Inspired and Empowered
Inspired and Empowered
Acts 2:43-47
Last week, we watched something extraordinary unfold. The disciples and many other followers of Christ were assembled in a large upper room. They were waiting and praying and worshiping together. Then, in an instant, everything changed. A loud rush of wind blew into the room, a wind that would have reminded everyone of the Spirit which had moved over the face of the earth in the creation story. Tongues of flame descended upon each person, flames that would have reminded everyone of the burning bush and Moses. Finally, the people are transformed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and the first thing that they are able to do is…understand one another.
Remember this…the Holy Spirit doesn’t make them able to do spectacular magic tricks. They are not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Nope…they are enabled to do the one thing that can bring diverse people back together. They can speak each other’s languages. They can come together and understand one another. As I suggested to you, everyone would have thought of the Babel story, of how the God who had once made everyone speak different languages so that they would be forever separated from one another was now going to bring everyone together again. At least, God was going to give us the ability, if we choose to follow through.
The believers are empowered and inspired. When believers are empowered and inspired, they almost always do two things: they invite others to be empowered and inspired, too; and they make new choices about what matters and what doesn’t matter in this life. In other words, we are going to have things to say and we are going to have things to do.
Just before our text, Peter has a few things to say. First, it seems that the running theory among the crowd was that these ecstatic followers of Christ were…well…hammered, to be blunt. Peter points out to the crowd that it is only 9:00 a.m. and no one is drinking then. (Clearly, Peter has never walked the parade route on the 4th of July in Lake Bluff…oops, forget that I said that!) Second, Peter has a special message for the Jewish audience which would have been the vast majority of the crowd. Peter quotes the prophet Joel and King David, himself, to make the case that while David was important, Jesus was the Christ, the messiah. In other words, that guy that our authorities crucified and that the crowd refused to support, he’s not only “The Man,” he’s sitting at the right hand of God. Then, we’re told, huge numbers of people converted—apparently moving from “Team David” to “Team Jesus” on the spot.
Now, I’m sorry for how that sounds. Peter is an important leader—the rock upon which the church was built (unless you talk to Paul.) The problem for me is the notion that the most important activity—the first thing that a Christian should do—is to get people to convert to your beliefs. I know…I know…this is what Christians still do all the time. I get that. However, I have a problem with that, too. Is our main job as faithful people simply to “save” as many people as possible by getting them to say the words we say?
If you haven’t been around this before, I’ll tell you a quick work trip story from years ago. I was in Missouri with my youth group from Wilmette. We were working on a man’s house that had a terrible roof. There were pots and pans everywhere inside to catch the leaks every time it rained. We learned that this elderly man actually owned the house next door, too, which was in much better shape. He told us that his son had moved into that house a few years before. All of which seemed odd—that the son would live in the “good” house and move his father into the sieve.
Our feelings got even more complicated when we met the son. It turned out that he was a pastor. When he found out that I was a pastor, too, he immediately started to tell me about his prison ministry, which I will be the first to appreciate as one of the things that was on Jesus’ “greatest hits” list of worthwhile things to do—“I was in prison and you visited me.” He lost me quickly though. The most important thing that he had to say was that he had saved 37 prisoners…and counting!
I could think of a lot of things to say. “Was it you that saved them or was that Jesus?” “Weren’t they saved, just like the rest of us, a few thousand years ago?” “So, we’ll grant the whole saving thing for a minute. What did you do with them after that? How did faith become a transforming part of their lives.” Of course, I didn’t ask any of these things because I’m not a huge fan of conflict and I don’t like falling down the rabbit hole. My friend who was with me, though, did ask a question: “Have you ever thought about saving your father’s roof?” We all just stood there through a few moments of immense discomfort until the son finally said, “I’m too busy doing the Lord’s work…” Oh no! Don’t you think “God’s work” would include doing something to help your father?
Here’s my problem. A whole lot of Christians, apparently, including Peter in the very first moment of the church’s existence, think that the most important thing that we can do is to keep as many people from going to hell as possible. In order to do that, they have to say a particular set of words and join the team and then they will be safe. I have watched really good-hearted friends worry terribly over the eternal fate of other friends. I’ve watched really good, faithful people spend their lives spreading the word about Jesus to people in some far off land who “might not have heard” and might not have had the chance to convert. I don’t question their sincerity. I just wonder if that’s the point.
