“Why are you…placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke

that neither our ancestors or we have been able to bear?” 

–Acts 15:10

The Biblical verse above comes from a day the first church governing body had a critical decision to make. Each of the men on that council was part of the initial generation of Christians.  In addition, all of them had grown-up as Jews.  To that ecclesiastical board came a question that would forever change the church:  “Must all Christians first become Jews?” 

The setting for that issue came after Paul and Barnabas returned from a two-year time of sharing the Gospel. On their journeys in what is modern-day Turkey and Cyprus, they would typically start by preaching in local synagogues. Many Jews responded to the Good News while others did not.  Soon, a large number of people outside the Jewish faith began to accept Jesus as their Savior, too. So many Gentiles took that step that a question arose among Jewish Christians: “Would Gentile believers have to continue the covenant made with Abraham marked by circumcision and keep the law of Moses?  Or did those previous norms for Christians not apply to them?” The matter could not be settled by the group who had commissioned Paul and Barnabas so the men were sent to the mother church in Jerusalem for a ruling.

In that gathering (found in Acts 15) four people are identified as speaking. Our verse comes from Peter. That preeminent disciple began by recounting how he had once resisted baptizing the Roman officer Cornelius because he was a Gentile. Eventually, Peter followed the lead of God’s Spirit and baptized the officer. He speaks to the council of how God knows every heart and sends the Holy Spirit to both Jews and Gentiles. “He has made no distinction between them and us,” Peter says before asking “Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?”  

After gathering more input, James, head of the church and half-brother of Jesus, spoke. He ruled that Gentiles could be received into the fellowship without first becoming Jews. There were a couple of continuing requirements, but the newest generation of Christians could arise from a much broader population. That decision transformed the church. It also reminds me of a decision by the governing body of my first pastorate. 

Two years after my ordination, our denomination published a new hymnal.  A few months before its availability, every congregation had the chance to buy them at a discount.  The Presbyterian Publishing House mailed out a sampler that included some of the new hymns and a list of everything in the book so that one could see if an old favorite had made the cut. I presented those materials at a meeting of our Session (the church council) and then opened discussion on this motion/question: “Should we purchase the new hymnal?” 

One of the things I learned as a pastor was my inability to predict Session meetings. Many of the issues I thought would evoke major discussions turned out to be of little interest when the elders considered them. Such motions would pass with barely any comment. On the other hand, some decisions I felt sure would sail through quickly generated long debates. While I would like to tell you I grew in my ability to anticipate perfectly which topic evoked which response, I did not. That dynamic surfaced for the initial time as my first Session discussed the new hymnal.  

Nine elders served on that board and opinion about the proposal was divided along generational lines. It probably wasn’t the split you would guess as officers younger than forty opposed the change while the older ones were in favor. That reaction surprised me until I realized the Baby Boomers on Session had never used a different hymnal while others had been with the church long enough to have sung from at least one earlier book.

That divergence of perspectives continued until a retired schoolteacher named Clara Lane said, “If the denomination is going to bring out a new hymnbook every 40 years or so, we might as well buy it now and get our money’s worth.” With that, all conversation ended and the motion passed! 

That decision by a church governing body in Kentucky pales in comparison to the one made by that first century Jerusalem council yet in both we see the key role played by different generations. Every congregation, and for that matter any organization that has been around for longer than twenty years, has such diversity. There will be those who have been present from the start or at the very least for a long time and others who have become part of the group in most recent years. The particular issue is always changing, but inevitably there will come the question “Do we stay with what brought us here or do we adapt?”  

In the Biblical moment, it was the second generations of Christians who convinced the keepers of the guard to change. In my first Session the older members persuaded the younger. Wherever you face similar questions arising this day, those two councils together offer a lesson to consider!    

God of every generation, we thank you for the vibrancy found in the places where old and young gather. No matter what our setting or our age, help us to listen closely to each other and then find the best path forward. Amen.