Sunday, May 17, 2020

Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 17:16-31
Psalm 66:8-20
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear, having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ.

My husband got a phone call a few days ago from his sister. His father was at the end of his life, it was time to go home. It took a day to prepare, but he left Saturday morning to drive across country, hoping he would make it in time. Unfortunately, his father died Sunday morning. I am a worrier, and since I did not go with him, I spent the three days worrying about him. It was especially difficult when he heard the news. He called me, but I was in church and didn’t answer right away. As soon as I could, I grabbed my phone and went to listen to the voice mail. I called him back immediately. He was still on the road. “Are you ok to drive?” I asked. He was fine, he answered, but I still worried. I worried every minute he was driving until arrived home Monday afternoon. I worried especially when it seemed like his stops were too far apart.

I worry about my kids, too. I worry when my son is later than I expect, wondering if his car is in a ditch and he’s crying for help. It was unnecessary stress, but I’m a mom. I will never stop caring for my children. I worry about my daughter, too, although that worry is different. She lives too far from home. We keep up with each other via text and social media, but I can’t help but struggle when she calls to tell me she’s sick since I can’t help her from a thousand miles away. I can only offer words of advice and pray.

We can’t be with those we love constantly, even when they live under the same roof. We have been doing that, in general, for the past couple of months, but we can’t live this way forever. We are going to have to go back out into the world, and we are going to have to allow those we love to go back into the world. We won’t be able to be with them wherever we go, but that’s the limitations of our flesh, isn’t it?

Jesus was limited, too. I’ve often thought about how wonderful it would have been to be one of the disciples. Imagine walking with Him, talking with Him, listening to Him. Imagine being like Mary at His feet and like Martha serving Him dinner. Imagine being one of those He healed and forgave. We read the stories of Jesus as He walked on earth and we wonder what it might have been like to be one of those who were with Him and we think that if only we had lived in that day we could have experienced His grace in person. Yet, we often forget that there were many people who lived at the time that never saw Him. Despite the large crowds and the spreading stories, Jesus could not meet every person everywhere. He was limited by His human flesh.

He was limited by time, too. He was God in flesh, so I suppose it would have been possible for Him to walk on earth forever, but even with his resurrected body, Jesus could not be with everyone everywhere at the same time. That’s why He had to ascend to heaven. That’s why He invites us to be His heart and His hands in this world. And that’s why He sent the Holy Spirit. While He could not be in every time and place in flesh, He could be in every time and place in Spirit. He may not be with us as He was with the disciples two thousand years ago, but He’s with us in a much better way.

The Gospel passage for this week continues from last week when Jesus encouraged the disciples not to be troubled. He promised that He will not abandon His people. “I will not leave you orphans,” He said. This is the last Sunday before Ascension Day which will be celebrated on May 21st. Ever since Easter, Jesus has been training them for the future, but these are the final days. Jesus was getting them ready for the inevitable: He had to leave.

I can imagine the worry. What would they do? How could they do it without Jesus? Jesus’ lessons were never easy. Think about the Beatitudes! The qualities Jesus expected of His followers were counter-cultural and difficult. Who would choose to be meek and merciful, poor in spirit and pure in heart, mournful and hungry, peacemakers and persecuted. Those are the characteristics of the common, everyday Christians, but they aren’t easy. It was best when Jesus was around, because He gave them courage and strength. He seemed to have everything under control. How would the disciples continue without Him?

The sadness they felt at the crucifixion was even greater now. Death seemed so permanent, but Jesus returned. Who knows what they would have done if He had never been raised. I doubt they would have continued His work. They were ready to get back to their old lives. Two disciples went home to Emmaus. Thomas disappeared, we don’t know where. Peter even went back to fishing. Then Jesus returned and He spent forty days nurturing them beyond discipleship into apostleship. He breathed the Spirit and true life into them and taught them everything they needed to know. It was finally possible for them to understand; they became apostles sent into the world to continue His work. That didn’t make His departure any easier.

But He would not leave them alone. He would send a helper: the Holy Spirit.