It seems like the point of the story is that Jesus came to change how we live, not what we think. At the least, Jesus seemed to put far more attention in his ministry on being a loving person or on being a forgiving person or on being a compassionate person than on piling up words. If we want to follow him, then we have to do what he commanded us to do which he, himself, summarized this way: You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. It just seems to me like stepping right up to tell everyone else why they are wrong and why they need to be saved is more of a John the Baptist thing than a Jesus of Nazareth way of being in the world.
Now, I’ll grant this caveat first. Yes, in the Gospel of John Jesus does make “I statements,” things like, “I am the way, the truth and the life” and “No one comes to the father except through me.” That is there. The guy with the crazy rainbow wig was always in the end zone at N.F.L. games for decades, holding up the John 3:16 sign for a reason. Generally, you can find what you are looking for in scripture and then be free to run with it.
The thing is, though, that in the other three Gospels, Jesus never says those kinds of things. He doesn’t refer to himself in that way. He doesn’t insist on people worshiping him. He keeps telling people that if they want to follow him, they have to change the choices that they make. He spends very little time scaring people and a lot of time trying to inspire people to be a part of ushering in God’s Kingdom, of making the world work a little bit more like God would have it work. When he heals people and they are grateful, he doesn’t say, “Aren’t I amazing!” Instead, he tells them to tell no one. He tells them that it was their faith that made them whole.
So, I spend a lot of uncomfortable time as a pastor when I’m in a situation where the clear assumption on someone’s part is that I’m one of those pastors who is racking up serious numbers when it comes to saving people. Do I think that we should open our hearts to the transforming power of what Jesus teaches? Absolutely! Have I seen people leave behind every version of dead-end living and come to life in serving others? You bet! However, to me, what’s far more important than saying the magic words is discovering the way that God’s presence and the power of faith come to life when we get down to the business of doing what Jesus called us to do and being who he called us to be.
I know I’m a broken record here but I don’t think the point is to look around and ask, “Who hasn’t been saved?” I also don’t think the point is to look around and ask, “Who’s not a Christian?” I think the point is to open our eyes and our hearts and ask, “Who’s hungry? Who’s lonely? Who’s being overlooked or ignored?” This is what Jesus did. He saw the people in the crowd whom everyone else missed because he was actually looking for those people. When he found them, he didn’t make them listen to a sermon first. He didn’t ask them if they wanted to go to heaven. He didn’t insist that they pass some test and join his group. He just helped them. I can’t help but believe that he is hoping we will do the same.
Of course, there is good news in the very first days of the church. That good news is embedded in our text for this morning. In Acts, the headline seems to be, “Peter Preaches; People Convert.” However, the real headline worthy story is what else we heard. When people joined the group of believers they lived differently. These people lived in a highly hierarchical society where you ran the risk of being “soiled” by the presence of people who were below you in the pecking order. This shaped where you lived, how you dressed, who you talked to, who you cared about, and who you picked for a dinner partner. What we learn about these early believers is that they literally moved in together. Everyone was treated with respect. Everyone shared what they had with one another. They sold their possessions and pooled their resources and gave what they had to those who were in need. They sat down at the same table and ate together. If we are paying attention to what’s happening here at all, what we are seeing is a revolution! People who wouldn’t so much as make eye contact a day ago, were now “passing the peas” to each other at dinner and “passing the peace” to each other in worship.
At the end of our text, we are told that the number of believers was growing every day. More and more people are being saved. I want you to pause and ask yourself this: were they being saved by a great sermon from Peter that led them away from an eternity in hell or were they being saved from a lifetime of fractured living by the seeing what life is like when people live differently? I think the Holy Sprit is alive and well and working through these people who are embodying the truth that community matters, that sharing matters, that inclusion matters. I think the story is one of how irresistible the pull is when the church demonstrates the good news of the Gospel by how it lives and how it loves. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Jesus does save. He saves us from getting overwhelmed by the fear of death. He saves us from wasting our lives by just piling up more stuff, or by just grabbing more power, or by just trying to show how I’m better or my “team” is better than anyone else or any other team. Jesus offers us the chance to think differently, to choose differently, to be transformed. The Holy Spirit empowers us to make those faithful choices. The Holy Spirit allows us to connect to God’s presence in the present. I don’t think the magic words are, “Save me!” The real magic words are, “Help me, Holy Spirit! Work through me to help someone else! Let’s do this together!”