Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!’”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, April 30, 2020
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
Whew. This one is a hum-dinger. You have to understand that Ananias and Sapphira were under no coercion to sell their property and give all the money to the community. Their crime wasn’t the failure to do so, but their deceitfulness about it.
Without going too deeply into analysis, the point is that as Christians, we are called to be in open, honest, and loving community, to be vulnerable with one another, and willing to share what we’ve been given. When we hold back out of fear of scarcity or lack of trust that God will provide for us, we cut ourselves off from the God’s grace, not the other way around.
Gracious God, help me to be willing to be a full participant in your beloved community. Amen.
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