I love preaching this time of year because the Lectionary (the 3-year cycle of texts used for preaching and worship) takes a detour in these post-Easter weeks.  Instead of providing a prescribed Old Testament text, during the season of Eastertide, the Lectionary offers readings from the book of Acts.  The purpose, I believe, is rather obvious:  it gives the 21st Century follower of Jesus some insight into how the early community of 1st Century Jesus followers lived their faith and responded in light of that first Easter.  This time of year, the book of Acts reads like a "Now What???" epilogue to Jesus' resurrection.

Why is that important?  Because I think we often find ourselves wondering "Now what?" after we hear the news of the empty tomb.  As I recently said, we cannot go back to normal - we cannot return to the same old way of living and thinking and being in the world have experienced the Risen Christ.  Sometimes, however, we discover that this new life and new way of following Jesus brings unintended consequences, some of which are negative.  For some, the Good News of the Risen Christ is not good for their bottom line.

This week we have a story (Acts 16:16-34) about an encounter Paul and his traveling companions have with a servant girl "possessed with the spirit of divination" - a talent that provided a great deal of income to her owners.  In the name of the Risen Christ, Paul calls out her possession - which does free her from an affliction - however, by doing so she is then placed in great peril as her ability to earn money is taken away.  Her healing has several consequences: 1) it renders her "useless" in the eyes of her owners, potentially marginalizing her even further, putting her physical safety at risk, and 2) such an act lands Paul and Silas in prison.  This story leaves us with many questions (or it should if you were paying attention).

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