Good Evening friends! This is the midweek devotional for March 20, 2024
Our series is based on the theme of “Altered by the Spirit.” As we have gone through our Lenten journey, we have witnessed how the Holy Spirit is always one step ahead of us, nudging us on, leading us where we need to go, altering us to conform ourselves more closely to the image of Jesus Christ our Lord. We have heard how the Spirit leads us to hear and listen to those different from us and, and to befriend those ostracized from the world around them. We have felt the challenge of the Lord to embrace people we might consider enemies or adversaries. Last week we were challenged to see God changing our very way of thinking and doing things – to be willing to act outside our comfort zone for the sake of the gospel. Tonight, finally we hear our last challenge: to be willing to listen to those we dismiss, or whose voice we don’t trust. Our Lesson tonight comes from Acts 12:6-17:
6 The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison; 7 and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your mantle around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him; he did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened to them of its own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street; and immediately the angel left him. 11 And Peter came to himself, and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and told that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are mad.” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell this to James and to the brethren.” Then he departed and went to another place.
At first glance, the main point of our story seems to focus on Peter. Peter is imprisoned by Herod, bound in chains, with guards surrounding him. Herod, who also killed the apostle James, is determined to put Peter on trial and have him killed, But an angel of the Lord frees Peter and sends him to Mary’s house, the mother of John Mark, who is a close friend of Peter, and author of the gospel that bears his name. Peter comes knocking and the door is answered by a slave girl named Rhoda. It is surprising because slaves aren’t normally named. They’re slaves after all, not at all important. But this slave is named for us- because she is an important child of God. So, Rhoda hears Peter’s voice, and she is so overwhelmed with joy that she leaves Peter standing as she quickly goes back to the praying disciples – no doubt praying for Peter – and tells them Peter’s here! He’s at the door! But they dismiss her message, saying that she is mad – as in crazy. She insisted Peter was there. Finally, when they hear the knocking, they went to the door, and discovered Rhoda was right all along.
Rhoda’s story reminds us of the resurrection – how the women’s testimony of the Risen Lord was not believed by the male disciples. In the culture of the day, a woman’ s testimony was considered unreliable. Consider the Jewish historian named Josephus’ comments on the law regarding witnesses in the bible: He says: “From women let no evidence be accepted, because of the levity and temerity of their sex.”2 The apostles didn’t believe the women who were the first witnesses about the empty tomb. Now they refuse to believe Rhoda, a female slave, about Peter’s presence at the door. Yet despite being put down and considered crazy, Rhoda held fast. Although she didn’t see Peter, she knew his voice. In the end she was vindicated. The disciples find Peter at the door, knocking, just as Rhoda said it was.
Have you ever felt dismissed for some reason or another? Your word not believed? It’s very discouraging when those around us think less of us for whatever reason. As the youngest child of six, and the only girl, I can relate to the feeling of being overlooked, my opinion not bearing weight because – well because I was much younger and what I had to say wasn’t as important as my older brothers. We tend to overlook the opinions of people different from ourselves – especially if they are poor, homeless, too young, too old, suffer from a mental illness or some other disability. In the time of Jesus, women and slaves especially bore that disadvantage.
In the light of this, it is intriguing then to see that God places women at the center of the witness to the resurrection, just as he places Rhoda at the witness to Peter’s release from prison. God uses people we would dismiss even though through our cultural lens, they may be less reliable, untrustworthy. God wants us to take seriously, treat with respect all peoples we have the tendency to ignore: someone who is poor, the janitor, the maid, someone differently abled from ourselves. God’s testimony and love rests just as firmly in their lives as it does our own.
So, think of someone whom you might ordinarily dismiss. The person collecting cans on the street? The person who is addicted and gets high all the time? The person who is begging for a few dollars on the street corner? People who work in jobs we might consider lowly? Who are the Rhoda’s of the world?
Tonight let us remember, especially as we conclude our Lenten devotionals and move into Holy Week, that God has a special place for all people. God uses all of us to bring his love in the world. Especially those we are conditioned to dismiss. Each one of us matters. Each of us has something to contribute. This week let us catch ourselves if we find ourselves turning away from someone. Remember, God has placed a testimony in them. Let us stop and listen to them as if we were listening to Jesus. Let us hear and be amazed at the awesome power and goodness of God to shine through all of us – especially the Rhodas in our midst – and bring us the Good news of Jesus Christ often in voices and ways we might tend to dismiss. We are reminded tonight, as we journey with Jesus to the cross, that no one gets dismissed in God’s kingdom. We all matter. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.