READ:
Acts 6: l -6 Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.
And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
MEDITATE:
You could never accuse my father of being too spiritual. He was a thick-skinned New Yorker who was raised in a one bedroom apartment in Queens after the Depression, who wore T-shirts outside in the dead of a Long Island winter, and who built four small bedrooms and a bath on the second floor of our small Levitt home. (That apartment in Queens, where he slept in a trundle bed in the living room, left its mark on him; he made sure each of his three kids could close a door to our bedroom.) Nope, my father wasn’t a pious guy-but he had integrity. I still remember the time he talked to me about his struggle over the common practice of giving bribes to sell cargo space on 74 7s flying from Asia to the United States. He wouldn’t. He told me, too, something I’d never forget: “When you turn the light out at night, Jack,” he’d say, “you’re alone with your conscience.” My father would appreciate today’s passage, where the Spirit is the source of financial integrity. A growth spurt in the early church spawned a schism between Greek-speaking widows, who claimed to be slighted in the distribution of food, while Hebrew-speaking widows, at home in their native Jerusalem, were not. Pow! We’re hit over the head with the magnitude of practical matters, which the church leaders refused to ignore. They didn’t avoid the conflict that was brewing. Instead, they wisely opted to confront it and resolve it, resulting in an amicable solution that steers clear of an early apartheid. The fabled leaders of the church, its apostles, understood their vocation with unwavering clarity. “It is not right,” they announced, “that we should neglect the word of God” (Acts 6:2). They knew what they had to do, but they recognized too that material, mundane matters are essential to life together. So along with this announcement, they made a recommendation. “Select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word” (6:3). ‘· For all of its practicality, this is a startling recommendation because the character of the people they selected seems out of whack in relation to the task at hand; they were people of integrity, full of the Spirit, and wise. Stephen, one of them, is described as “full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). This is a stupendous, gifted group of men, whose purpose was, evidently, to wait on tables and make sure every widow had lunch. Why they needed to possess integrity, inspiration, faith, and wisdom is not clear-until we realize that the words, waiting on tables, could also mean tabulating tables or, as one of my students once put it, making spreadsheets. Tables could mean actual tables, on which the widows would eat, or financial tables, on which the daily distribution was recorded. In short, the men chosen were bean counters. Inspired, wise, and honest bean counters. But bean counters, nonetheless, who needed the Spirit every bit as much as the celebrated preachers of their day. Why do I love this story? Because I like to fancy myself a visionary, but 90 percent of my work is mundane, even tedious. Much of my workday is spent editing, creating course outlines, and-yes-grading projects, papers, and exams. These are chores that demand integrity, honesty, a commitment to equity. Forgive me if I say this too often in this book, but the hallmark of the Spirit is not primarily spectacular miracles but the daily, dogged practice of integrity. Yes, I’m sure of it: my dad would have loved this story.
40 Dayswith the Holy Spirit will inspire you to encounter God in fresh and surprising ways. You’ll develop stronger spiritual muscles as you breathe, read, reflect, and pray—all with an eye to cultivating a relationship with the least familiar member of the Trinity.
