Tenth Tuesday After Pentecost
Lectionary Texts:
Tuesday:
2 Samuel 12:13b-25
John 6:28-33
Wednesday:
2 Samuel 13:1-22
Ephesians 4:1-6
Thanks to Frances for her comment. Frances, as I recall Marianne and I had dinner with you and Bill on that trip.
Today we return to Acts Bible Study. Please read Acts 26:24-32.
The Procuator (Governor) of Judea, Festus, interrupts Paul's defense before King Agrippa. "You are out of your mind, Paul," he says, followed by the line which is the title of this bog. In a dog discussion at dinner with a couple last Saturday, I said, "When we first got Pretzel [my first pet] I read three books on dogs. Before I could begin the next sentence one of the couple said, "What you read books...You don't learn from reading books, you learn from experience." In our following discussion on learning styles I'm not sure either Marianne or I convinced her that I do best learn from reading. Festus would doubtless be on her side of this argument.
Paul is defending himself before Agrippa. Festus is simply present. Here's the crucial difference between the two. Festus is a Roman. Agrippa is a Jew. Agrippa understands Paul on a different level from what Festus is capable of. The rest of Paul's speech is directed specifically to Agrippa. It's more rhetorical mastery from Paul.
When Paul asks Agrippa, "Do you believe in the prophets (v. 27), I sense that Agrippa is pausing for a second to consider Paul's motive in asking. Paul answers the question for him, "I know that you do."
We have a tricky textual problem in v. 28 in Agrippa's response. The NRSV goes with "Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?" It then gives a footnote, "...to play the Christian." The Greek poiein can mean "make" a Christian or "play" a Christian. Later manuscripts cleared up this distinction by substituting the word genesthai, which means "become" a Christian. The Greek manuscript texual evidence overwhelming supports poiein. How we translate makes a huge difference in how we understand Agrippa's response to Paul. Writing does not convey tone of voice. Is Agrippa being sarcastic, "play a Christian," or is he being serious, "make me a Christian." I'm inclined to go with the NRSV text on this one. Agrippa is serious. Paul's response is to say that he wishes he could make everyone a Christian.
Agrippa concludes that Paul is not guilty of anything deserving death and that if Paul had not appealed to the Emperor, he, Agrippa, would have dismissed the case against Paul.
There is an irony in Paul's appeal and Agrippa's response, for if Agrippa had dismissed the case, Paul would have faced imminent danger in Judea. In Rome he would not. Moreover, Paul has long wanted to go to Rome anyway. He would have preferred going as a free man, but at least he is going.
Our six chapters of judicial proceedings are over. The next chapter is full of adventure and much fun to read. "And so we go to Rome."
God of all peoples,
We are thankful for people like Agrippa, people who are willing to listen. May we be blessed with some small measure of Paul's ability to give them something to listen to. In Christ's name. Amen.
Faithfully,
Christian
1 comment:
I have often been accused of reading too much, though not in recent years when all I had time to read was for graduate school things. I even like to read about cats, even though I know a great deal about them from purrsonal experience! I think that to understand why you needed to read about dogs, one must really comprehend your total lack of experience with dogs prior to adopting Pretzel. It was more like someone who had no siblings and never spent time with small children having a baby. These are foreign creatures in a way that's hard for most people to imagine. Pretzel is now an angel, and Roxy is so cute!
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