2024-03-10 A Meditation on Courage
“23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:23-31 ESV)
Life takes courage: the flip-flop equal-reaction-to-every-action wisdom helps us recognize the dire straits, downward tug, astonishing and shocking dregs, where what was high-flying invite to soar and to be useful if nothing else to a few souls “out there”, flipped on us, turned Judas-like, reminded us there is no such thing as a blissful copacetic existence. We are not bliss; we are not healed, on some divine level, until we have cultivated zen and calm and devil-may-care trash-talking or angular pointedness towards that subtle spirit that hinders. Towards that subtle spirit that pretends, being quieter or less “offensive” and tempting us to forget the “offense of the Cross”.
Which offense calls each and every one of us to go full-hog and full-zeal, quaking and stammering as to our peace and prosperity amongst friends of our generation, as though growing older brought with it better, not worse, friends and experiences. As though that age-old question, “What does my daily outlay actually do for any meaningful purpose?”; “What a rat-race, to do Anything!”; “Is this all the paltry assurance I have to take to bank with me?”
Yet to those friends and to the ramparts! O Christian, be fed and nourished on the Cross, on the empty tomb, on Christ no longer persecuted bodily and no longer bleeding uncontrollably, but with time and less of it, with peace and less of it, with haste, in other words, simply to see the Tomb Empty Today, so no misunderstandings as to what our final product and issue shall be: we exhibit Love, and that more boldly; we exhibit Care, and that simply Because: because He captured our hearts, and the wise aunt or parent or friend who cares one thing for each of us her or his kin or people, that we know that Peace: not that we attain to the heights in terms of our work; not that we beat out the competition or somehow Ascend, but that we know that Peace. That day-in and day-out Peace that spells Meaning and Shared Vulnerability, Shared Gift-Giving, Shared “Use Me” to one another. We are used, and we are pleasantly surprised to find life goes on, tomorrow is faithful to arrive, and no matter, what we didn’t quite finish up on today shall in fact spell immediate gratitude and accomplishment and peace for the end of this day, if nothing else.