Lenten Bible Study Day 24; Acts 5

Acts, Chapter 5 (NRSV)

The first story in this chapter actually begins a few verses earlier at the end of chapter 4. (That's a reminder that the chapter divisions in the Bible texts are arbitrary.) The story is an uncomfortable one to read; it is of how Ananias and Sapphira lie to the community and and as a result die.

I've never heard anyone preach on it. Mostly I've heard it used as a punchline for a joke. If we can get beyond the difficulty of understanding why God would strike people dead for this but not for the awful things that happen before and afterward in the narrative, and get over our discomfort that this is a trespass regarding money, perhaps we can see it as a story about how important the early Church thought it was to be accountable to the community of believers - and how important God considered the community to be.

There's a sermon to be found in that story, or perhaps a mediation, but for me this morning, I'm going to go to the end of the chapter and focus my attention there first.

As the controversy between the apostles and the leaders of the Jewish people begins to boil over, and the lives of the apostles are placed in great danger, a famous rabbi stands up and counsels against taking action. Gamaliel is mentioned in the Talmud and was, at one time, the President of the Sanhedrin (the council of the leaders of the Jewish people). According to some traditions he was renowned for his wisdom. Later on in Acts, Paul will mention that Gamaliel was one of his teachers.

In this particular moment, Gamaliel stands up in the council and cautions the leaders against acting too quickly to end the controversy that is being caused by the apostles teaching. He reminds his hearers that there have been other controversial claims about the Messiah in recent memory, and they have all ended badly. Those leaders and their followers have come to nothing in the end. He suggests that the Sanhedrin should wait to see what God is doing. If Peter and John and the others are telling the truth, then the leaders must not hinder them in any way. If the Apostles are not telling the truth, God will judge them for speaking lies about God. The wise course is to be patient and see.

It's essentially a bit of wisdom that's not all that different from the old English maxim, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." You just don't know sometimes how things are going to turn out until you see them all the way through.

Much of what happens in the Episcopal Church these days is an application of this particular spiritual law. We are dealing with numerous controversies. Some other churches respond to the controversies by forbidding anyone to speak about them or to simply reiterate the traditional position. We've done that too. It hasn't always worked out well. But mostly now we're willing to let things play themselves out so that we might see where God is in things. If the matter of the controversy is from God, it will end well. If not, it won't. Deciding to wait this way is an act that represents a deep faith in Holy Spirit. At least most of the time. Sometimes we're just avoiding conflict… It takes a great deal of wisdom to discern the difference.

So here then is something to meditate on today. We know that this chapter has a story that teaches how important it is that we be responsible to the community. And another story that urges us to wait to see what God is going to do in a moment of great controversy. How willing are you to suspend your desire to protect the community that has brought you healing and life and allow a difficult situation to simply be difficult for a while? How willing are you to trust that God will work things out in a time of controversy?

I confess that I struggle a great deal with finding the proper balance between these two spiritual ideas. I expect we all do. But when have you found the right balance before? And why was that time different?