“You are witness of these things.” (Luke 24:48)
You
gotta love Peter. He’s such a doofus in the Gospels, but in the book of Acts the
dude really steps up his game. In the First Lesson in the Revised Common Lectionary
for Easter 3, Year B (Acts 3:12-19) we have Peter giving a speech after having
accomplished a pretty impressive act of Christian mercy. At the start of
chapter 3 he and John are strolling through Jerusalem on their way to worship
at the Temple when they encounter this poor physically challenged gentleman
begging at the main entrance.[i] The guy can’t walk so he has
to ask for alms. Peter wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t see him. In fact, the
Bible says he looked intently at the man. I imagine Peter making some
serious eye contact, so the guy felt he was being seen as a person and not as
some annoyance folks had to get past on their way to worship (not unlike the
way many folks might avert their eyes from the guy holding up the “Homeless”
sign at the freeway entrance). Peter and John don’t have any spare change in
their pockets for this guy’s solo cup. “I have no silver of gold,” Peter says, “but
what I have I give you.”[ii] He takes the guy by the hand
and raises him up, healing him of his lameness in the name of Jesus.
As
you might imagine, this filled the beggar with great joy. He celebrated by
jumping and leaping and praising God in the Temple—which, naturally, caused a
bit of a stir and gave Peter a chance to preach a little Jesus to the folks. He’s
careful to point out that he and John didn’t heal the beggar by any magic power
of their own. It was faith in Christ that gave the man his legs. Peter is also
careful not to scold people for choosing Barabbas over Jesus when Pilate gave
them the chance to set a prisoner free. Peter tells them he knows they didn’t
really understand who Jesus was. In fact, Peter never really understood Jesus
himself until after the resurrection. You can see why he was so magnanimous.
Both
this lesson and the Gospel appointed for Easter 3 (Luke 24:36b-48) deal with
witnessing. They’re about making Jesus known by sharing what we know of
him. In the Gospel the disciples see the resurrected Jesus, they observe his
wounded flesh, and they even see him eating a piece of fish to demonstrate that
he’s really alive and not a ghost. Jesus tells them, essentially, “You guys
have seen me, so go and tell people about me.” In the lesson from Acts the
people see a man healed in Jesus’ name. Peter tells them he and John are
witnesses of the risen Christ, but now they have seen this wonderful act of mercy,
and they can testify to it themselves. Jesus is revealed through compassion,
through healing, and through understanding and forgiveness.
This,
of course, begs the questions: how do we witness to Christ?
First,
I think we have to be aware that there is a false witness out there. We’ve
heard a great deal in the news lately about Christian Nationalism. That’s the
belief some folks have that God has specially appointed the United States to a
position of world leadership because our nation was founded on solid Christian
values (Which it wasn’t. Just check out the First Amendment to the Constitution).
Christian Nationalists believe they are called to restore our country to a
state of godliness by outlawing abortion and gay marriage, making sure schoolteachers
never talk about sex, and electing only Christians to public office. The ELCA
and other Christian bodies soundly reject this belief system.
If
we are to be a witness, we should witness as Peter did. We witness by being
understanding and inclusive, by being forgiving, by acknowledging our past
mistakes, and by being the healing presence in a hurting world.
I
find it significant that the two resurrection appearances in Luke’s Gospel both
involve eating. The disciples who encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus see him
revealed in the breaking of the bread. The disciples to whom he appeared in
Jerusalem shared their fish dinner with him. What better witness can we have
than in sharing our food with the needy?
Our
congregation has a history of witnessing through food donations to the local
Lutheran food bank, by supporting a food service for elderly homebound in the
community, and by growing organic vegetables to help feed our neighbors in
need. This year, when we plant our garden, we hope to receive help from the Girl
Scout troop that meets in our facility. Our plan is to introduce them to the
director of Feast of Justice, our Lutheran SMO, and give them a tour of Feast’s
facility, acquainting the young women with the way we witness to Christ here in
Northeast Philadelphia. When these young ladies help us weed or harvest, they'll know they're being part of our witness to God's love and mercy.
We
should also be willing to be witnesses to one another through our fellowship.
At a recent church council meeting it was noted that our congregation has gone
a long time without observing what I’ve jokingly referred to as the “Fourth
Sacrament of Lutheranism”—the potluck dinner. When we break bread with one
another, we grow stronger as a church.
We
can’t all be Peter and John. I know I haven’t miraculously healed any disabled people. But not all healing requires a miracle. Sometimes it just requires a
small act of generosity, a moment of loving forgiveness and understanding, a simple act of service, or a
bit of eye contact and a listening ear. Jesus can speak through all of these things.
May
God’s peace be with you.
[i]
The Bible says the mendicant was begging at the Beautiful Gate. This was the
main entrance between the outer “Court of the Gentiles” and the first vestibule
of the Temple, the “Court of Women.” Non-Jews weren’t allowed to pass through
the Beautiful Gate, and women couldn’t go much beyond it. There was a pretty
tight class system in place in the Temple.
[ii] I
use this line whenever I give a buck or two to a street beggar. I hope it’s a
good witness of Christian charity.
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