April 5, 1999
MondayMonday
I've never liked the Acts of
the Apostles -- it's just not a good read. I know, I know -- compared
to the begats and the long chapters of rules and regulations that appear
in the Old Testament, Acts is a breeze. But this is a writer's judgment
as well as a reader's -- it's dull, like reading the minutes of the township
commisioners' meeting.
Acts is always part of the liturgy right after Easter. It's the basis for many seasonally-based devotional guides, and last year was the topic for my Sunday School class that took us right to the summer break. There have been many Easter seasons over the past several years when, strenghthened by a prayer-filled Lent I endeavored to continue the discipline. But my resolve always faded, as the weather got nicer, and school activities became more pressing, and the inspiration to be derived from the Book of Acts just wasn't there for me.
It happened again this morning. I opened Jan Richardson's Sacred Journeys: A Woman's Book of Daily Prayer, and discovered that my models for this week were to be Dorcas, Rhoda, Lois, Eunice, Lydia, and Priscilla, all of whom appear in Acts. I sighed (Acts again!), but read the meditation anyway.
As I started on my walk around the neighborhood, I remembered what I had written last night -- that I must not rest on the glories of Easter, but begin anew my spiritual formation. And then I got it -- Acts is where it is in the lectionary because that's what it's about. It's about those who, having received the good news of Easter, were left behind to continue the work. It's about where they went and what they did with the grace they had been given.
Allelu. Allelu.