Forgiveness Amid Persecution

Transcription

1 May 18, 2014 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55 60 Ps. 31:1 5, Pet. 2:2 10 John 14:1 14 Forgiveness Amid Goal for the Session In Stephen s witness and death, adults will be challenged to articulate both the difficulty and the necessity of forgiving others. PREPARING FOR THE SESSION Focus on Acts 7:55 60 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective by Emerson B. Powery In Luke s depiction, Stephen is also a type of Jesus figure, since Luke portrays his death and the final prayer in a fashion similar to Jesus own death (Luke 23:34 49). Both die unjustly as martyrs and yet ask forgiveness for those responsible (Acts 7:60; Luke 23:34). Stephen provides a model, in the spirit of Jesus, for how believers should pray on behalf of their enemies. Whatever else was Luke s intent with this story, a model for death for a worthy cause must be one of them. Stephen is willing to die for the sake of the coming Messiah, and Luke portrays him dying in the manner of his Savior. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective by Gary Neal Hansen If bearing witness is telling what we see of Jesus work, we need to look with care to see his work within and around us. If we think of Christian faith primarily as doctrine or behavior, we may not be looking for the traces of God s providence guiding us, or for the work of the Holy Spirit in reshaping our lives. If we expect the risen Christ to be at work in our character and circumstances, and beyond us in society and the world, we just might see signs of grace or judgment, or healing, or justice. Telling others what we experience and see of Jesus work, we bear witness; and as we live in faith and faithfulness, our actions will testify to him as well. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective by Susan B. W. Johnson In the commission of inhumane acts, one must forcibly shut out the humanity of the person who is subjected to it, in order to carry out the act. Their violence against him begins with stopping their own ears and shouting over his voice, obliterating his testimony (v. 57). Rushing toward him and shouting, dragging him out of the city and stoning him to death, they represent a new tension, a rising intolerance, in the face of a growing and increasingly separate Christian community. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective by Timothy B. Hare Stephen s story may prove helpful in guiding Christians to consider the ways in which faithfulness to God may clash with the common assumptions and practices of modern culture. For example, what does Christian faith have to say about rampant consumerism and our complicity in it? What does Christianity have to say about our nationalistic impulses and the self-interest that guides the foreign policies of many nations? What does our faith have to say about environmental stewardship and our current patterns of living? Though many of us may never be asked to die for our faith, our faith still calls us to measure our priorities, to take a stand, and to express our beliefs through action. 1

2 Forgiveness Amid FOCUS SCRIPTURE Acts 7:55 60 Focus on Your Teaching All adults have had the experience of having someone disagree with them. Some adults have experienced rejection, ranging from being passively ignored to being physically and verbally persecuted. The natural tendency in such situations is to fight back. Adults wonder how they can find the strength to forgive those who reject or persecute them. They wonder if they are attacked, if they can find the strength to forgive. Today s focus scripture provides an example of someone who faced this very dilemma. In viewing this situation, participants will be challenged to address both the difficulty and necessity of forgiveness. Help me, risen Lord Jesus, to be an effective witness to you this week as I lead the class. Amen. YOU WILL NEED computer and projector (optional) Bibles copies of Resource Sheet 2 copies of Resource Sheet 1 candle and lighter copies of Resource Sheet 1 for May 25, 2014 For Responding option 1: Resource Sheet 1, slips of paper, pens option 2: paper, pens option 3: paper, pens If you wish to show a brief thirty-second artistic take on the stoning of Stephen, play the YouTube video at the following link: watch?v=r7gbp4gowb0 LEADING THE SESSION GATHERING Welcome participants as they arrive. When all have gathered, form pairs or groups of three and have each person briefly tell about an experience of forgiveness they have witnessed that resulted in reconciliation. After telling their experience, have them name the actions that were required from all parties for the act of forgiveness to work. Return as a large group and introduce today s session by saying that it is about an early church leader who forgave others even as they were killing him. Pray the following prayer or one of your choosing: Risen Christ, teach us to forgive others, just as you have forgiven us. Amen. EXPLORING Before reading the focus scripture, have the participants imagine they are part of the crowd that attacked the apostle Stephen. Then have a volunteer read Acts 7: Ask the crowd members the following questions: P What did Stephen say that made you angry enough to stone him to death? P Why did you lay your coats at the feet of Saul? P How did you feel when you heard Stephen cry out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them? For a bit more context, have a volunteer read Acts 8:1 3. Ask the group to imagine what it must have been like for the early followers of Jesus living at this time. 2

