Stephen and the Journey

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Holy Days
The Feast of Booths

Acts 7:30-43  The Message

^30-32 “Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush. Moses, not believing his eyes, went up to take a closer look. He heard God’s voice: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.
^33-34 “God said, ‘Kneel and pray. You are in a holy place, on holy ground. I’ve seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their groans. I’ve come to help them. So get yourself ready; I’m sending you back to Egypt.’
^35-39 “This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, ‘Who put you in charge of us?’ This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer. He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to his congregation, ‘God will raise up a prophet just like me from your descendants.’ This is the Moses who stood between the angel speaking at Sinai and your fathers assembled in the wilderness and took the life-giving words given to him and handed them over to us, words our fathers would have nothing to do with.
^39-41 “They craved the old Egyptian ways, whining to Aaron, ‘Make us gods we can see and follow. This Moses who got us out here miles from nowhere—who knows what’s happened to him!’ That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together.

For Reflection 

The strength of the Christian movement has always threatened the common ways.  The inherent subversive counter culture of Christianity upsets the common culturally derived norms and changes all assumptions of perfection. Here, in these passages, Stephen, argues against accusations of blasphemy in a kangaroo court with bribed witnesses designed to destroy the Jesus movement.

In their attempt at self-reliance, the Israilites made a calf idol, [sacrificed to it] and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together." In the fall of the people of Moses, I am reminded of the passages from Carl Sanburg's Playthings of the Wind.  "It has happened before.  Strong men put up a city and got a nation together and paid singers to sing and women to warble: We are the greatest city the greatest nation, nothing like us ever was."

Without God all human endeavor is useless and without substance.  Godless creation is bound to fail and as Sandburg puts it,  " [after the fall] ...the writing of the rat's footprints tells us nothing about the greatest city, the greatest nation... Nothing like us ever was."

Pray

Prayers of thanksgiving and praise for the living God.  Pray that God's steadfast love for humanity will be recognized by us all.  Pray for the Kingdom of God in which there is a residing place for justice peace and forgiveness.   Pray so that you are not seduced by the common call to self-sustenance.