Reconnecting the Remnant - August 19
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:145-176; PM Psalm 128, 129, 130; Judges 18:16-31; Acts 8:14-25; John 6:1-15
As the book of Acts opens, the author sets the stage, reminding readers and hearers about the forty days after Jesus’ resurrection and the words Jesus imparted to his chosen apostles. When asked if this is when Zion will be restored, Jesus answers:
“It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
And then, as he finished speaking those words, Jesus is lifted up and a cloud covers him and takes him out of sight.
I sit here, wondering in awe about the Ascension of Jesus. My mind wanders to the excerpt from Acts 8 that is appointed for today, where we find the apostles John and Peter in Samaria. Philip has been in the region of the Samaritans proclaiming the Good News of Jesus, too. I wonder, do the apostles remember that they are fulfilling the instruction Jesus gave to them, that they would bear witness all over the place – including Samaria? While the Ascension is key to who Jesus is, those in abject suffering are clamoring for visceral transformation – healing of body and peace of mind.
I am acutely aware that there is also a protracted history of tension and difference between the people of Samaria and others across Judea. In the Exodus (700ish years before Jesus’ time), the educated, wealthy, and influential Israelites are captured and taken to Babylon. The people of the land and the poorer classes of Israelites are left behind. So, the Samaritans are descended from the remnants of the people of Israel. While they, too, believed in Yahweh, their experience of being people of God included the fabric of their identity being torn and left on the ground to be trodden upon by many peoples and beliefs for hundreds of years. Samaritans were shaped by being left behind, while the Israelites who lived through the Babylonian captivity were formed by imprisonment and wandering lost in the desert. In that separation in space and time, the divide deepened. Those who lived as captives in a foreign land began committing their ancient stories to scrolls. They heard prophecies. They doubted God and were reminded of God’s faithfulness.
But the story we don’t hear as often, or in great detail, is the story of the remnant…those left behind and left out. These people were also formed by the invasion of the Assyrians and other conquerors. These people also went through times of doubting God, and were missing the stabilization of the religious leaders and the storytellers who recounted the history of their relationship with the Lord. The ways they practiced their faith evolved differently, too.
And so, today, we read that those in Samaria have accepted the Good News of Jesus. Hallelujah! God is doing greater things than we can hope for or imagine, by gathering all of us up – from various experiences, political perspectives, and in spite of the tensions that run deeply among us. And God does more than gather – for the gift given in the gathering is the Holy Spirit.
May the Holy Spirit swirl around you today, wiping away the hurts of being left out, left behind, or misunderstood. May the Holy Spirit embolden you to pray for those with whom you feel hurt. May the Holy Spirit welcome and reconnect you to God, others, and yourself.
-- Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
When have you felt “left out” recently? Who has invited you back in? Conversely, when have you left someone else out?
Daily Challenge
Sometimes reconciliation happens in times of shock and change. Pray for someone with whom you hope to be reconciled. Listen for how you can invite that person back into relationship.