July 26,2007

“’This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.’” Acts 2:23.
Peter, standing before thousands of Jewish festival-goers, gives a clear explanation for the happenings of the last several weeks in Jerusalem, concerning Jesus, the Nazarene. His words cut right to the heart of the matter: that those in his audience were responsible for the death of Jesus. Yes, there were “wicked men” that were directly responsible, and yet, Peter pointed out that all Jews were not without guilt in putting Jesus to death on the cross.
At first, when I read this, I was offended that Peter would make such a broad, sweeping indictment of a whole group of people – the Jews. As I thought more about this, I remembered that Peter, as well as all of the early followers of Jesus, was Jewish, and proud of it. I continuing thinking about this and realized that Peter did not limit his charge to the Jews; he was stating that all humans were guilty of putting Jesus to death. He was writing to you and me, down through the centuries! And now, in my thinking, I am really offended! Or, at least, Peter has really gotten my attention. And this is most certainly what he intended when speaking to the crowd that day almost 2000 years ago.
The point that I would like us to reflect on is being confronted, and more specifically, being confronted with our complicities in Jesus’ death. Do we pick and choose what we like about Jesus’ story, leaving the troublesome aspects or things that we disagree with or do not fit our “theology” out? I am certain that Peter’s audience felt confronted and was probably not pleased, but it did capture their attention, and, as he spoke on, they were confronted on a deeper level by the Holy Spirit, working and tugging on their hearts. The question for us to consider is this: What is the Holy Spirit confronting in you today? Perhaps you are reacting to something that is going on around you that you do not like or that disagree with, and maybe – just maybe – the Holy Spirit is trying to get your attention.
Take some today to reflect on Peter’s confronting words. Is the Lord trying to speak to me about something today? What is it, and what do I need to do about it?