Reading: Acts 15-16, Psalm 126

So here we are with Paul and Barnabas, returned from their epic tour of the eastern Roman empire. They were sent, and now they get to come tell the people who sent them about the amazing things that happened to them and through them. The gospel was preached, lives were transformed, the sick were healed. They were opposed, beaten, misunderstood, and nearly killed. It is a pretty great story, and they get to let the church in Antioch know about it. I have to imagine they relished the task of relating the work they were doing for God to those who sent them. One might think they hoped there would be more people in the church ready to go on such a journey as the Spirit directed. But instead they get into an argument about circumcision.

It is really a funny thing, and observable in almost any new endeavor, that minutiae and details are the killer of emotional highs. The story Luke has told about Paul and Barnabas’ trip is a real high. The Spirit is working throughout the world, not just in Jerusalem. Amazing things are happening. And then the details and minutiae show up, and pretty much nobody is happy anymore. In this case those details come in the form of a requirement for circumcision, and then really no one is happy. It is not a pleasant prospect for those who have come to believe in the name of Jesus that, well, there is this one other awkward thing we are going to ask you to do…

But before we get too hasty in laughing off such a requirement, let’s remember where it comes from. Way back in the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham that circumcision will be the sign of his covenant promise. The one about a descendant that will bless all the families of the earth, and who will inherit the promised land. Seems like a big deal. There are those in the early Christian movement who think we should keep this sign going, since Jesus was Jewish, after all. But Paul and Barnabas don’t seem to think so. But note how they deal with the issue, or more particularly, how they do not. Rather than declaring that this is all nonsense and kicking those saying out of the community, they call a big meeting with all the leaders of the church. They travel to Jerusalem and hold a council. We hear from Peter, from James, and from Paul. All the heavy hitters are in one room, and they argue it out, using the Scriptures and the words of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And when they reach a conclusion, they all agree to it.

Fortunately for the Greek converts in Antioch and elsewhere, they decide circumcision is out, along with the requirements of the rest of the books of Moses. Peter understands that all that was more than anyone could keep up with, and to ask for it from the new people of God would serve no purpose. He sees Jesus as having fulfilled the promise to Abraham that circumcision was a sign of, so deems it no longer necessary for all those who believe in him. What is not out is a few observances- no meat sacrificed to idols, no strangled animals, no blood, and no illicit sex. Why these things? No one really knows, but it seems quite likely that they were taking note of the most obvious excesses of the local culture and targeting them. They are not putting away and saying do whatever you want, because Jesus has forgiven you. They are saying don’t worry about the ritualistic codes that were meant to lead you to Jesus, and simply follow him. The things they prohibit would lead the people away from following Jesus.

The council decision making process would continue in the early days of the church, and in some ways is continues right up to today, though unfortunately an authoritarian form of governance has taken over in many churches. Luke presents to us a model of good faith argument when a question arises that is not explicitly answered in the Scriptures. No one voice held sway- and it is not like this was a group of pushovers liable to groupthink. They were arguers of the first rank. We see that played out in the next scene with Paul and Barnabas.

Having reached a decision, the council sends Paul and Barnabas, and later Judas and Silas, to Antioch with the good news for the new converts that circumcision was not to be required. Whew. But then Paul and Barnabas get into an argument about John Mark, a young man that had traveled with them previously. They can’t come to agreement about him, to the point that they have to go their separate ways. I do not think it coincidental that Luke tells us this story soon after the one about the Jerusalem council. There, though the issue at hand was rather important and difficult to determine, there was agreement. Here, though all that is happening is a selection of traveling companions, there is division. The agreement of the Jerusalem council was not an ordinary event. These people did not back down easily, and were prone to sharp disagreements. Yet they agreed.

Also, Paul and Barnabas separated from one another, but not from the work they had been charged with. Barnabas takes John Mark with him, and Paul takes Silas with him, and they continue their travels to preach the good news about the Kingdom of God. Their disagreement did not rise to the level where it distracted them from the work.

Once they are off again, Paul and Silas have significant adventures. Paul receives a vision of where to go. They cure an enslaved girl who can predict the future. Her owners freak out on them and want them imprisoned or executed. They wind up in prison, only to be freed by an earthquake. They decide to stick around anyway, and in result the jailer and his family are repent and are baptized into the name of Jesus. Along the way they pick up a kid named Timothy, who as it turns out will be pretty significant in the life of Paul and the early church. Disagreements will happen, some will be resolved and some will result in division. But the work goes on.