What Do We Have in Common?
It's easy to think that Jesus' disciples were all the same. On most of the Jesus films they all look like extras from the musical "Hair", or it's sequel "Even more Hair". Even more hairy than their donkeys. (I bet the director liked saying "Cut!" every now and then...) If rehearsals were poor I expect they called it a bad hair day...
Unlike the cast of Jesus of Nazareth my church don't all look the same from a distance. They certainly have many different defining charteristics, which I would not dare to put into print. And so did Jesus' disciples.
Simon, called Peter would never have been chosen to answer the phone at The Samaritans.
Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was a gentler version, and probably was used to tidying up after him...
James and John, called sons of Zebedee. Imagine their Dad saying "Time for Bed!" They're also called Sons of Thunder... they probably had camels with racing stripes. They asked Jesus if they could call down fire and brimstone to destroy a village.
Philip, a Greek speaker and probably quite a thinker. Maybe not into a Bevy at the Galilee Arms as much as some of the others.
Bartholomew, or Nathanael in John, a transparently honest man.
Matthew, or Levi, was a tax collector, not adverse to a bit of extra cash to line his pockets with. They were seen as traitors in Israel.
Thomas, known as the doubter, not one for the Vision Group.
James, son of Alphaeus.. We don't know much about him, but he might have been Matthew's brother.
Simon, called a zealot in Mark, Matthew, and Luke. They believed in active resistance to the Romans: it would have been unwise to leave him with Matthew for too long...
Thaddaeus, sometimes called Jude or Judas, might have been a zealot according to a Latin translation.
Judas Iscariot, who was basically a thief. The films always portray him as a zealot, which is inaccurate. The other disciples knew he was a thief. Yet Jesus let him look after the money. Added to that were loads of Marys, including an ex-prostitute.
So how do you fancy that as your small group?
Jesus chose them, and he chooses a right mixture to make up each church. Some say God wouldn't put you with people you couldn't get on with. Wrong. But he will make you one, and by his spirit he'll help you love each other. What connects you will be grace and the knowledge of having been forgiven much.
Acts 2: 44 & 47 says “All the believers were together and had everything in common. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” So often people become Christians and then can’t settle into a Church. The thing about that early Church was that people were added to a group who were already sharing life together. They joined in with what was already happening. They saw Jesus in the way the people knew each other.
Our society is very individualistic and consumerist. People can go to one Church to worship, another for a small group, and join in with evangelism in town with another organisation. But if they meet person x in town and they get saved, how do they get integrated into a Church? The most natural thing is to say “Come and meet my friends”. To take them to meet a group who already meet and share, and who KNOW each other, is just the most natural thing. Integration is easy. That is how the Body of Christ truly grows.
We don’t have to do everything with that group every day. But we need that core part of our walk with God to be with the body rather than just on our own. I pray that we will see fruitful groups which will be the core of this church.
