Acts 7:44-50

‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says, 
“Heaven is my throne,
   and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
   or what is the place of my rest? 
Did not my hand make all these things?” 

Yesterday we had a huge passage while today we have just a tiny part of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. It is a real pity because the story of Stephen is so beautiful and powerful. At the beginning of chapter 6 he is one of seven chosen to distribute the food to the widows and orphans (as the apostles describe it “to wait on tables”). It is one of those times when God’s sense of humour is so clear. The apostles appoint Stephen to wait on tables so they can do more important things and yet by verse 8 we find “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people”.
Surely, God must laugh at our attempts to treat some people and some jobs as more important than others. What does it say about the change in understanding about key workers in the US who have kept the country running through the pandemic while being considered unskilled by the government?

The story moves on through a plot against Stephen (does it remind you of the plot against Jesus?) in the second half of chapter 6 before the key speech to the Sanhedrin of which today’s passage forms part.

At various times through the history of the people of Israel we see changes in their understanding of where God “rests”, of “what kind of house” God needs. That was a key part of the anguish of Psalm 137 (“How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” because God was thought to have been left back in the Temple in Jerusalem.) That question was again live, real and pressing after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Where was God now and what home was needed for God to rest in?

How appropriate then to consider this passage now, at a time when churches around the world are locked and closed. Stephen is challenging the Sanhedrin’s understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures, how they understand who God is and where God lives.

Blessings as we pray that God may continue to rest in our hearts as our church buildings remain closed.  Be safe!  Be well!  He is Risen Indeed!

 To Ponder:

• Where is God’s House when the churches are locked? Where is God resting now?
• Jesus challenged the authorities to see himself replacing the temple, Stephen does the same. What do we need to hear today for our understanding of what is church?
• Can you share some examples of where the tables have been turned by those who were undervalued because of their job or role?