STEDY, May 16, 2018

May 17, 2018
, 10:30 am
, Youth News

Acts 12:1-12
12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

Often there is an unspoken dress code and hair must be carefully maintained. Certain types of music are not allowed, the same with movies, books and tv shows. You are only allowed to speak to certain people, even a simple smile at someone from the outside could place you in serious social peril. You are to be popular but not stand out – being different is death. You must follow these rules but you can’t act like you are. This is life in middle school.

A few years ago the Executive Producer of This American Life, Ira Glass received the following letter from a girl named Annie. It reads:
“Dear This American Life, I just escaped the whitewashed, brick-walled, iron-gated prison that is commonly known as middle school, and I’m finally out for good. But in all the time I’ve listened to your show, I’ve never heard an episode devoted to what goes on inside the walls of a middle school. I hope you’ll think about it.”
Ira called her and asked her to talk to him some more about why she felt compelled to write the letter. She said that she wrote to him because she and her friends were talking right after they left eighth grade about how terrible middle school was. And she wondered was it just as bad for other people as it was for them? “You always wonder whether other people are going through the same thing as you. And it’d be cool to hear other people’s stories about it and what they went through.” Annie said. Ira asked her to explain what the worst things were about middle school and she said that everyone is so socially awkward and the daily drama gets frustrating. You can get made fun of for anything. When you finally graduate, it can feel like an escape from prison.
Being a Christian in the years just after the resurrection could have felt a bit like middle school. The apostles were desperately wanting to continue Jesus’ work but to stand out meant death, social and literal. Herod killed James and his popularity soared with the people he thought mattered so he arrested Peter as well and locking him in a prison where he was surrounded by 16 guards. The night before he was to put on trial he was asleep, chained to two guards with two guards standing outside the door. He had stood out too much, shirked too many rules of society. It was over, there was no going back.
The great thing about this story is that its one of a million in scripture where God kind of acknowledges the rules of society, those spoken and those which aren’t and then God plows through them. No matter how rigid or inescapable the chains of the world seem, they in no way confine God. As Peter sleeps, heavily chained, heavily guarded when an angel comes in, wakes him but no one else, not even when the chains fell off. He dressed, put on his shoes, wrapped a cloak around himself and followed him out of prison, passed guard number one and then passed guard number two. The angel leads him down the road and then suddenly disappears. Peter walks to John’s mother’s house where the apostles were gathered and knocked on the door. When Herod realized Peter had somehow escaped, he was furious, however before he could see that through, he dies and the word of God continue to spread.
When our friend Annie was being interviewed by Ira Glass she was quite happily in high school. Somehow those same people in high school were so much better, they were so much nicer. When we see kids struggling through the rough patches whether it be middle school, high school or college it can be easy for parents to know there is more, there is life beyond but for them, it feels like they are chained, heavily guarded with nothing but death before them. Sometimes we have to be the angel that quietly slips in, stepping lightly over enemies who pose serious threats to our children. We need to find a way to unchain them and guide them to a place where they continue the way on their own.

~ Notes ~
The Bartolomes will be in Cuba on Sunday, June 10. If you are able to teach that Sunday please let either Heather or Antonio know.
Thank you!

~ Street Hockey Madness ~
Thank you so much to all who have donated sticks! We currently have received six which will be put to good use very shortly.
Thank you so much for your generosity.

~ Sunday at the Beach and Paddleboard Yoga ~
The study of Acts will take us through the middle of July.
What better to complete a book full of islands and shipwrecks than
by spending a Sunday at the beach!
Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey is a beautiful spot with lots of parking, nice bathrooms, calm water, life guards, picnic areas and a playground. Families are welcome to join us at any point during the day and stay as long as they like.
The Sundays in July are being considered for this trip to the beach, if you have a preference or any questions please contact Heather.

If you want to come for some early morning sun and stretching, join us for Paddleboard Yoga! The first 30 minutes of the class is dedicated to learning how to properly use a paddleboard and enjoy a peaceful paddle around the harbor. The remaining hour is dedicated to yoga on the paddleboard. Each board has an individual anchor that is dropped down before the Yoga portion of class begins so that the student does not drift away while focusing on their practice. YOGAqua classes are open to “all levels”. Students are taken through a Vinyasa Yoga flow with customized and detailed instruction for the paddleboard so even if they have not been practicing yoga for years, or if they have never been on a paddleboard, they will be able to follow along with no problem.
A single class costs $44 which includes use of a paddleboard.

~ Upcoming Events ~

Sunday, May 20
Team 3 Acolyting