3 Forgiveness Amid To help the class better understand the immediate context of Stephen s death, give the participants Resource Sheet 2 ( Begins). Form two groups before reading the resource sheet. One group will represent the apostles and followers of Jesus, and the other group will be Jewish leaders who did not accept that Jesus was God s Son and Messiah. Have them read the resource sheet and respond to the questions in character. As an option to discussing the questions, you could have the two groups role play one of the council meeting confrontations. The focus text leaves out Acts 8:1, which says Saul approved of the stoning of Stephen. The next verses (8:2 3) make Saul s involvement more explicit. Have the participants read Galatians 1:13 23 and Philippians 3:4 7. Ask them: P How does Saul (Paul) describe his life before becoming a follower of Christ? P To what does he attribute the great turnaround in his beliefs? P What role might witnessing Stephen s death have played in Paul s turnaround? Distribute Resource Sheet 1 (Focus on Acts 7:55 60). Have the participants read the What? and Where? excerpts. Then have them discuss the following questions in groups of three or four: P In what way does Stephen s death emulate the death of Jesus? P What role do martyrs play, such as Stephen? Have a volunteer read Matthew 5:38 41 aloud. Then ask the participants to discuss these questions: P Why is it so hard to turn the other cheek when we have been wronged? P What makes forgiving both difficult and necessary? As you lead into Responding, ask participants to reflect on this quote by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Without forgiveness, there s no future. Ask volunteers to express their thoughts in general or relate this quote to Stephen s actions. EASY PREP RESPONDING Choose one or more of these activities depending on the length of your session. 1. Christian Faith and... To help participants address the fact that being faithful to God can put Christians at odds with assumptions and practices in modern culture, have them turn once again to Resource Sheet 1 and read the Now What? excerpt. Briefly discuss the three questions from the excerpt and then name examples where people have taken a stand about these issues and perhaps been criticized or even martyred for their actions. After a brief time of silence, ask participants to consider one stand they may need to take in order to be faithful and what the consequences may be. Have them write on a slip of paper a brief prayer of forgiveness they hope they would say in the face of persecution. Encourage them to take the slip home and use it as a bookmark in their Bibles or devotional books. 3

4 Forgiveness Amid Assure the participants that what is written in this activity is private and will not be read to or by the class. 2. Forgiven and Forgiving Participants will write notes asking or giving forgiveness. Ask participants to think about people in their lives whom they may have wronged and have not asked for forgiveness. Are they withholding their forgiveness from persons who have wronged them? Encourage the participants to write a note to this person or persons. Invite them during the coming week to send their notes to those they have identified. 3. Stephen s Prayer In this activity, participants will name situations and persons to forgive and consider what forgiveness may accomplish. Distribute pens and paper and have participants write names of people who have committed offenses against others. They may be famous people like Hitler or personal acquaintances or family members. Recall Stephen s simple words as he was about to be stoned to death, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Have participants either write or silently say this sentence after each name they wrote. If there is time, spend a few minutes debriefing this activity with the group. Challenge them to memorize Stephen s prayer and pray it silently when they see situations where forgiveness is needed. CLOSING Light a candle and place it in the center of the room or table. Invite volunteers to express new discoveries made during the session. Close by praying the following prayer: We give you thanks, O God, for the apostles who bravely witnessed to your Son in the face of opposition. For martyrs, saints, and faithful ones in all generations who were persecuted for their witness and forgave their persecutors, we give thanks and ask that you teach us more about the radical transformation that comes from such love. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 1 for May 25, 2014, or it to the participants during the week. Encourage participants to read the focus scripture and Resource Sheet 1 before the next session. 4

