David Bahn – Reflections

Acts 18:1-11

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

When my friend Jerry offered me a place to sit that morning in high school, neither he nor I knew what a person of peace was. But in a sense I was one for him. God worked through Jerry in my life to bring me closer to him and to find a path for service in the church. I also provided encouragement and support for him in his walk with Christ. When I invited some men to join me on Wednesday mornings for conversation and prayer, I discovered some persons of peace. We support, encourage, and pray for each other. They are a great blessing to me personally in my ministry.

A “person of peace” is a term that comes from Jesus’ teaching in Luke 10. Jesus sends out the 72 telling them to go from place to place healing diseases, casting out demons and announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand. When they entered a town they were to look for those who would receive them, and finding those with whom they would have a sense of mutual peace they would enjoy hospitality and a way into the community. If they didn’t discover such a person, they were to shake the dust from their feet and move on.

Paul certainly followed Jesus’ teaching in this regard in Corinth. First there is Aquila and Priscilla. He stayed with them and they plied their trade together as tent makers. Having met resistance to the message of the Gospel in the synagogue, he shook out his garments and went next door to Tutius Justus – another person of peace. Crispus also provided support and encouragement to Paul. These men and women were gifts of encouragement and comfort to Paul in his missionary work.

When we find or become a person of peace we are in a blessed place. The pursuit of the Christian life, and the desire that God puts in us to impact others requires support. Sometimes we lose sight of that. Sometimes we need to know we’re not going it alone. That’s where persons of peace stand with us and help us along the way. We may sometimes need to be reminded that we’re not in the battle alone; there are others who belong to God – some of whom we may never see this side of reality. God reminded Paul of that by means of a vision.

We may need simply to discover that person of peace or learn to recognize such a one when he or she comes along. You might also be that person of peace for someone who is doing God’s work right in your neighborhood.