The psalmist for this week says, “Praise our God, you peoples! Make the sound of his praise heard.” The song encourages all God’s people to praise Him for His blessings. However, the blessings found in this psalm are not wealth, health or power; the psalmist thanks God because He has preserved their lives through trials. He praised God that He has refined their lives through the suffering they faced. The psalmist sings, “You brought us into prison,” and “You laid a burden on our backs.” He says, “You allowed men to ride over our heads” and “We went through fire and through water.” In the end, however, God brought His people to a place of abundance.

I have been studying the psalms and I have noticed that there are times when the psalmist promises to praise God when things turn out alright. That’s a very human quality. We can all relate stories of times when our prayers have been more like negotiations. Caught up in the frenzy of a moment, we promise God anything if only He will save us. Vows escape our lips as we make deals with God, negotiating our safety and well-being in trade for some sacrifice on our part. These vows are very serious although there is never serious thought about them. They are cried out in the heat of the moment, in the depths of pain and fear. We often find it impossible to be faithful to the promise.

Martin Luther was traveling down a road one day when a storm suddenly struck. Frightened by the lightning and thunder, he fell to his feet and cried out to God through Saint Anne. “Help me, St. Anne, and I'll become a monk!" He escaped unharmed and kept his word. It is not always so easy. Martin’s faithfulness meant disappointing his father. We often find that our spur of the moment vows require sacrifices that we can’t always make. But God knows we will fail. He knows that we can’t live up to the vows we make. We can’t keep the Law perfectly because we are imperfect. He answers our prayers because He loves us and because He is faithful to His promises. He has promised that He will not leave us along. Do we bless God because He has blessed us? Or do we live in the blessing and respond without fear and with faithfulness?

There is a word found in many of the psalms that is difficult to interpret. The word “Selah” is thought be be a musical command to stop, a moment to take a breath and to think about what we are hearing or to prepare our hearts for what we are about to hear. In today’s Psalm the word is followed by something very important: “Come, and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul.” The psalmist is bold enough to proclaim God’s grace to whoever will listen.

Jesus is the answer to all our problems. Are we willing to be so bold to proclaim this truth?

Paul was in Athens. The Greeks were an ecumenical society. They offered something for everyone, especially in religious practice. There was a temple on every corner. The temples satisfied the religious needs of a very diverse community. Athens was a place where trading routes crossed; it was a place where the world came together. Since the economy was dependent on foreigners, they wanted everyone to feel at home.

They tried to honor every possible god; they did not want to suffer the wrath of some god they did not know, so they honored those unknown gods with an altar. The worship and devotion was not in the living God, the Creator and Redeemer of the world. Instead, they paid honor to man-made idols, gods that had no power or Truth. The people were not faithful or even religious; they were superstitious. They even had an altar inscribed “To an unknown god.” Those who could not find a specific temple at least had a place to worship, a place where their god could be honored and remembered.

Mars Hill was a place of theological debate and discussion. Paul went there to join in the conversations. He commended the Athenians for their religious practices and called their attention to this altar for the unknown God. He stepped into their world and reached them from their point of view. In doing so, however, he did not settle for their ecumenical open-mindedness. He told them what they were missing.

Paul described the God of the universe, the One who made the heavens and earth, the God that does not need the works of men since He gives breath to all living things. He told them that He made all the nations of the earth to seek Him “…that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” God is near to all men if only they would see and hear Him. In hearing the Gospel, the Spirit of God takes residence in the hearts of men. Paul boldly proclaimed the God of creation and His Son Jesus Christ.

It was risky to speak to that crowd. Paul was a man of power and intellect; he was respected as a teacher and wise man. Some of the men on Mars Hill sneered at Paul’s sermon; it was unacceptable to raise one god above the others, all gods were considered equal. He sounded like an intolerant fool. The mythical stories of Christianity made it even worse: a virgin birth and a dead God? Repentance and forgiveness? These were not part of their religious experience. The Christian story seemed pointless and absurd.

But others believed and asked Paul to tell them more. Paul risked status, position, and respect by boldly proclaiming the Gospel message of grace. Some came to believe. We live in a similar society where buffets are the norm so that everyone who enters can be satisfied. There are religious houses on every corner, something for everyone. While diversity can be a good thing, are we willing to be like Paul boldly proclaiming the message of the Gospel to those who would prefer to settle for the ecumenical open-mindedness that says that all gods are equal?

