Act V: Church

Standup comics often use something called a callback. A callback is a joke made near the end of a set that references a joke made earlier. It’s effective because it requires no setup. The comic can simply say one phrase, and the house will erupt with laughter. It’s like having an inside joke with a friend. All it takes is one reference, and you’re transported back to an earlier time, both of you seeing a dotted line connecting what happened in the past to what is happening in the present.

Callbacks are not limited to comedy. Other storytellers use them, too. Verse twenty-two of today’s passage in John is a callback in God’s story. It says that Jesus breathed on his disciples, granting them his presence through the Spirit and his authority to forgive sins. This moment in Act V (late in God’s story) calls us back to the beginning of Act I, when God breathed life into Adam in Genesis 2. The writer, John, is drawing a dotted line for us. It’s like he is saying, “Remember how God created life with his breath? Jesus will create new life through his church.”

Act V in God’s story is called “Church” because it is about how Jesus’s story is on display to the world through his followers. God likes to work through imperfect, often broken, sinful, people. Think of the people we’ve read about this week: Adam and Eve, Abram, Moses, David, Isaiah, Paul—each one had their own weaknesses and sins, yet God used them to tell his story.

As a follower of Jesus, Act V is about you. You are part of the church, the next imperfect person that God has sent to retell Jesus’s story. This isn’t always easy. Sharing faith feels vulnerable. You open yourself to criticism, or you wonder if the person you’re talking to will think you’re crazy. The world can be a cynical place. No one wants to get stung. When you feel this way, try a callback. Connect something in your life today with what God has done for you in the past. You may not have answers to tough theological questions, and you may not be able to quote many Bible verses, but no one is asking you to. All you have to do is talk about how Jesus has made a difference in your life. You can share your own story. No one knows it better than you.

Reflection

• How do you feel when you talk to others about your faith? Pray about those feelings now. Name them and bring them to God.
• How does your understanding of God change or grow when you consider that, with all his power, he chooses imperfect people to tell his story?
• How has your relationship with Jesus positively affected your life? Is the answer something you could share with another person?

Prayer

Dear God, you are powerful and wise. From the beginning of your story, you’ve shared your love through imperfect people. Will you use me, too? Amen.