Go and Do Likewise


If you worship in a community which uses the Revised Common Lectionary, perhaps you've noticed something unusual about the first reading during the season of Easter. Whatever happened to the Old Testament? It’s been replaced by Acts ever since the Sunday after Easter, so that we can live more fully into the life of the early Christian community immediately following the Resurrection. We will continue to explore that book through Pentecost on June 12, before we go back to the Hebrew Bible for our first reading – all the way back to Genesis I, in fact, on Trinity Sunday (June 19).

This arrangement of the lectionary not only allows us to have the great Pentecost reading for the first lesson on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21) but also invites us into the spirit of the lives of the earliest Christians through one of my favorite passages in the Bible. We heard this on the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Acts 2:42-47): 

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.  All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 

Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

What a beautiful image of genuine community this offers us! Perhaps you are fortunate enough to experience this same spirit in your congregation. But how do we encourage others outside our church walls to live in this same way? The answer is simple: Not by proselytizing, but simply by doing. This is the best form of evangelism. We live our lives steeped in the truth of the Gospel; others will be filled by the Spirit and will be encouraged to live in the same way.

A friend who works in a law office once told me a powerful story of one of her bosses who was an incredibly kind, generous, and good-hearted person. To her, he embodied everything that Jesus tells us to do, but she had no idea whether or not he was religious because he never mentioned it. When he tragically died, it was only at his memorial service that she learned what an intensely devout Christian he was.

The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 speaks to this. Many assume that it is parable instructing us to help others in need. But really it provides an illustration of how we should live our lives. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” a lawyer asks Jesus, leading Jesus to relate the story of the Good Samaritan. At the end, Jesus sums it up: “Go and do likewise.”

May you be filled with the fire and lifted by the wind of the Holy Spirit this Pentecost to “go and do likewise.”

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