"Old Stories for a New Day: Good News Will Change Your Life"
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Rev. Lou Nyiri
Acts 4:1-12
July 5, 2009

Over the last few Sundays we have been reading about the early church in the book of Acts and using that as our model to see what we might learn today about what it means to be the body of Christ – the church – at work in our world.
We have seen in the early chapter of Acts how this early church met together and devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and praying.
We have seen the early church and the 21st century church must fight against the possibility of viewing themselves as a closed club of the elect – rather than a house of refuge for all from life’s storms.

Perhaps because the church had tendencies to keep the good news to themselves and/or a temptation to insulate themselves from the world around them, Luke – the writer of Acts – immediately follows his account of life within the new body of believers in Jerusalem with an account of the infant church’s confrontation with the world around it.
Luke goes to great lengths to show that the church’s gathering to break bread, teach and pray joyfully was in no way a detour around the misery of the world.

II.

And so today, we see that, the gospel – the Good News of God’s redemptive love involved in this world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ – and sustained thorough the power of the Holy Spirit – is the power of God…and it is a power which elicits healing for some, astonishment for others and sometimes anger for those whose vested interests are threatened by this new power set loose in the world.

Acts, chapter 4, begins the dialogue between Peter & John AND the religious establishment of their day. 
When the people are stirred by the apostle’s testimony of the resurrection, it doesn’t take long for the authorities to swing into action to protect the interests of the establishment.
In their minds they needed to act quickly because the last time Peter spoke in public they lost 3,000 people who converted!
And now when Peter speaks they lose about 5,000 more.
(This is comparable to what might happen if as you all were leaving worship today the Episcopalian rector across the street nabbed you and you decided Anglicanism was going to be your faith path.  I can assure you a phone call would be placed Monday morning for a little sit down with the church leadership.)
For the religious rulers though, this Jesus nuisance is in danger of becoming a mass movement.

Luke gives us a greatly dramatic scene.
On the one side are the rulers, elders and scribes of the capital city – they are “of the high priestly family.”
On the other side are Peter and John, “uneducated common men” (as Luke describes them in Acts 4:13).  I tell you right now though I don’t like that description because I prefer to think of them as ordinary people with an extra-ordinary message – a message of good news that will change the lives of any who hear and respond to it.  And I like that definition because I think it describes all who make up the body of Christ – for we are all ordinary people with an extra-ordinary message of Good News that Will Change Your Life – if you are willing to hear and embrace it.

And so the confrontation continues with these Jewish leaders probably feeling threatened by the healing and preaching done by Peter and John, so they ask them, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
They don’t know what exactly they are dealing with here.
I’m imagining that at this point it might feel for Peter and John like what one of us might feel if we were sitting in front of Donald Trump on the Apprentice trying to answer the questions he throws at you just before rendering his “Your Fired!” verdict.

Then an amazing thing happens for Peter he is filled with the Holy Spirit and has an amazing answer – though it should not be too amazing because Jesus predicted it back in Luke 12:11-12, “When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authoritieis, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”
Peter answers, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.”

Like Captain James T. Kirk of the Star Trek series, Peter boldly goes where no one has gone before – he proclaims the healing and saving power of Jesus to the rulers, elders, scribes and priests of Jerusalem.

• Peter makes it clear that he and his fellow apostles are on a mission to heal, not to hurt. 

He begins by talking about the “good deed done to someone who was sick.”

• Then he speaks the truth, saying that “this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”  Peter doesn’t hide the source of his power, but is honest about where this healing power comes from.
• Then Peter reminds the Jewish leaders that they are responsible for Jesus’ death, but he does this in a way that shows them a new path.  In verse 11-12, he says, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.  There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Peter corrects the Jewish leaders without condemning them.  Instead, he offers them a way to turn themselves around, and begin again by following Jesus.

And in this answer, Peter proclaims to them and to any who will hear it a message of healing and hope.
In effect, what Peter does in his response is to share with us Good News that Will Change Our Lives.
The question for us today is, “Will we, like Peter, take this Good News boldly out in this world around us?”

III.

To do so means we like Peter and the early church begin with a desire to heal, not to hurt.
It means we adopt an attitude of meeting the needs of those around us while also giving them the ability to meet their need on their own once we’re gone. 
It’s like the old saying, “Give a person a fish and he will eat for a day…teach her to fish, and she will eat for a lifetime.”

