“Cannot be silenced”

By Rev. Michae Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Acts 5: 27-42 (Forward, p. 15) CEV p. 1139

We’ve all come across this kind of person, a person who seems to like to hear themselves talk and simply cannot be shut up. We meet them in church and in social gatherings, and we certainly hear them in the mad frenzy that constitutes political maneuvering and campaigning. Generally, we consider such behaviour to be bad manners, something that the person should have been trained by his or her parents to avoid. Sometimes children are like that, but then we say to ourselves that they don’t know any better. In both cases, stopping or impeding the person is like trying to stop the incoming tide.

I’m sure that the local authorities, the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, felt this way about the apostles. They simply would not quit telling people, anyone who would listen in fact, about Jesus and what He’d done. For them, it was news that was too good to be kept to themselves. As one person remarked, ‘it was like one beggar telling another where he could find food.’ For the apostles, it was the greatest and most important discovery of all time, not physical food, but spiritual food that truly satisfied and that would last for ever.

But then, we gladly put up with this kind of thing, and in fact, relish it—albeit in small doses, like a young person that has just got engaged or a young man that has a fancy new car or someone that has a new house or has discovered a great new store or restaurant. They just ‘have’ to tell others about it. And we consider this to be only natural. So, shouldn’t our telling others be just as natural—albeit if we do it with tact and sensitivity, and in measured quantities? I think so.

Forward notes: “I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them” (verses 38-39).

“The truth endures. Sometimes, the truth can be hard to discern and even harder to persuade others to believe. The truth does not change, although we may change our perspectives.

“The Pharisee Gamaliel had it right when he said that the early Christians could not be overthrown if they were from God. Despite many obstacles, the early Christians continued to share the Good News. Not only did the disciples and others testify about the resurrection, but also their message had staying power. More than 2,000 years later, the foundation laid by these early Christians continues to flourish around the world.

“Over time, many movements have come and gone because they were flawed by human values and objectives. But the church has always been more than a movement. It is the body of Christ in the world today. The teachings of Jesus to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves are still the way, and they withstand the test of time.”

Moving Forward: “What can you do to learn more about the early church?”

A concluding note: While I find Gamaliel’s words of caution, calm and forbearance to be infinitely wise, especially in defusing what was a very tense and volatile situation, I do find a certain flaw in his reasoning. Many cults and religions have continued, even flourished, over the centuries, and yet I have trouble believing that they are from God, rather being from a purely human origin.

And contrary to what today’s author says, “the teachings of Jesus to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves are still the way”, this is not the root of our religion; it is only the mode of its practice. The root of our religion is placing our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.