Daily Devotional • July 14
19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. 20 But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion,24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”
27 At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world, and this took place during the reign of Claudius. 29 The disciples determined that, according to their ability, each would send relief to the brothers and sisters living in Judea; 30 this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Meditation
Yesterday, I had occasion to discuss the calling of Paul. Converted miraculously on the road to Damascus by a voice no one else could hear, sent blind on his way, fasting completely for three days, he was baptized, and immediately went out to preach and convert others. Paul was not one to let the grass grow; his conversion had no effect on his abounding zeal. Even in mature ministry, no one is quite so divisive as Paul. Imagine the way he preached when newly baptized! It’s little wonder that he wasn’t very well received.
While making enemies of his former friends, at the same time he struggled to find a place in the church. In short order, they packed him off to Tarsus with the instruction, as my husband puts it, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” After that, they forgot about Paul. At least, he probably felt forgotten. He was in Tarsus, according at least to some, for fourteen years. Fourteen years with no community; Fourteen years with nothing to do; Fourteen years Paul was forced to let the grass grow under his feet.
Like Joseph in prison, he probably struggled to trust that God hadn’t simply abandoned him. He had a lot of time to do nothing but choose to continue to believe in the voice he’d encountered on the road—the one no one else heard. Even though believing meant continuing to helplessly languish in Tarsus, alone. When Barnabas finally came to get him, it was because Gentiles were starting to convert. It was the moment Paul was uniquely qualified for, his own “fullness of time.” But it came out of the crucible of waiting.
Elizabeth Baumann is a seminary graduate, a priest’s wife, and the mother of two small daughters. A transplant from the West Coast, she now lives in “the middle of nowhere” in the Midwest with too many cats.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of New Jersey – The Episcopal Church
Church of the Good Shepherd, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
