“When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.’

 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.”
 Acts 21:20-26

–

MAY 27, 2025

As we saw yesterday, Paul and his companion are home. After a long time traveling from city to city, building and encouraging the churches around the Roman world, they are finally back where it all began: Jerusalem. I can almost see their missionary slide show as they fill in the gaps from the past several years (okay, maybe it wasn’t a slide show).

But coming home is never as simple and straightforward as we hope. There’s even an idiom: you can never go home again. New experiences change us. And while we’re gone, things change at home, too. Though we may long for the safety of the people and places who know us best, trying to fit back in is almost always complicated.

When Paul lived in Jerusalem, he was Saul, the zealous defender of the faith and great persecutor of the Jesus followers. Then, he met Jesus himself and became zealous for them, not against them. He has spent his ministry zealously attempting to sew together Jesus-following communities out in the Jewish diaspora and Roman empire. As we have seen, these house churches are trying to pull of the nearly impossible: slaves and masters, women and men, Gentile and Jew living and eating and learning and worshipping together as equals in Christ.

The church in Jerusalem is where it all began, of course. But their mission has been quite different. This group of Jewish followers of the Jewish Messiah has been making inroads among the people of Judea, and now thousands believe.

Of course there’s going to be conflict. Yes, all these people are Christians, followers of Jesus who have turned from their communities and traditions because they believe Jesus is God’s Messiah. But what that faithfulness, suffering, and perseverance looked like in Ephesus or Athens is very different from what it looked like in Jerusalem.

Can the Spirit bring the humility, discernment, gentleness and love that it takes to knit this family together?

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:12-15

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • What is your go-to response to conflict and suspicion?
  • Why does the Bible prescribe clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and above all, love? How do you see Paul living out his teaching in this passage?
  • How do you handle conflicts and misunderstandings and cultural tension?

 

Church Reading Plan: Numbers 36; Psalm 80