellenist widows got as much food as the Hebrew widows did. Yet God used Stephen to do “great wonders and signs among the people.” It would seem that our willingness to serve within the community of faith can present us with opportunities and roles to play that we might never expect. Now granted I’m a minister’s son, but I’ve done many more things in the life of the church than I ever expected to be called on to do, from working as temporary janitor and as church secretary, to directing youth groups and coordinating response to tornados for Presbytery. Oh, and I’m also a minister. I never expected to do any of these things necessarily. But over time God has called me to respond to different circumstances and to serve the church in different ways. Stephen, a deacon, acted more like a presbyter or bishop. What are we being called to do? Where are we being sent to go?
Luke 22:14-23
The words of institution (found in verses 19 and 20) are among the most meaningful in all of scripture for they established a practice that the church has followed for centuries. That one of the apostles present at this meal would betray Jesus seems significant as well. When we gather around the table today we do so as a motley crew of sinners in need of redemption. God welcomes us anyway and pours out grace and mercy to us in the process.
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