‘Hey!’ It was Humpty. He was brandishing a leaflet. ‘You may like to look at this.’
Curious as ever, I looked. I raised my eyebrows. With difficulty. (They have become much heavier in the past few weeks.)
‘Somebody’s taken a leaf out of Matt Hancock’s book,’ said Humpty. He looked as pleased as Punch. ‘If he can produce a slogan about Covid-19, and bang on about it endlessly, so can other people.’
The leaflet was headed: ‘Get about. Take risks. Stay true’. I squinted at Humpty. He told me to read on. I found was being introduced to a parallel between the early believers and us. This is what I read.
‘Get about.
‘They got about (Acts 8.4). All over the Mediterranean they went, perhaps even as far as Spain if we are to take up the passing reference in Romans 15. (Later accounts have Thomas going to India.) We always have to remember that we 21st century tourists did not invent the idea of foreign travel. First century men and women traded and travelled all over the place. Christians did that too and in the process took their new faith with them. So it was that they encountered other life-styles, as they did in Ephesus and Athens. They explained themselves and their new faith as best they could. So should we.
‘Take risks.
‘They took risks (Acts 21.33). From the start they faced entrenched systems and hierarchies that were far from being receptive to new ideas. The council of Jerusalem showed that this would be far from a straightforward matter conducted in sweetness and light. Paul’s experience with Roman imperial interests demonstrated the hazards that individuals could expect to face. Today a pervasive secular culture does not always take kindly to dissent.
‘Stay true.
‘They stayed true (2 Timothy 4.7). Not always, of course. Peter faltered, as we all do. Paul did not altogether retain his composure when dealing with the lively believers in Corinth. Under pressures that we everyday people cannot begin to imagine, outstanding figures in the early Church had to fight to preserve a message that was far from being universally welcome. Aquila, Priscilla, Lydia, Crispus, Apollos, Agabus stuck to their guns. We can do no less.’
I sighed uneasily and handed the leaflet back to Humpty. ‘I think you’re on to something,’ I said. And I meant it.
If you have a comment on this post please send an email to Revd John King. Edited extracts may be published. To forward this to a friend click on the chain icon below.
Comments