It is not a coincidence that it was the “Synagogue of Freedmen” which debated with Deacon Stephen. Since they were outsiders they held onto the faith they acquired as a safe harbor in a stormy world. They didn’t understand that, while a boat is safe in a harbor, that is not why boats are made. Boats are made for the open sea. If we cling to what we know, we close ourselves off from the new thing that God is doing. Our knowledge is like a tiny island. The mystery of God is as vast as the ocean. Often the battles that happen in the Church occur because people hold onto what they are accustomed to instead of being open to God’s new thing.
