Reflection -- I Love to Tell the Story

One of my favorite old hymns is “I Love to Tell the Story.”  It’s chorus runs:  “I love to tell the story.  ‘Twill be my theme in glory.  To tell the old, old story, of Jesus and his love.” 

And what a story it is!  In today’s text from Acts, the Apostle Peter gives a thumbnail version of the story to a Roman Centurion named Cornelius.  That in and of itself was something of a marvel.  Not long before this event, Peter had thought that the good news of Jesus’ love was only for the people of Israel.  God had revealed to Peter in a vision that God’s love was not limited, but that it reaches out to include every race, every nation, all people.  That is why Peter excitedly begins by saying that he (now) truly understands that God shows no partiality.

The next good news is that Jesus revealed in his life God’s plan and desires for us; “he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”  God’s master plan for us includes wholeness.  God is still in opposition to evil.

But the best part of all of the old, old story is that evil’s last and most hideous weapon has been shown up for the fraud that it is.  Death itself has been defeated!  And not just defeated in the person of Jesus alone.  Jesus’ resurrection is just “the down payment.”  This is the story of Easter! 

Paul says this to remind us of that critical message:  “But each in his own order:  Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’”  (I Cor. 15:23-26)

I vividly remember one of the turning points of my life.  For no particular reason that I know of, it dawned on me while I was crossing a street near my office one day that I was no longer afraid of death.  Oh, not that I was looking forward to it, or desired it, or wasn’t apprehensive about the mechanical processes of it, but I realized that I knew ¾ really knew with certainty down deep inside ¾ that death was just a way station along the road.  That there was more to come that would be better than anything I could imagine.  That someday I would just step into the light-filled presence of my loving God.  Jesus had done that for me.  For me, the most ordinary of people!  I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders.  I am in the very best of hands.  And I have no doubt that the same is available to you.

We should be excited this Easter about the good news that we have; the story we have to tell.  “Everyone who believes in [Jesus] receives forgiveness of sins through his name,” Peter says.  With Jesus we have forgiveness and restoration of our relationship with God.  Not only that, we have life ¾ we have eternal life.  What better story can there be to tell!

revclay

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Acts 10:34-43

Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.  You know the message sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ - he is Lord of all.  That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 

We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.  They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 

 [NRSV]