Thoughts for the Day

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”’

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

News broadcasts with its pictures can help to shape us, from our thinking about risks, to our dreams, and our chances of having a heart attack, so says researcher Alison Holman. In 2013, at the Boston Marathon, two bombs exploded. Three people were killed, one an eight-year-old boy, hundreds were injured and sixteen people lost limbs. There were months of graphic news footage. A subsequent study showed that those who had watched six or more hours a day of news coverage in the weeks afterwards also suffered trauma. Constant access to such news can sneak into our subconscious and meddle with our lives.

Yesterday we looked at the way that Paul showed Jesus as the goal of all history in his sermon to those in Pisidian Antioch (not Antioch) and announced the Good News of the Resurrection. A week later this news had spread through the city and the people wanted to hear the good news of Jesus, even if the traditionalists were jealous!

But good news is rarely as interesting as bad news, for we seem to be hard-wired to accept negative views, perhaps as a survival mechanism. Indeed in 2014 a US newspaper had a disaster when it decided to report exclusively good news for a day. It lost two-thirds of its readers! However, in Paul's case something amazing happened - the Gentiles greeted the Good News of Jesus Christ with great joy and the word spread throughout the region.

Father-God,
let us not be so caught up with tradition,
that we forget to examine good news.
May we never forget that You teach us,
each and every day, through Your word;
through the things we experience;
and through other people.
Teach us to examine new ideas
without being biased,
and to ask Your advice when unsure.
Amen.