Maundy Thursday
Scripture: Acts 5:14-16
NRS 14 Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16 A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.
Devotional: Before he ever preached or healed, Peter had a reputation and public recognition. In the high priest’s courtyard, they recognized his dialect and face as they inquired, “Aren’t you one of Jesus’ companions?” His reputation as an impulsive sword wielder was recognized by the cousin of Malchus, whose ear Peter had cut off, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with Him?” It was recognition of which he was ashamed. A reputation from which he fled to Galilee and a life of fishing. That was his reputation in the Ancient Near East, but he also has a reputation in our eyes. We know of his impulsivity and boldness, his cowardice and empty promise making, his thoughts of worldly things instead of the things of God. His bad reputation tastes of feet and stinks of fish. If we are generous, we recognize his potential as he steps out of the boat in faith, but that generosity runs out in the courtyard of denial. We struggle to understand why Jesus would pick this guy to be The Rock. In our own lives we too develop reputations. Sometimes the one with our family and friends differs from the one in our communities. Some are good, but some, like Peter’s, are less than stellar. We worry what people who know our reputations will think about the new lives we have found in Christ. Will they accept that we have changed or will they hold fast to who we were? These are real worries. Peter worries. Christian worries. Worries that cause the heart to tremble. But have no fear! God can overcome even the worst reputation. Peter is all the evidence we need to quench our doubts. In the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, he goes from less than stellar to super nova with his reputation. Rather than looking to arrest the Galilean brigand, the crowds long for his shadow to supernaturally heal as it passes over them. His new reputation is as a mighty man of God, but he never lets it go to his head. He maintains his humble boldness and constantly redirects the adoring gazes to Jesus. The power of God completely changed Peter’s reputation and it can change ours. God calls us to live humbly dependent upon Him without concern for what others think. As we live out such a life, boldly ministering in the name of Jesus, only concerned about the accolades of the Father, our reputations will become ones that bring glory to God.
Prayer: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. The One who Was and Is and Is to come. Today we ask You to change our reputations into ones that glorify You and Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Song of praise: Made New by Lincoln Brewster
Spiritual discipline challenge: Today we read of Peter’s reputation being changed through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. He is not the only one in Scripture whose reputation has been changed by God. Our challenge is to study the scriptures in search of someone else whose reputation was changed by God.
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