By Robert Austell
Have you ever experienced something really good at church – a sense that God was really a part of it? For some a memory of such a thing sustains us through dry periods of faith. For others, it’s what we keep hoping for and looking for – that God might just “show up.” In Acts 19:11-20, God is showing up in real and tangible way, so much so that it sounds wild to our modern ears!
Enter conflict #1: Scammers show up inside the church community to take advantage of people; but they get shown up, highlighting God’s presence in the community even more. God was “showing up” in the Christian community in Ephesus and the word was getting out.
Enter conflict #2: The message and experience of God began to threaten the local silver business built around the worship of the Greek goddess, Artemis. This caused a near-riot of the silversmiths against the Ephesian Christians.
It’s a fascinating dynamic that continues to this day. Christians experience conflict within the church as well as with the culture. Jesus said in prayer that he and his followers were “not of this world.” (John 17:16). One of the byproducts of that reality seems to be the potential for conflict. It will be interesting and constructive to pay attention to how the Ephesian Christians navigate those conflicts and their existence in and among “the world.”
For further study: read John 17 and look at how Jesus talks about his and his followers’ relationship to this world. Especially notice the prepositions: “belong to,” “out of,” “into.”
- Have you ever experienced God’s “showing up,” at church or privately? If you've had the experience, what was it like? If you haven’t, what do you think it would be like?
- At what points do you think following Jesus should be at odds with this world? Does this match the places where we often find the church in conflict, either internally or externally? How would you explain what you observe?
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: God who has come among us, we invite you to “show up” in a way we can see. Help us to listen, look and trust you when you do. Come among our community of faith as well, that together we might see and believe. Amen.
