“After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.“
Acts 8:25

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Have you ever blown dandelion seeds and made a wish? The child happily plucking this fluffy white flower from the ground has, in a sense, attacked and killed it. She will blithely drop the broken stem on the ground without a thought and skip to the next dandelion in her sights. The flower she destroyed will wither into the ground, dead.

Yet, in doing so, she plants hundreds of new dandelions around the yard.

Until now, Galilee and Judea have been the center of Jesus’ ministry—during His life and after His death. It was thriving, as we have seen, with thousands of men, women, and children, living and growing together, creating a new family of God in which no needs went unmet.

However, after Stephen was stoned and killed, the community began to spread rapidly. Not because of strategic planning sessions by the apostles, but because of persecution.

The word diaspora—which we’ve used to refer to the Jews from across the Greco-Roman world, and now to the fleeing Jesus followers—literally means “to scatter seed.” Through Jesus, God nurtured and cultivated a new “plant” that put down roots through Jesus’ death and resurrection and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Now, at maturity, it has produced seeds—and through the violence Saul inflicts on them, this seed will be scattered worldwide.

We know from later passages that the apostles remained in Jerusalem. That means these witnesses are ordinary followers of Jesus. And yet, facing the greatest danger of their lives, their eyes were fixed. As they ran, they lived compassionate lives, healing the sick and lame, declaring that this power and compassion comes from God through Jesus whom He has exalted as highest King.

Friends, we are not apostles and few of us are church leaders. We too are ordinary followers of Jesus. Let us be seeds, producing more and more seeds as we mature, spreading good news of God’s love, compassion, and justice wherever we go, under any circumstances.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • How does God bring new life from death?
  • How does God ask us to respond to danger and trouble?
  • How are Christians in your town or country known for responding to danger and trouble?
  • How can you spread love, compassion, and justice in Jesus’ name?

 

Church Reading Plan:

  • Today, November 15: Amos 4; Psalm 148-150
  • Saturday, November 16: Amos 5; Luke 1:1-38
  • Sunday, November 17: Amos 6; Luke 1:39-80