“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” Acts 1

“Blacklist:” To blacklist someone has always held the same definition and connotation. During King Charles II’s reign, however, it involved black books where he kept the names of those involved with his father’s murder. “Black book” can be used interchangeably with “blacklist,” but the latter is far more popular. A similar phrase is to “Blackball” someone, which means to reject a candidate for membership in a private organization, by secret ballot. Blackball may also mean to severely ostracize someone from social activities. The word blackball appears in 1770, referring to a negative vote. Voting through the process of a voter placing either a white ball, or positive vote, into a ballot box or a black ball, or negative vote, into a ballot box, means that voters will remain anonymous and are not forced to give any reason for a negative vote. In some clubs a single black ball means a candidate will be denied membership in the organization. In other clubs there must be two black balls to justify excluding a potential member.

We do not have many instances where someone is blackballed, or blacklisted in the bible, unless we want to include Jesus when Pilate has to deal with the Jesus “problem”:

While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” (Matthew 27)

But we do have this account from the book of Acts where the Apostles are forced to pick a new member to take the place of Judas (the one who betrayed Jesus). What is important to note is that before they cast their lots, they prayed.

I believe we should always pray before we make a decision – especially an important decision that might involve our stewardship of time or treasure with the church, as well as our stewardship of time and treasure with our families and with our communities. We should never allow 0nly mob rule or the loudest voices to sway our decisions. Instead going to G-d in prayer is a sure guide to giving us peace with our decisions. The point is to prayer – and then to take the time to listen – before we decide.

Pastor Dave

“After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.” Genesis 8:6-12

“Extend the olive branch:” As I may have suggested earlier in these October devotions, many “Western” idioms come straight from the Bible. Extending an Olive Branch is just one of those idioms. Referencing the text of Noah and the Ark, this Bible story and this idiom remains one of the most popular and easily recognizable. When Noah allegedly sent a dove to check for dry land, she (the dove) eventually returned with a sprig from an olive tree. The association with the dove as a symbol of peace (and later the presence of the Holy Spirit) and the olive branch as well has remained in our Western vernacular.

Once Noah’s Ark landed on dry ground, the first thing Noah did was make a sacrifice to G-d. Genesis 8:21-22 says: “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”

The olive branch may have come to symbolize a gesture of peace, but the dove has come to symbolize the coming of the Holy Spirit – which is our source of peace, and the genesis of our faith. Look around the church nave for the presence of the dove – for the symbol of peace – for the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is a reason we pray “Come Holy Spirit” – because we need her presence every day.

Pastor Dave