Allen: Gospel to the poor

Saturday, June 8, 2013
    Feast of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath & Wells, Hymnographer, 1711
    Commemoration of Roland Allen, Mission Strategist, 1947
Meditation:
    When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
    —Acts 4:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In the world to which the Apostles preached their new message, religion had not been the solace of the weary, the medicine of the sick, the strength of the sin-laden, the enlightenment of the ignorant: it was the privilege of the healthy and the instructed. The sick and the ignorant were excluded. They were under the bondage of evil demons. “This people which knoweth not the law are accursed,” was the common doctrine of Jews and Greeks. The philosophers addressed themselves only to the well-to-do, the intellectual, and the pure. To the mysteries were invited only those who had clean hands and sound understanding. It was a constant marvel to the heathen that the Christians called the sick and the sinful.
    ... Roland Allen (1869-1947), Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or ours?, London: World Dominion Press, 1927, reprinted, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1962, p. 46 (see the book)
    See also Acts 4:13; Ps. 112:9; Matt. 5:5; 9:12-13; 11:5; Mark 6:56; John 7:49; 1 Cor. 1:25-27; 2 Cor. 8:9; Jas. 2:5; 3:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have helped those who could not help themselves. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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