This means also that we must keep our eyes open so that we see the people around us.
The incident in Acts 4 between Peter and the religious leaders begins because as Peter and John were about to go in the temple a man lame from birth asked them for alms.
The very next reads, “Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’  And [the man] fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.”  (Acts 3:4-5)

I remember a friend from Seminary who opened my eyes to the people around me when he said, “Never forget that people – all people – are created in God’s image.  All have some imprint of God in their lives.  Sometimes it’s hard to see that imprint but usually that’s because we don’t take the time to look for it.  For instance, the homeless person on the street who asks for your spare change…how often do you take the time to make eye contact with that person?  You don’t have to give them any money, but can’t you at least give them the common courtesy of looking them in the eyes and letting them know that you know they exist?”

Maybe the start of healing begins by simply acknowledging the other person’s presence?
But it doesn’t stop there…because once we take the time to see each other – then we can begin to see the real needs in each other’s lives.  And then action must follow.

A man named Andrew, walked to work every morning for a year. 
On the first day of the second year he made that journey from his front door to his place of business but something happened along the way – he saw that he wasn’t alone – he noticed along his familiar route that there were men, women and children who lined up in front of the local soup kitchen for a breakfast meal.
On the second day of the second year he made the journey from his front door to his place of work but something happened along the way – he noticed those same men, women and children – their faces had changed but their situation was the same.
On the third day, fourth day, and fifth day he made the same trip from his front door to work and he noticed men, women and children lined up for that breakfast meal.
On the sixth day he stepped outside his front door to go for his morning run, which travelled the same path as his work route and his eyes were opened again – the local soup kitchen isn’t opened on Saturday mornings and there was no line of men, women and children waiting for their breakfast meal.

The whole next week he couldn’t get that image out of his mind.
And so one Saturday morning not too long after – he decided to do something after his morning run – he went into his basement and found his Coleman Camping Stove – went to the supermarket and bought two dozen eggs, some bagels and cream cheese, OJ, Milk, cups and napkins and he went back in front of that soup kitchen and cooked breakfast for some of those men, women and children.
And now he has a new routine to his Saturday mornings – he sets up a portable kitchen on the sidewalk and cooks breakfast for people who live on the streets.
He serves coffee to his homeless friends and talks with them and sometimes he even prays with them but even if he doesn’t pray with them he is always praying for them in his personal devotional time.
A favorite prayer of this man’s is, “God, help me to see the faces of those around me and to see them long enough that I might be able to discern what I might do to help them.”

This man has come to understand what Donald Miller, author of the book Blue Like Jazz:  Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, has written, “All great Christian leaders are simple thinkers.  They actually believe that when Jesus said feed the poor, he means you should do this directly.  [People who live this kind of life are the ones who teach] me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do.”

I would say, that by this definition aren’t we all or can’t we all be great Christian leaders?

What we believe is what we do.  Feed the hungry.  House the homeless.  Heal the sick.  Be courteous to visitors.  Notice those who are too often overlooked.
What are the needs around us that we might see every day but haven’t yet noticed?
Who are the people we know that need our help if only we will take the time to notice them?
Actions do speak louder than words – what is it that St. Francis of Assisi has been credited with saying, “Preach the gospel – the Good News – at all times.  If necessary, use words.”

IV.

When we do so, it is important to remind ourselves and to be clear about the source of our healing power – Jesus the Christ.  It is not solely us who do these good deeds – rather it is the power of God at work in and through us. 
As the body of Christ – the church – as Eugene Peterson would say, “as the hands and feet of God at work in this world” – we are not free-lance do-gooders or independent charitable contractors.  We are ambassadors of Christ. 

We serve those around us because we have heard the call of God upon our lives and in gratitude for all God has done for us, we choose to be blessings to others.
As the body of Christ it is so important for us to speak the truth about the source of our power and to be honest with others about our reliance on Jesus the Christ.
Our effectiveness comes through and from our connection to Christ.
This connection is nothing we ought to feel we need to cover up or be embarrassed about disclosing.

