Going Public, a devotional thought

In Acts 26:26, Paul is on trial for creating a stir in Jerusalem, and is giving his defense to the Roman Governor (Festus) and the King of Judea (Herod Agrippa). He recounts his meeting with the Resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus, his conviction that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Hebrew Scriptures, and his mission to proclaim this fact among the Gentiles.

And then in verse 26 he says something that makes you stop and think: “I am convinced that none of this (the events surrounding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus) has escaped notice, because it was not done in a corner.”

It’s that “not done in a corner” bit that gets me thinking, anyways, because it reminds me that there is something unavoidably public about the Gospel. God did not do what he did in Jesus quickly, quietly, and then sweep it under the rug; he did it openly, publicly, and announced it to the world, with public parades into the City of Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), a public execution of an innocent man (Good Friday) and an empty tomb on display for any and all to see (Resurrection Sunday).

What’s more, Paul’s own ministry demonstrates that what happened that first Holy Week so long ago is meant to be broadcast around the globe. It was not, that is to say, “done in a corner”; nor can it be tucked away into a corner. The very fact that this harried and homeless itinerant rabbi—Paul—is proclaiming the message of Jesus to the likes of Festus and Agrippa—the power brokers of his world—is proof of God's determination not to let the Good Thing he did in Jesus fade into a quiet corner of the global scene.

Christianity is, and always has been a matter of the public record, meant for public display and requiring public engagement. Of course, when you do stop to think about this, it leaves you with all sorts of challenging questions: Are we living our faith in corner? And what might it look like for us, to follow Paul’s example and bring the message of Jesus out into the open?