Wednesday - Change It - The Night That Changed the Poor
Today, the poor are often excluded from active participation in society’s big events. We lookd at one example from the Olympics already, but there was also a recent study that hits a bit closer to come. Regular commuting to work negatively affects civic engagement, unless you have a certain threshold of income.
I once did a survey where we asked, “Why don’t people go to church?” One woman told me, “I can’t come to church because i haven’t got enough money.” It broke my heart – no one should ever think church, a Christian community of learners, has tuition fees. But she did, and was excluded as a result!
The story of Christmas shows the poor in key roles, not just Mary and Joseph, but some shepherds:
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:8-20)
These shepherds were not the farmers we envision today. These shepherds spent 24/7 with their sheep, even sleeping outside. This was physical, taxing, nomadic work. Yet they play a key role – they are the first outsiders to acknowledge who he is. They are the first to provide third party Confirmation for Mary and Joseph – this was no strange dream – this was really happening. Then they are the first to tell the story to others.
We all have a role to play in God’s plan, story, and our bank balance is no barrier. Our worldly skills are no barrier. Our history is no barrier. There is a barrier, but God has dealt with it, as we’ll see tomorrow.
Question: Why might God choose poor or financially precarious people for such key roles in his story? What does it communciate? How would the story be different if God had chosen wealthy parents and visitors?
Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.
Read the Bible in Sync Today
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We read an important passage yesterday, and today we’ll focus on just the ending. Here it is again:
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
(Acts 2:32-41 ESV)
The audience were “cut to the heart”. Peter’s words transformed them, not into a state of sadness, but into action. They asked, “What shall we do? How do we make this right?”
Peter has three steps: Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
Repent means to turn. This is the first step of change and transformation. If you’ve been heading the wrong way in life, away from God, then the moment of regret and decision to turn around and head back to God is the moment of repentence.
Being baptized is a sign that God is washing away someone’s sins. By washing that person on the outside, we show the invisible washing on the inside that only God can do. It’s a public act of having sin washed away from your heart, and having accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Receiving the Holy Spirit speaks of continued transformation, well beyond the moment of repentence and baptism, and into the future. The Holy Spirit enables Christians to keep going that new direction, even when it’s hard. What did the Holy Spirit do for disciples? We saw last week that he enabled them to speak of Jesus in every language. These brand new disciples, too, will be sent by Holy Spirit to proclaim good news to everyone in the world. Their numbers are growing, and this good news is meant for everyone of all ages and around the world.
3000 people took on this challenge in one day. They became pioneer people – some of the first members of the church, the global phenomenon of people following Jesus and being transformed by him.
Next week, we’ll see what they did, their practices when they gathered, and how their actions changed.
But first,
Question: What do you think changed for those 3000 people? Internally, spiritually, but also relationally?
