The book of Acts is about the adventures of the apostles and how they struggled to remain faithful while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with a hostile world. Our text from Acts happens just after Paul and Barnabas have quarreled over who should assist them. They go their separate ways, Barnabas with John Mark and Paul with Silas. Paul and Silas begin their journey to the Roman provinces of Europe . Listen for the word of God as it is found in Acts 16:9-15.
During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia , being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace , the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi , which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.
On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia , a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us.
This ends our reading from the Book of Acts. A more contemporary translation
might be, ‘On the Sabbath we went to the open air synagogue, went to the podium, and preached.' When it says Paul sat down and spoke, it means Paul preached to them. People sat down to preach in those days. In open air amphitheaters, the audience sat on raised seats, and looked down at the performance. I suppose the place of prayer the women went to outside the gates was a small natural amphitheater, used as a synagogue. You might wonder why she had to urge Paul to stay with them.
Jesus was criticized not for showing hospitality to tax collectors and sinners, but for eating with them in their homes. He showed up on their doorstep. He was a guest of his disciples, tax collectors, centurions, as well as Pharisees. When we accept someone's invitation, and show up, it means we are not afraid of them; we trust their food, and recognize their home is a safe place for us. Showing up is a sign of approval. Lydia wanted Paul and Silas to stay with her. She was a European, a businesswoman, and wealthy. She could probably house them in a style in which they had not yet become accustomed. She wanted them to recognize her faith, accept her and her hospitality. She wanted them to show up. She wanted to be like the disciples.
At the last supper, Jesus showed the disciples how to offer hospitality to one another. He has washed the disciples feet, and told them he would be betrayed. Judas left and he told the disciples to love one another. A disciple asked him ‘How will you show yourself to us?' Listen for the word of God as it is found in John 14:23-2.
Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”
This ends our reading of God's word. Jesus cautioned the disciples against being afraid. Fear can hurt us. I ran across this story of two boys East Texas . “Two little boys were playing a game of ‘Texas Rangers,' searching for and rounding up bad guys. So their mother sent them down to the chicken house to rout out a snake that had been doing considerable damage there.
The mounted their broom-stick horses and galloped down to the chicken house to investigate. First they looked all around the nests on the bottom shelf, but couldn't find a snake. Then they checked the second shelf, and still no snake. Finally they stood on tiptoe to see the uppers shelf and found themselves ace to face with a big ol' chicken snake. They were so scared that they both tried to run out of the hen house at the same time,
doing considerable damage to it and to themselves as they fought their way through the narrow doorway.
Watching all the commotion from the front porch, their mother couldn't help but laugh. When the boys finally made it back to the house, she said, ‘Boys, what is wrong with you? You know perfectly well a chicken snake can't hurt you.' One of the little boys said, ‘Yes ma'am, but there¹s some things'll scare you so bad, you hurt yourself.'” (Skip Jackson, Life and Times, Nov. 2002, p. 1, quoting from a Molly Ivins column)
Fear does hurt us; it is not courage that we need when we are afraid. It is love. When we don't have love, C.S. Lewis said “Hatred is often the compensation by which a frightened man reimburses himself from the miseries of Fear. The more he fears, the more he will hate.” (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters ).
And so, when we love, when we are loved, we do not fear. When we do not fear, we do not hate. The spirit comes so that we won't be afraid. It enables us to have Christ's peace, even when our world is troubled. .
Here are some quotes about peace and fear.
“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” Indira Gandhi.
“Where people are praying for peace, the cause of peace is being strengthened by their very act of prayer, for they are themselves becoming immersed in the spirit of peace.” John MacQuarrie.
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each
persons life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” Gene Knudson Hoffman.
“If the cruel torture of crucifixion could not silence our Lord's prayer for his enemies, what pain, pride, prejudice or sloth could justify the silencing of ours?” John R. Stott. ( The Living Pulpit, Oct-Dec. 1998.)
Jesus knew the disciples were afraid; what would they do when he was gone? He gave them his peace, he behaved as if he knew they would be all right without him; the holy spirit, the advocate was coming. They would have peace and the holy spirit, and they would love God. Jesus reminded them that his life was about God, and not about himself. Their lives were about God also. If they made room in their lives for God, God would show up. The spirit will be with them.
Loving God gives us security in the world. The activity of keeping God's word brings us comfort. The holy spirit will teach us.
A presenter at the 2002 General Assembly spoke about the need for Christian witness in the United States . It is easy to become discouraged at all the evils and violence in the world. We are not powerful lawmakers; we are not judges handing down decisions, we are not billionaires choosing which town thrives or dies when we build or close a factory. What can we do?
And so she shared this prayer there that I want to share with you.
Lord, I cannot preach like Martin Luther King, Jr. or turn a poetic phrase like Maya Angelou, but I care and am willing to serve.
I do not have Fred Shuttlesworth's and Harriet Tubman's courage or Eleanor or Franklin Roosevelt's political skills, but I care and am willing to serve.
I cannot sing like Fannie Lou Hamer or organize like Ella Baker and Bayard Rustin, but I care and am willing to serve.
I am not holy like Archbishop Tutu, forgiving like Mandela, or disciplined like Gandhi, but I care and am willing to serve.
I am not brilliant like Dr. DeBois or Elizabeth Cady Stanton or as eloquent as Sojourner Truth and Booker T. Washington, but I care and am willing to serve.
I have not Mother Teresa saintliness, Dorothy Day's love or Cesar Chavez's gentle tough spirit, but I care and am willing to serve.
God, it is not as easy as the 60s to frame an issue and forge a solution, but I care and am willing to serve.
My mind and body are not so swift as in youth and my energy comes in spurts, but I care and am willing to serve.
I'm so young nobody will listen. I'm not sure what to say or do,
I can't see or hear well, or speak good English. I stutter sometimes and get real scared standing up before others, but I care and am willing to serve. Amen. (Marian Wright Edelman, General Assembly, 2002, Church and Society, Jan-Feb. 2004.)
Sometimes serving God means having unique gifts and using them, or being thrust into the spotlight and showing grace under pressure. And sometimes serving God means showing up by the river, and invite a visiting preacher to stay. Sometimes it means just showing up and agreeing to share a meal. And sometimes it means just showing up. Amen.
|
First Presbyterian Church