The word of the Lord spread
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
Let all the peoples praise you. Psalm 67:3
Read Acts 13:44—52
No doubt today, for one reason or another, has been less than perfect. In tonight’s reading I can see that God used the rejection of Israel’s Messiah to bring about the greatest Good News. God used Israel’s rejection of the Good News in turn to spread it, to widen its scope beyond Israel. Now those who never thought they could be included, were included. They never thought they would say, tears in their eyes, recognition in their hearts, ‘Father, dear Father, hallowed be your name.’ If God can use rejection, then God can help me make something yet out of what I did not want to happen today. God can use anger. God can use persecution. God can. God did, and so he still does.
Almighty God, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the Spirit proceeds, if I suffer rejection I turn easily to self-pity. Or self-justification. Or vindictiveness. But you spoke in Jesus, ‘Shake the dust off your feet. Go on. Proclaim the kingdom. Humbly.’ I pray tonight to the God whose main experience of your creation, whose experience of the high point of your own creation, your dealings with man and woman, those made in your image, your experience of the highest point of your own creation is rejection. And I am praying to the one who absorbed that rejection and made out of it a cross, a saving cross. You responded with salvation, and extended that salvation world-wide. Lift my eyes above myself. Let me truly participate in the mystery and the joy of it. Let your salvation be known in my time to the ends of the earth.