May 21, 2011
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter
“For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.'" Acts 13: 47
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. John 14:12-14
Piety
Sing a new song to the LORD, who has done marvelous deeds, Whose right hand and holy arm have won the victory. The LORD has made his victory known; has revealed his triumph for the nations to see, Has remembered faithful love toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth; break into song; sing praise. Sing praise to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. Psalm 98
Study
The thought did not occur to me to skip writing, editing and sending Your Daily Tripod today because of the predicted Apocalypse. Admittedly, we have had some recent challenges getting this out on time due to the crash of your humble editor’s computer and e-mail system. Please accept my apologies for those interruptions. Some temporary solutions seem to be holding up until UPS delivers what I need to conquer my logistical problems.
The Jews, however, have not been so fortunate to conquer their problems. Jesus came to them and walked among them. He commissioned their neighbors and friends to carry on after he was gone. And he even warned the disciples to “shake the dust off their shoes” if they were not welcome in a place.
If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words--go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Matthew 10:13-14
Today, Paul and Barnabas follow that instruction. When the Jews reject the message, they shake the dust from their feet and bring the Good News to the Gentiles. Thus, they bring the message of Jesus and His saving love to the ends of the earth.
Action
Ends in this case means locations – NOT time. While some may get pre-occupied with the Kingdom come, Paul and Barnabas inspire us to make the Kingdom come right here and right now. They do not want us to wait for some end time but to get to work today asking for what we need and sharing what we have with others.