5 May 18, 2014 Forgiveness Amid Adult Resource Sheet 1 Focus on Acts 7:55 60 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective by Emerson B. Powery In Luke s depiction, Stephen is also a type of Jesus figure, since Luke portrays his death and the final prayer in a fashion similar to Jesus own death (Luke 23:34 49). Both die unjustly as martyrs and yet ask forgiveness for those responsible (Acts 7:60; Luke 23:34). Stephen provides a model, in the spirit of Jesus, for how believers should pray on behalf of their enemies. Whatever else was Luke s intent with this story, a model for death for a worthy cause must be one of them. Stephen is willing to die for the sake of the coming Messiah, and Luke portrays him dying in the manner of his Savior. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective by Gary Neal Hansen If bearing witness is telling what we see of Jesus work, we need to look with care to see his work within and around us. If we think of Christian faith primarily as doctrine or behavior, we may not be looking for the traces of God s providence guiding us, or for the work of the Holy Spirit in reshaping our lives. If we expect the risen Christ to be at work in our character and circumstances, and beyond us in society and the world, we just might see signs of grace or judgment, or healing, or justice. Telling others what we experience and see of Jesus work, we bear witness; and as we live in faith and faithfulness, our actions will testify to him as well. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective by Susan B. W. Johnson In the commission of inhumane acts, one must forcibly shut out the humanity of the person who is subjected to it, in order to carry out the act. Their violence against him begins with stopping their own ears and shouting over his voice, obliterating his testimony (v. 57). Rushing toward him and shouting, dragging him out of the city and stoning him to death, they represent a new tension, a rising intolerance, in the face of a growing and increasingly separate Christian community. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective by Timothy B. Hare Stephen s story may prove helpful in guiding Christians to consider the ways in which faithfulness to God may clash with the common assumptions and practices of modern culture. For example, what does Christian faith have to say about rampant consumerism and our complicity in it? What does Christianity have to say about our nationalistic impulses and the self-interest that guides the foreign policies of many nations? What does our faith have to say about environmental stewardship and our current patterns of living? Though many of us may never be asked to die for our faith, our faith still calls us to measure our priorities, to take a stand, and to express our beliefs through action.

6 May 18, 2014 Forgiveness Amid Adult Resource Sheet 2 Begins In last week s focus scripture (Acts 2:42 47) the earliest Christian followers were described living and worshiping in community, spending time together at the temple in Jerusalem. But things quickly change when the apostles begin to preach and heal in the name of Jesus publicly. Here is a brief summary of Acts, chapters 3 7. Acts 3:1 26 Peter heals a crippled man at the temple s Beautiful Gate and delivers a speech to a crowd of people in the part of the temple called Solomon s Portico. He accuses the crowd of rejecting Jesus (even if they acted in ignorance). He encourages them to ask God for forgiveness. Acts 4:1 22 Peter and John are arrested and brought before the ruling council of Jewish leaders. The council warns them to stop spreading the message about Jesus resurrection. Acts 4:23 37 The followers of Jesus pray to be bold witnesses in the face of rising threats, and they continue to share their possessions with one another. Acts 5:1 11 Two of the followers, Ananias and Sapphira, sell some land, but do not turn the whole portion over to the apostles. For their selfishness and deceit, both of them suddenly die. Acts 5:12 41 The apostles heal people in Solomon s Portico. They are arrested again and thrown into jail, but an angel of the Lord opens the prison doors at night. They go right back to teaching and preaching in the temple. Again they are arrested and witness before the authorities, who are offended by their message. Acts 6:1 7 Seven men are chosen and anointed to be deacons, who will see that all widows, both Jewish and Greek, receive the same allotment of food. Stephen is among them. Acts 6:8 15 Stephen proves to be a powerful healer and witness, so he is falsely accused of stirring up trouble and brought before the Jerusalem council. Acts 7:1 54 Rather than defend himself, Stephen retells the history of Israel, ending with the accusation that the leaders ancestors killed the prophet who told of the coming Righteous One. And now they themselves have become the Righteous One s [Jesus ] betrayers and murderers. Stephen s words enrage the crowd. P Acts reminds us that in the earliest days of the church in Jerusalem, nearly everyone mentioned is Jewish, both the followers of Jesus and the religious and political leaders who seemed to oppose the followers. What must have it been like for neighbors and family members to be at odds with each other? P Why was it inevitable that the temple could no longer be the central gathering place for Jesus followers? P What seemed to be the most offensive aspect of the apostles actions and messages? P What do you make of the accusatory tone in these chapters? Might it say something about the writer s view of history? If so, how would you summarize that view?