To Shepherd the Church

 

Chapter 20

At the end of Chapter 19 Paul was in the midst of an uprising in Ephesus. Chapter 20 begins in the immediate aftermath of that uprising as Paul is preparing to leave. He has indicated that he intends to travel to Jerusalem and then Rome – he is “resolved in the Spirit” to do so. In this chapter we have the sense of Paul moving toward his final destination.

He travels through the regions he has previously visited and worked, bringing the believers “much encouragement” (v.2). Encouragement is a constant theme in the book of Acts. We see it also in Paul’s own letters. Paul does not forget those he has encountered with the gospel. Even though he is a traveling missionary, constantly on the road to the next place, he holds them all in his heart.

In Troas, Luke tells us a story about a gathering of the church there. “On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread” (v. 7) and Paul preached. This describes the pattern that the church set early on. Those who were Jewish Christians continued to meet in the synagogue on the sabbath, but they also established a new day of worship – the day of resurrection. As Jesus rose from the dead on the first day, this became a day of worship and celebration for the people of the way. They broke bread together, in the pattern that Jesus established for them to follow. The gathering of the church on the first day, with the breaking of bread, remains a core practice of the church.

Luke describes Paul’s preaching in this gathering as being rather long. He continued until late at night. One young man, perched on a window sill, drifted off to sleep and fell three stories to his death. But Paul was able to bring his life back to him. Like Peter before him, Paul demonstrated the power of Jesus to raise the dead.

But another element of the story we might notice is the similarity to Jesus’ parable of the watchful slaves (Luke 12:35-40). This is a parable Jesus tells his followers about slaves who are waiting for the master to arrive home late at night, and urges them to stay alert, be watchful, lest they miss his arrival. Here, again, disciples are reminded of the need to stay alert for signs of Jesus.

The following day Paul continues on his journey toward Jerusalem. In his conflicting desires to reach his destination and also revisit the church in Ephesus, Paul asks the Ephesian elders to come out and meet him. Paul gives a speech that is clearly a farewell. He will not be seeing them again. His speech is full of reminders of the work he has done with them and encouragements to continue this work. His words bring them to tears.

Let’s return to the word encouragement. It is an essential work of the church, and Paul spends a good bit of time offering it. When we think about our own work in the church, we may recognize that encouragement is constantly needed. What are the ways we offer encouragement?

In the gathering together, the church finds encouragement. The stories in this chapter about Paul gathering together with the communities of faith are opportunities for encouragement. In fact, encouragement is one of most important reasons for the church to gather together.

We sometimes speak of the church as the gathered and the scattered, meaning that we gather together, then scatter to serve Christ in the world. Our gatherings prepare us to do the work of the church scattered.

What are we without the gatherings? We might still be busy people, doing good work in the world. But without the gathering and the encouragement it can offer our spirits, we can easily lose our way. Our service can become cynical. Our love for others can wane. Our vision can become weak.

When the church gathers together it is an act of centering – we remember who we are and whose we are. It is an act of nurturing – we are fed by the word of God and by the caring of the community. It is an act of focusing and preparing – we are directed by the proclamation of the word to respond. When we are done, we gather ourselves up and go out into the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Questions for Reflection:

·        It has been almost a year now in which we have had few opportunities to gather together physically as the body of Christ – the church. How has that impacted your life? Have you found sustenance from other ways of gathering?

·        Consider the story in this chapter of the young man falling asleep during worship. Interpreted metaphorically, it bears some similarity to the parable of the watchful slaves. How do you watch for signs of Jesus?

·        Fred Rogers told a story from his childhood, saying that when he saw bad things on the TV news that scared him, his mother would say, “Look for the helpers.” We may hear these words as a call to reorient our vision. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the catastrophes of the world. But the vision Christ gives us is a vision of mending and healing and serving with love. In the kingdom of God, tragedy is not the norm – love is the norm. How can the church help you reorient your vision?