The Right Hand of Fellowship

 In Galatians 2:9, St. Paul tells that he had gone to Jerusalem to explain his ministry to the Gentiles to the "pillars of the church, Peter, James, and John:"  ...they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.

Originally, the gesture of extending "the right hand" to someone indicated a demonstration that one held no weapon in the hand and that the other person was being greeted as a friend, not an enemy.  In the early church, "the right hand of fellowship" expressed acceptance, agreement, and trust --- a welcome into an established group, a way to enter a partnership in the Gospel.  In the very first church, the believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).  They considered their relationships with one another an important part of their daily lives.

Strong friendships and fellowship are an essential part of a healthy and growing Church. In the final reference to fellowship in the New Testament, (1 John 1:7),  we read, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Recently, I have been thinking about the words of the Resurrected Jesus to Mary Magdalene: Go to my brothers and tell them, "I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John 20:17).  It seems to me that these are among the sweetest words Jesus spoke in the Bible.  The words themselves seem to me to be Jesus extending "the right hand of fellowship" --- that is, of acceptance, agreement, and trust --- to His friends.  At the Last Supper, he had said to them: "I no longer call you servants, but friends, because servants do not know what their master is doing."  And now, it seems that after the Resurrection, a new kind of fellowship is established.

Jesus spoke often of "my father" during his ministry on earth.  He did always what the Father wanted and the words He spoke were not His own, but belonged to the One who had sent Him.  And now, it seems that the apostles were included in the same ministry, the same partnership in the Gospel. Now, He refers to "my Father and your Father, my God and your God."  Our fellowship with the Risen Christ has given to all of us fellowship with the Father Himself and with one another.  We are accepted; we are loved; we are trusted, and we are being purified from all sin, that our fellowship may continue beyond this life and into the next!