“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Pentecost is past. What comes next? The growth of the Church of course! Normally we view that expansion through the geographical lens of Acts 1:8, like an extended travelogue or an exciting ‘race across the world.’ This year, in a moment of alternative thinking, I couldn’t get a ‘Star Trek’ theme out of my mind. What if Acts is not a travelogue but a series of encounters “to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilisations; to boldly go where no Christian has gone before”? How did those encounters change the early Church? How might those encounters impact our own contemporary context?
In Acts 8:4-25, for example, we see some of the Church’s first contacts with the occult. Simon the Sorcerer comes to faith, with considerable baggage and flaws, but the Church handles it, and he is absorbed into the community of faith. What does this say to the Church of today and its encounters around those with trauma and complex needs? In Acts 8:26-39 we see a significant first contact with an African – a eunuch no less – but he is clearly accepted for baptism. What does this say to the Church of today and its encounters around sexuality and gender identity? In Acts 10 we see a significant first contact with a Roman centurion and a Gentile household on whom the Holy Spirit comes. What does this say to the Church of today and its encounters with those who are ‘other’ than us or ‘enemy’ to us?
Where else can we stop in Acts and see the Church encounter strange new worlds, new lives, new civilisations, new cultures and expand and adapt to engage with them? Consider Saul himself (Acts 9), a Pharisee and son of a Pharisee and an ardent persecutor of the Church, accepted into faith. What does this say to the Church of today and how it handles issues of conflict resolution and restoration and forgiveness? Consider Lydia in Philippi (Acts 16), one of the first Europeans to respond, with the Church breaking through all sorts of cultural barriers and glass ceilings to include her. What does this say to the Church of today about the place and role of women?
Who will we encounter today who is not of ‘our world’? And how should we engage? How should we share our faith? Where will they fit in?