Amazement at ourselves, each other and God

I love the readings that take place after Easter, readings following the development of the early Church in the Book of Acts. They are stories about connection and community and amazement at the ways we need each other. They remind us none of us are meant to go through this life alone.

The book speaks of struggles, yes, but overall, it has an energy of excitement about it. The Church is growing, and the energy comes from the amazement and wonder and awe of its members as they watch what Jesus said would happen come true. They see it done in and with and through them, and wow. This thing they hoped for is coming alive, and it is so good, better than what they thought they could have in life. They are amazed at God's faithfulness, amazed at their own role in getting to bring God's kingdom to earth, amazed God's Spirit wants to dwell in, with and through them. How incredible it is.

I think they must also be amazed at the connection with others they experience. They are in communion with people who are different from them, people from other countries and religions and cultures who have come to believe in and profess the same truth. They offer themselves; they receive. They share and provide for each other. They learn what it means to be a community and the joys and difficulties and miscommunications that come along with that. They learn their own assumptions are often misconceptions, and that perhaps they have been thinking too small. They learn that to reach out in true love is never wrong.

I love what Luke writes in Acts 14:22, 27-28 (NAB): "They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, 'It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.' ... They called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Then they spent no little time with the disciples."

I love these verses because they are a model for what we get to do, too, which is simple: the members of the early Church spend time together. They get to know each other, give the gift of their time and presence, their thoughts and experiences in an exchange that transforms and strengthens. They enjoy being together, and that's what God wants for us, too. To enjoy being who we are. To enjoy the presence of the other. To enjoy being with Him.

So, let us open the door of faith for each other, showing each other we can trust, we can hope, we can believe in goodness, it is OK. Let us strengthen and encourage each other to persevere on this long and beautiful road of knowing ourselves, each other and God. Let us reach out when we need help with our hurt or with our rejoicing, and when another is before us, be ready to speak words and live actions that display our amazement at the unrepeatable image of God they are. Let us be honest, and be a safe place for others to do the same.

This is how we learn, this is how we grow, this is how we love, helping each other along the way.