David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 7:1-16

And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, ³ and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ ⁴ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. ⁵ Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. ⁶ And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. ⁷ ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ ⁸ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ¹¹ Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. ¹² But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. ¹⁵ And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, ¹⁶ and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

“Well, I was driving down the road in my pickup truck…” So goes the story which the farmer wanted to tell while on the witness stand. It was a long story in response to a simple yes or no question. Every time the attorney asked the simple question Farmer Joe would answer, “Well, I was driving down the road in my pickup truck with my…” This was no time for a simple yes or no answer. There was a story to be told. (See below for the joke.)

Stephen is asked a simple question, “Are these things so?” It’s a fairly simple question. He may have put a little context around his answer. He could have offered a few words of context or explanation before answering, “Yes,” or “No.” In stead, however, he begins a long accounting of the history of Israel from the time of the Call of Abram all the way through the time of Solomon who built the first temple. It’s a 50 verse summary of the story of God which culminates in a startling and combative accusation: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” (Acts 7:51)

We who believe in and follow Jesus walk a path made hard by the feet of many who have gone before us. This is no untried way. We are not an island of isolation in a sea of meaninglessness. We are a part of the grand sweep of God’s faithfulness, redemption, grace, and love.

Very few questions may easily be answered yes or no. Seldom are we able to give the fullest expression of our faith in a few words. Our faith is not a collection of isolated theological truths. We are a part of God’s story. It all starts with God when he calls us like he did Abram, and sends us to places we do not know. And we go in faith, believing that God is leading to a perfect and glorious future. We go, knowing that others are with us on the path. We go, realizing that what we may not understand today we will be something with which we are at perfect peace in the future. We go, thanking God for the great examples of faith and seeking to learn from the not-so-good examples of disobedience by others.

The Joke:

Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company responsible for the accident to court. In court the trucking company’s fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe. “Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine,’” asked the lawyer.

Farmer Joe responded, “Well. I’ll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my best cow Bessie into the…”

“I didn’t ask for any details,” the lawyer interrupted, “just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine, I’m just fine!’”.

Farmer Joe said, “Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road…”

The lawyer interrupted again and said, “Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Police officer on the scene that he was fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question.”