blog bible study
IN the light of recent discussion on this blog, I would like to invite Herc to share with me in some bible study. WE have been wrestling with issues like healing, theology, simple faith, postmodernism etc.
Herc, perhaps we could find some common ground if we focus our different "approaches" on a passage of scripture and consider how we each interpret the passage.
Acts 3:1-11 records a dramatic incident of healing in the New Testament. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the significance of this passage for us today. I also have some thoughts to offer...
How about we share our various views and interpretations of this passage in conversation and see where that leads? Would you like to start or should I?
Herc, perhaps we could find some common ground if we focus our different "approaches" on a passage of scripture and consider how we each interpret the passage.
Acts 3:1-11 records a dramatic incident of healing in the New Testament. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on the significance of this passage for us today. I also have some thoughts to offer...
How about we share our various views and interpretations of this passage in conversation and see where that leads? Would you like to start or should I?
posted by barry at
2:18 pm
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4 Comments:
ok, let me start.
on the face of it, this story seems like one of those miracle healings stories that make me think of Benny Hinn - people getting out of their wheel-chairs and walking across the stage.
The church that I'm a part of doesn't get people up to the front during worship, but we do have a regular weekly healing service. But there aren't any spectacular healings happening there. it's just a changing bunch of people every week who come for some need or other.
I feel inadequate. Are we doing something wrong? Why don't people "
get up and walk" during our healing service? Don't we believe in healing?
Well, we do believe in healing and there are many stories of GOd's healing in people's lives - that's presumably why the continue to come to the regular healing service. But that still leaves the question of our practice... are we missing something that the early disciples knew? Peter and John...
One thing that struck me as I read this story of healing was that they were going to pray, at the regular time of prayer, in the temple...
the healing happened in the daily course of their life. They didn't set off that morning thinking "let's go and find a lame person and heal him". They set off to pray, as per their usual practise, and in the course of their regular life they encountered a need... and Peter offered the man "what we have"...
By
barry, at 6/21/2006 12:23:00 pm
It's also interesting to me that the beggar was not 'expectant'- he was hoping for a 5 cent coin and he got given healing.
I like your point about this being a part of their daily life- something that happened in the 'real world'- an act of faith in the everyday, not the 'sacred' realm.
yzxibe
By
Peter le Roux, at 6/21/2006 02:31:00 pm
another thing that strikes me is the thing Peter says to the beggar: "Look at us!"
i wonder what this statement means? I have usually interpreted it as Peter saying the man: "Look at us, we are poor, do we look like we have money to give you?".
but I wonder if at this moment Peter found himself in crisis. Earlier we read that Peter and John "looked intently" at the man (v4). I sometimes look intently at the young man who begs at the robot near my home and wonder about the life that he leads. I feel hopeless, knowing that a few coins aren't going to extract him from his desperate situation.
could it be that this statement was a partial cry of "Look at us, we're just ordinary people. what do you expect from us?"
and then it’s as if Peter suddenly is jolted by a memory… a similar situation with a similar request… and how jesus dealt with it… and what jesus said: “…you will do even greater things…” And so, not out of pure confidence, but out of crisis and a memory of jesus, peter speaks the words of healing…
By
barry, at 6/22/2006 09:52:00 am
herc, it helps a lot to hear you speaking about healing happening in an ordinary worship service. so often the impression is given that "we" (the methodists in my case) don't believe in healing because we don't worship/pray/etc like the faith healers. While there may not bethe hype surrounding Benny Hinn at one of our midweek healing services (we hold a healing service every wednesday at my church) there is incredible faith and trust that God will heal. And I think if you asked the people who share in that service, they would speak with great conviction about a God who heals, and a God who answers prayer.
You say "at least someone had the expectancy" and that makes me wonder if in my case (being the skeptical type) whether my prayers for healing are not carried through by the faithful expectancy of some of the people I serve, and pray FOR...
incredible grace, on their part, toward me.
By
barry, at 6/28/2006 02:54:00 pm
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