In college I had a good friend who took time to speak with me about my faith.  His name is Marty and I remember him talking to me one evening as we walked around the block of my apartment building for an hour.  He was telling me about a job interview he recently had and how it was a turning point in his life and especially in his conviction to talk more openly about his faith.
Marty had listed on his resume some of the things he had been involved in and some of the self-starting projects he began in college.  He listed stuff like:  Coordinated Adopt a Grandparent – which was him organizing a group of six college students from the college fellowship group to go out for an hour to the nursing home in State College on Friday evening and then out for ice cream afterwards.  He also listed how he organized a group of students to help another student who had cerebral palsy by creating the list of who would stop by in the morning to get him ready for class; who would get him ready for bed and who would drive him to various appointments off campus.

In the interview, which was held in front of three executives with the company he was applying to for employment, one of them asked him, “I see you have all these self-motivated activities listed and they are impressive.  They say to us that you have an investment in the people and community around you.  Can you tell us why you are motivated in this way?”
Marty told me that in the moment between the end of the question and his answer he felt the biggest pause in all his life.
What was he going to say?  Would he tell them these activities stemmed from his faith and love for God – possibly risking their hiring him if his views offended their views?  Would he tell them something else that told them he was interested in helping others because of his commitment to helping others?  Both would have been true.

What he said next impressed me…he said, “Lou, I can’t really figure out how I decided but before I knew it I was telling them, ‘I started all these activities because I was on the leadership team in the Christian Student Fellowship I was attending and I believe that my relationship with God calls me to give back to the community in which I live and these were what God had shown me as things I could do to share Christ’s grace with those who needed grace.”
They said thank you and concluded the interview.
And to be honest I can’t remember if Marty got that job or not but what he did in that interview I will never forget.
He proclaimed to that group of three executives the source of healing power – Jesus the Christ.

Does this mean that when we do something good we have to launch into a sermon about the saving power of God revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
It could…though it doesn’t have to be.
It could also mean that while we do the things we do – we keep our ears open for the question that asks, “why are you doing this?”
And then we walk through the door with an answer that reveals we are doing what we’re doing because we believe God calls us to do such things.

Now before we worry too much about what we are going to say in those moments, let’s not forget what happened with Peter when asked by the religious leaders about where the power came from to do what he did for the man born lame from birth – Let’s not forget what happened to my friend Marty in that moment in front of his interviewers – Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and the words came to him.
And he was able to boldly claim that the source of our healing power is not in us…it is in Jesus the Christ.

We must remember how the early Christians viewed the world around them, “they did not look at the world in dismay and say, ‘Look what the world has come to.”  Rather, they looked at the world in delight and proclaimed, ‘Look what has come to the world.’”
Amid the ruin they saw the resource for the reconstruction. 
In the midst of sin and brokenness…they also saw grace and reconciliation overtaking the brokenness.
On that assurance the pivot of history swung from blank despair, loss of moral nerve and fatalism to faith and confidence that something greater was at work in this world and that (as the gospel writer John puts it) the darkness could be overcome by the light of Christ.

That is the good news by which they lived.
That is the good news which opened their eyes to see the needs around them.
That is the good news that empowered them to proclaim a message that has been shaping and re-shaping the world today.
That is the good news that changed their lives.
And that is the same good news that will change our lives and our world today.
Alleluia and Amen.

V.

There is a great and comical story about an 85-year-old married couple who lived into that age in large part due to the wife’s interest in health food and exercise.  They died and were getting the tour of heaven together and were shown their mansion into which they would move – it had a beautiful kitchen with master bath and Jacuzzi.

Together they “oohed” and “aahed” and the husband asked how much it would cost?

“Nothing,” said St. Peter, “This is heaven.”

Next they saw the championship golf course out back which changed daily to reflect anyone of the greatest courses on earth.

The old man asked, “What are the green fees?”

“Nothing,” said St. Peter, “This is heaven.  You play for free.”

Next they went into the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet with world class cuisine laid out.

“How much to eat?” asked the man.

“You don’t understand, do you?” Peter asked.  “This is heaven, it’s all free.”

“Well, where are the low-cholesterol, hearth healthy tables?” the old man asked.

Peter explained, “That’s the best part – you eat as much as you want or whatever you like and you never gain weight and you never get sick.  This is heaven!”

With that the old man threw his hat down, stomped on it and went into a fit of anger.

He turned to his wife and said, “If it wasn’t for your blasted bran muffins, I would have been here 10 years ago!”

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