Bullies

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
Acts 5:41 (NIV)

I was only six years old the first time I was bullied. It was in the school bathroom. An older kid in a really mean voice and threatening posture told me to give him whatever money was in my pockets. When I responded that I didn’t have any, he got mad and said he didn’t believe me. When I insisted, he told me he was going to find me after school and beat me up.

Power is the modus operandi of the Kingdoms of this World. Even children on the playground learn how to leverage power (I’m older and much larger than you) and threats (give me your lunch money or I’ll beat you up) for personal gain at the expense of the weak.

Bullying doesn’t end as we grow older. It just gets more insidious and protected by larger systems both legal and illegal. The power changes (power to fire, the power to harass, the power to ostracize, the power to cancel) as do the threats (do what you’re told, don’t question those in power or make waves, prove your loyalty to those in power and/or their dogma, keep your mouth shut). Along my life journey, I have experienced forms of bullying in business, in churches, and in academia.

I just read a fascinating investigative journalism piece the other day about one of the largest and most powerful tech companies in the world. Former employees spoke on record about the toxic corporate culture they experienced. At its root, the culture was just a systemic adult form of bullying.

In today’s chapter, Jesus’ disciples and the fledgling Jesus Movement continue to face off with the same institutional religious system at the Temple. In yesterday’s chapter, Peter and John were jailed and threatened by the bullies in charge to keep their mouths shut, or else. It didn’t work. The believers continued to meet each day at the Temple and proclaim that Jesus rose from the dead and was the Messiah.

It doesn’t take a genius to predict what a bully is going to do when the victim refuses to comply. The playbook is pretty simple. Use force to increase the pain and pressure. Non-compliance is always a threat to a bully because other victims under their thumb might get the idea that they can rebel, too. Ultimately, the bully must also decide if it’s easier to simply get rid of the non-compliant threat.

The bullies in charge of the Temple try to ostracize Jesus’ disciples by making it known that anyone who associates with them will find things becoming very uncomfortable for them. The bullies then bring the Apostles in for questioning. Many of them wanted to put all of them to death and snuff out the threat. Cooler heads prevail and it is decided to increase the pain and pressure. They have the Apostles flogged with 39 lashes. This was known as “40 minus one” because tradition held that 40 lashes would kill a man, so 39 lashes would bring a man just to the point of death without doing him in.

The Apostles left their lashing “rejoicing.” Jesus had prophesied that they would suffer as He had suffered. They celebrated the event as an honor to have walked in their Master’s sandals and to have suffered the wrath of the same bullies.

In the quiet this morning, I am reminded that bullies eventually lose their power when those under their domination no longer fear their power nor the painful consequences of standing up to them. I think of a brave man standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square. I think of young black people facing fire hoses and police dogs on the streets of Birmingham. I think of a lone, unbowed Russian dissident dying in an arctic gulag.

In both of their “trials” in front of the Temple bullies, Peter says the same thing. “We must obey God rather than you.” And, that is what God tells me time and time again throughout the Great Story. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” This means that if/when push comes to shove the real question for me is, “Do I really believe what I say I believe?”

Peter and the early disciples certainly did.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1 (NRSVCE)

It seems strange in today’s world, but when I was a kid we walked to school and we would walk home. There were safety patrol members standing at the busy corners to make sure kids didn’t walk across the street when the sign said “don’t walk.” It was a sea of childhood humanity flooding out of the school and making a daily pilgrimage home.

Once you were off school grounds, of course, there was no adult supervision. It’s amazing how quickly we learned that there was safety in numbers, and since I had older siblings I had the advantage of knowing a bunch of kids older than me. I could tag along and feel the relative safety of being with a “big kid.”

The real goal, however, was home. There was a certain sense of safety once I got to my own block. That was my territory. I was known there. I experienced real safety, however, once I was inside my house. Any fear of bullies or anxiety of potential trouble melted away. I was safe at home.

Today’s chapter, Psalm 46, is a song that celebrated refuge. For the ancient Hebrews, home base was the walled city of Jerusalem. The temple was there on Mount Zion. For the Hebrews, God was there in His temple. Their warrior-king was there in his palace. Troubles may rage, but they celebrated the safety they felt being safely in the place God resided. For those who remember growing up singing the great hymns, today’s psalm was the inspiration for Martin Luther’s A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

As I have written about on numerous occasions, Jesus changed the entire spiritual landscape. He made it clear that God’s “temple” was not a bricks-and-mortar edifice. When I open my heart and life and invite Jesus in, God’s Spirit indwells me. The temple is me.

How radically that changes the metaphor of refuge. Refuge is no longer without. Refuge is within. Writing to the followers of Jesus in Phillipi, Paul explained that God’s peace, which is beyond human comprehension, guards my heart and guards my mind. Though troubles may surround me on all sides, I may find a peace within sourced not in me, but the Spirit in me.

In the quiet this morning, I’m taking comfort in that.

Very early in the Jesus Movement, believers began a ritual of “passing the Peace.” They would say to one another “the peace of Christ be with you.” It was a tangible way of reminding one another of this spiritual intangible of God’s refuge within.

In this world, we have lots of troubles. Jesus told us to expect it, and not to worry about it because He overcame the world. The beginning of another work week. Here we go.

The peace of Christ be with you, my friend.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.