Paul knew that the people were reasonable and religious, so he took advantage of his time in Athens. He went the synagogue and preached. He talked to people on street corners and in the marketplace. I can just imagine him pulling up a chair at the street café and striking up a conversation with the others at the table, “Have you heard of Jesus?” Paul had the courage to be a bold evangelist, but our question for today is whether or not we have the same courage.

We should. We have the Holy Spirit. Yet, I suspect that there are many of us who do not have the same boldness as those early disciples. We might claim the times are different, but are they all that different?

I think we are afraid to speak the Gospel because we don’t want to be rejected. We forget that even though some will scoff, but there might just be someone who will hear the Word and want to know more. We stay silent out of fear of those who do not want to be saved, ignoring the needs of those who would be saved if only we would be gracious to share God’s Word with them. Paul certainly knew what it was like to get run out of town because of his ministry, but that didn’t stop him. Are we willing to be so bold?

I know I’ve squandered moments when I should have spoken the Gospel and I’m sure I’m not alone in this. I’m sure there are times when most of us, if not all, decide it is just better to remain silent than say something. We can even justify our silence with scripture; after all there are plenty of verses that tell us wise men keep their mouth shut while the foolish rant on and on. We all know that there are just some times when it is better to just be silent. We decide that it is better to just live peacefully as we believe we are meant to live and allow others to live as they want to live. But there are times when we should not be silent, when a word from God is not only helpful, it is vital. There are times when God calls us to speak words we would rather not speak.

We think that kindness and good works are enough. “Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words” is a favorite mantra of many. However, the scriptures are clear that actions are not enough, people aren’t saved by good works. They don’t receive faith in a sandwich. Faith comes from hearing the Word. But it is a lot easier to feed a belly than to testify to the world about our faith in Jesus Christ. In his first letter, Peter describes the harm we might experience for being witnesses. Our testimony will bring peace to the world, but is likely to bring persecution to our lives. We are called to take the saving WORD of Christ into the world, no matter what others think, say or do.

Peter was writing to a community under persecution. They were afraid to do what they knew they should do. Peter wrote to give them courage. Though they would suffer persecution, they would see God glorified. Instead of responding with anger, they were to respond with grace. Instead of fighting back, they were to be meek and humble. In the end, the enemies of God’s people will be put to shame. Their suffering might just be the catalyst that will cause another person to believe in Jesus and in this God will be glorified.

Reflecting the comforting words of Jesus to not be troubled in last week’s Gospel, Peter gives us two tools to help us: do not fear and be faithful. We are invited into the work of God’s kingdom on earth, to continue what Christ started. We need not fear what will come because we have the Holy Spirit; with His help we can speak God’s truth. What is the truth? The truth is that Christ died for our salvation. He died so that our neighbors might be saved. He died so that our enemies might be saved. But no one can be saved without hearing the Word.

Do not be afraid. Be faithful. These are probably the hardest words any Christian can hear and follow. Unlike the disciples who at least walked with Jesus and experienced His ministry first hand, we don’t even have anything tangible on which to hold to give us the confidence that we need. How much easier is it when we can hold someone’s hand through tough times? I am less likely to worry about my family when they are standing beside me. Jesus prepared them for His departure; He told them that He would no longer be seen. We can understand their fear when Jesus was crucified. He was no longer among them. They enjoyed forty days in His presence after His resurrection as He continued to teach them everything they would need to know. He repeated the commands and promises. “Do not be afraid. Be faithful. The world won’t see me, but you will see me. You will have my Spirit and then you’ll know without a doubt that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

Peter reminds us that the persecution we face for doing God’s work in the world cannot truly harm us. Our Lord Jesus gave His life for us. We in turn are called to give our lives for His glory. The questions we face are opportunities from God to testify about the work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit manifests in very real and powerful ways as we walk in faith, so we should be ready to give the testimony. That person might just be the next one God intends to save.

Are we willing to give to God even when we will risk everything to do so? Are we willing to speak the truth when we come across those altars to an unknown god? Do we even know how to answer? We are encouraged to know our defense, to be ready to give an answer whenever we have the opportunity to share our testimony. Are we ready to proclaim the Good News that Christ died and rose again so that we can be part of the work of God’s kingdom in the world?