Trinity Devotion April 7
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22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. 30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Our text is a letter that was sent out after an important meeting in Jerusalem called to make a decision on an important theological issue at the time. The specific issue was to what extent new Gentile Christians would be compelled to follow Old Testament ceremonial laws. The issue itself is no longer relevant — we no longer have a conversation or rules about circumcision and dietary restrictions. What is relevant are several points?
At times fellow Christians will disagree on doctrinal as well as practical questions. (Examples) The current issue in my understanding is how to implement, enforce, and even change our school’s response to COVID-19. There is a written policy concerning how we are to do this which has been officially adopted. We also understand that this policy is not “a law of the Medes and the Persians” that can never be reviewed or adjusted. In the policy itself is the statement: “Please note we will continue to monitor guidance and adjust these measures as necessary.” Perhaps this was written to indicated that they would become more strict. Perhaps this was written in the hope that some day certain policies could be less strict.
Point: We have the freedom to reevaluate what is being done and to discuss the circumstances and agree to make adjustments. (Note that originally God commanded that circumcision would be an everlasting ordinance. And yet, because it was a shadow of things to come, once Jesus fulfilled the law not “circumcision
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Therefore, having a meeting to reevaluate our policies on the COVID-19 response in the school is appropriate especially in light of
An apparent inconsistency in one of the policies (Only staff and students will be allowed inside of all school buildings during the week.)
A change in the statewide masking mandate and how that affects the local school.
Second point: Our goal in discussing this is to respect each other and to work together to make suggestions to the decision making body of the congregation on how to adjust (if deemed worthy) our policies.
The two sides of the circumcision question presented their cases to the Jerusalem Council for their decision. (Unfortunately, they were not always charitable in their rhetoric toward one another.)
Third point: When the decision making body of the congregation makes an official decision, the subsequent action is to . . .
A.Inform all people involved. This was the purpose of the letter read in our text.
B.Comply with respect and love to the decision that was made.
I encourage you to be respectful in your conversations with each other and to work together to make recommendations to the Church Council. Honor their leadership role and abide by their decision.
Ten Steps for Conflict Resolution
This model may be helpful in agreeing on a course of action. Keep in mind that such a decision is not permanent but is open to future evaluation and adjustments as necessary.
