We continue our journey through the part of the New Testament known as the Acts of the Apostles. This morning we hear how Peter and John receive a message from beyond, ‘Go … and speak to the people the words of life’ (Acts 5:20).
Where have we found life? What do we experience as life-giving and life-sharing? And what would we ‘speak’ if this message were to come to us? It would be fascinating to hear the different dimensions and perspectives that would be shared, based on our life stories thus far.
For Christians, the one common thread in our words about life would surely be Jesus, God with Us. It was certainly Jesus of whom Peter spoke back in the day. And those first Christians did not speak of Jesus as doctrine or truth or liturgy or life-style, but as a living, life-giving presence. I love how the earliest images drawn by Christians on the walls of the catacombs or Rome were not crosses or even crowns, but of Jesus as a Caring Shepherd, a Fisher of Humanity, a Passionate Bridegroom.
Jesus is the word of life spoken to us, but also spoken through us. And our ‘speaking’ involves our ‘living’. I remember the new Christian from China who understood this immediately – ‘The only Bible most of my neighbours will ever read is my life’. Christ will be known through Christians. Life through the enlivened ones. I conclude with a prayer from Christians of Nicaragua …
We are the children of the sun are we,
who write in the shadows of evening, who walk in the dark of the night,
who arise in the light of the dawn,
who walk lightly upon the face of the earth,
who sow the field and grow the daily bread,
who know the language of the wind,
who plough the furrows of the old and bring bones to bloom,
who consecrate bread in our own flesh,
who break chains and discover the way … of life.
Join us this Sunday morning if you are in the area. You would be welcome. And there is a free congregational lunch afterwards! Have a look at the Order of Worship below. During the service there is a nursery for infants and a programme for children. Clergy Street is closed temporarily due to construction but there is ample parking along neighbouring streets and in the city lot off Queen Street just behind the church.
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