Opening Act

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050625.cfm

Photo by Aniq Danial on Unsplash

When I was young, I was a concert buff and attended over 50 concerts in three years (it was my job to attend). People who were not as experienced could easily be wooed by the opening act. I mean there were plenty of talented bands, and most headliners got their start this way, but they could never match the equipment, stage, lights and pyrotechnics of the headliner - and this was on purpose - it was they headliner people were coming to see.

The Jewish people had been enamored with the opening acts - and they were impressive, through Moses, God worked many wonders in Egypt and beyond that are storied and celebrated thousands of years later.

Jesus, and later Stephen, are trying to tell the Israelites that their forefathers and prophets were just opening acts - and they all would have agreed. Jesus tells us elsewhere that Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus' day, but also that before Abraham was, I AM. Jesus tells his followers that they were enamored with Moses, but He didn't even give them the bread from Heaven. (I can just hear the hecklers say: 'Oh I guess you're gonna say it was YOU that gave the bread.) Weeeelllllllll.... Jesus is the real bread, and everyone that came before was an opening act. Not separate talents or preachers or prophets, but one's whose entire purpose was to open for Jesus Christ - and they knew it.

Jesus and Stephen are just reminding them of that - painting the bigger picture - letting them know that the SHOW GOES ON.

At the end of a good 80's rock concert, the crowd would all light their bic lighters and cheer for an encore, after a little delay, the band would re-emerge for another great hit, usually their best, that they had held on to. The Acts of the Apostles is Jesus' encore. It's his greatest hit, that He would pass on His way of loving, of healing of preaching to dozens of men, who would eventually pass Him on to hundreds of thousands of other men through the ages.

The great encore that we get today is Stephen loving his persecutors to death, yes, loving them to death - his death. So here is the crazy part - we are NOT the opening act, we are part of the stomping, throbbing, flashing encore that is Christianity. We are called to play Jesus' greatest hits to audiences that have never really heard them.