Millbrook Baptist Church

The text tells us that the apostles will be witnesses in Jerusalem, this big city, where they will first meet the Spirit, and the site of great miracles; in Judea, their home region and the place they feel most comfortable; in Samaria, a place where they feel least comfortable, and whose citizens are construed as enemies; and even to the ends of the Earth, in this instance, Spain, the farthest corner of the Roman empire. Stagg says that commentators often label this growth or outreach as the major trajectory of Luke’s two-volume gospel, but to do so is a mistake. Yes, the earliest Christians are on the move, but the hardest boundaries to cross are not geographic; they are religious, national, political, and racial, just to name a few.

Hear that again. Christ shares the gift of peace with the earliest disciples. And because Christ shared it with them, it means we, too, share in God’s peace. It means we can give and receive Christ’s peace to and from one another.

Truth, transparency, and trust.  We MUST love, Millbrook, with truth, transparency, and trust. Jesus commanded us to love one another as he loved us. Good friends, may God grant us the strength, the courage, and the patience to live out, and ultimately love out such a command. Amen.