Customs and Disciplines




Acts 18:18-23
18After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
19And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
20When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined.
21But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch.
23After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Those of us who practice Christianity probably participate in various customs and disciplines that keep us mindful of our faith and help us remain present with God. Some denominations are more steeped in these customs than others but we all have something. Perhaps you cross yourself during certain parts of a worship service or prayer time. Maybe you spend your prayer time on your knees or even some of it prostrate on the floor. Some women participate in the practice of wearing a head covering during devotion, worship or prayer. Fasting from food (or other things as well) has long been a devotional discipline which serves to bring an even greater awareness of our life in Christ. These are examples of just some of the disciplines people have used in the past and continue to use now. Our reading today speaks of a custom or discipline where Paul has taken a Nazirite vow for reasons that are not given in the text.

The Nazirite vow was taken by those in the Jewish faith as they experienced a time set apart for God. In the book of Judges we find the mother of Samson takes just such a vow for her unborn child. The parameters of this vow are spelled out in the book of Numbers.

Numbers 6:1-6
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,
3he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried.
4All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.
5“All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.
6“All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.

Clearly, the purpose for this vow was to have a time that was set apart for God. For Samson, it was supposed to be his entire life. (He did not fair very well in keeping this vow.) The vow had three requirements.
  1. You would not cut your hair.
  2. You would not touch any fermented drink.
  3. You would not come into contact with a dead body (human or animal).
As you can see, none of these actions are particularly strange. But God established this vow, containing these three actions to keep the mind focused on Him. For our reading today we are moved to wonder why Paul who is now a Christian would participate in this very Jewish activity. That’s fairly simple – he is still also a Jew. Just because he recognizes and claims Jesus as his Savior does not mean he leaves behind his heritage. He was clearly stilled interested in participating in those customs that had served to drawn him near to God throughout his life. Since we are not told why he had taken this temporary vow we must assume it was for good and noble reasons.

An examination of our own spiritual lives would probably reveal that we too have customs that draw us unto God. They can be as simple as always praying before meals (both at home and publically) or as all-encompassing as a vow of celibacy. The purpose is always the same; to draw us to God and bring our minds into focus on Him. These practices are helpful and in many ways becoming lost in our culture. But we don’t have to allow that to happen. Paul’s continued attentions to the customs of his heritage remind me to be intentional about my own spiritual practices for they are useful and a gift from God.

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