The city of Lystra gave Paul both a high point and a low point in his ministry. On the low end, he was stoned by an irate mob, dragged out of town and left for dead. On the high end, it was there that he met Timothy, his “true son in the faith,” a faithful friend and assistant in his work. These are Paul’s intructions to the young man.
The ideas of vocation and calling have been vanquished from our thinking in recent years. We’re now far more comfortable with a job, occupation or career. Personally I attribute this shift to the fact that a calling requires a Caller (note the cap C) – and we no longer want anything to do with such a being. Nonetheless, if we accept the Caller’s existence, a calling gives meaning to our work, making it more of a vocation than anything else.
The church in the Western World is not very well in tune with the reality of the supernatural. Our regular assumptions cause us to associate supernatural activity with tabloid headlines, superstition or weirdos. Paul wouldn’t want it that way.
Dan Petersen, in town from Glasgow, Scotland, brings this to us today. Jesus is not sanctimonious. He mixes with sinners. The irony is that those who view themselves righteous find themselves distant from God.
Central Reflections 