First Presbyterian Church
Truth-telling
Sermon for May 23, 2004
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Our gospel passage is from Jesus' farewell prayer. It's on page 111. He has just given the disciples instructions, and now he prays to God on their behalf. Jesus entrusts the future to God; he does not entrust their future to the disciples themselves. Listen for the word of God as it is found in John 17:20-26.

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

This ends our reading from John. Our next reading is on page 136. Last week in Acts, we heard about the businesswoman Lydia , who dealt in purple cloth. Outside the city, at the open-air synagogue, called the place of prayer, Paul preached, Lydia heard him, and was baptized. She invited them to stay with her. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Acts 16:16-34.

One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit , "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe."

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."

The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

This ends our reading from God's word.

Let's listen to the choir rejoice about better days ahead and sing “Bound for the Promised Land.” It's a gospel song the pioneers sang on the Oregon Trail .

Last week I received Naomi Kulog's May update. She writes from Uruguay : “Last night I finished reading On Sidesaddles to Heaven, by Laurie Winn Carlson, that is about the first missionary couples to arrive in the Oregon territory, focusing primarily on the women. Since I started reading the book I have been trying to examine more closely some of my personal motives, and hope that I am working with a pure heart. I am feeling some conviction about not following through with any of our ideas for the older youth group which makes me question whether my motives were primarily to satisfy my desire of being useful or to truly find a way for the aimless youth group to have some spiritual leadership. I am not sure if this is really the case, but nevertheless it has at least reinvigorated my interest to at least go and see what they are up to this year.” Naomi asks that we pray for energy, healing, and guidance for her role with the youth group.

Naomi is thinking about her vocation; what does God want her to do? What would meet the spiritual needs of the youth? It reminded me of our passage from Acts, because the two slave-owners lost their livelihood. Our faith influences how we do our jobs and what jobs we choose to take.

It is not enough to find legal paid work, although that's a start. We hope to aspire to God's calling to reflect Christ's love and truth to the world.

The two slave-owners had a fortune-telling business which was legal, but it wasn't about truth. Fortune-telling is about deception . Today, television shows and 1-900 psychic hotlines claim to talk to the dead, but are classified as entertainment.

Skilled fortune-tellers ask general questions that make them seem they're giving information, but they're actually. They say things like

"I'm seeing an elderly man, some sort of uniform, possibly military. Tell me what he means to you.”

"I see a car, a blue car, now why would that be?"
"You don't work with children, do you?"
"Yes, I do."
"Yes, I thought so."
But even when they get it wrong, they have a ready response.
"You don't work with children, do you?"
No, I don't."
"Yes, I thought not."
"You have a connection with the name Charles or Charlie?"
“No.”
“Are you sure? Well, watch out for that name. Because I think it's going to be significant in the near future."

Grieving people are eager to hear about their loved ones. Here are some examples of phrases that a fortune-teller can safely say about any woman who has died.

She had difficult times in her life.
She was very optimistic about certain things.
She loved being praised.
She used to get quite nervous about certain things.
She had many unfulfilled ambitions.
Small kindnesses meant a lot to her.
When she snapped at you, she always regretted it afterward. (1)

Some of you might have seen psychic television shows that claim to help people contact a dead loved one. Here's one conversation that appeared on television on James Van Praagh's show Beyond.

VanPraagh: You were saved by someone. A car thing, or something where you were…

Woman: We actually had a car accident four months after my husband died. And we were in a very bad collision.

Van Praagh: You almost died, honey. Because I'm being told by your husband that you were saved, ok?

Here's the unedited version of what the host said.

Van Praagh: You almost died, honey. Because I'm being told by your husband that you were spared, you were saved, ok You were saved, all right? And --(to the unseen spirit) I know-- something about Jesus here, ok? Saved with Jesus, or something about Jesus, and if you believe in Jesus, or a religious element. And I don't know, maybe a church with the name Jesus in it? Or there is something about Jesus. Or there's…

Woman: Well, we're Jewish! (big laugh from the studio audience). (2)

I was at a meeting once where a psychic was brought in. Someone asked me what the church thought of psychics. I just smiled, because I couldn't really say in the middle of the meeting that the church has always been against people who exploit others and tell lies for financial or social gain.

After one show called Crossing Over, an “ enthusiastic young woman, interviewed backstage following an on-camera "reading" with John Edward, said: You know what really clinched it for me? John described Mom as exuberant and outgoing. He said she came through loudly and just wouldn't stop running on and on. And I can tell you, that wasn't Mom at all when she was "on this side"! Oh, no. She was very quiet and soft, never raised her voice. She was timid! It's just so good to know that now she's happy and free and can express herself! (3)

In our confession of faith, it says “ignoring God's commandments,… we accept lies as truth.” Most of us can make a distinction between lies and entertainment, but not all of us can.

It's especially hard for children, I think. That's why Sunday School teachers are important. Our classes are small, and there is time for the children to ask their faith questions, and hear an adult who is not their parent answer them. “Yes, God loves you when you're naughty.” “Yes, Jesus suffered terribly on the cross.” It is important for children to hear the truth about God, even and maybe especially when the truth is “I don't know” or “I'm not sure” or “Wow, what a good question, I've never thought of that.”

The fortune-teller in Acts was just a girl, earning a living for her owners. In those days, fortune-telling had a religious side as well.

Luke says she has the spirit of pythia, which we translate as divination. Our word python, comes from that Greek word pythia, which means snake. A snake was one of the symbols associated with the Greek god Apollo. The oracle at Delphi in Greece was dedicated to Apollo. It was originally an oracle to the earth goddess Gea. The historian Plutarch said that a young woman, a pythia, inhaled sweet smelling vapors, and went into a trance, before dispensing advice. Once a month, Greeks and Romans could come and for a large fee, ask the pythia, who was acting for the god Apollo.

In 2001, geologists found that the oracle's room was carved above two geologic faults, above a spring which emits ethylene gas (4). Ethylene is a sweet-smelling narcotic. So the pythia's trance was real enough. I'm not sure how accurate the advice was. Politicians paid for advice on royal alliances, generals came hoping for predictions on battle outcomes, and rich people wanted to know about their love life. So anyone who told fortunes was called a pythia, even this young slave girl, far away from Delphi .

What makes people think that there are oracles and real fortune-tellers? I think because we know how little we know, and are looking for people who know more. But studying, reading, debating, and discussing is hard. It's easier just to ask someone for The Answer.

What about this young woman in Acts? I think the new testament writers speak of demons when they can't explain a person's behavior any other way. They recognize that it was evil, and the afflicted person was in torment. And so they use the word demon.

Why would this exploited slave-girl shout out that Paul and his friends proclaim the way of salvation? Perhaps she recognized the truth that Paul and Silas brought, and thought that her reputation as a fortune-teller might help them. She called out “these men are the slaves of the Most High God.” The Most High God was a name for the Roman god, Zeus. So Paul corrected her, and said his power came not from Zeus, but from Jesus Christ. She knew Paul offered her a way out of her predicament. I think she was tired of telling lies to people, of making them think she had powers she did not.

If her powers suddenly left her, her owners could no longer exploit her. I think she recognized that new life was possible with Christ. Her owners, on the other hand, were angry that their business was bankrupt. So they called in the law. But they didn't complain about the loss of income; perhaps it wasn't a punishable offence. They brought up an archaic Roman law about not proselytizing a non-Roman religion in a Roman city. And for the officials, arresting Paul and Silas was more convenient than not arresting them.

So the crowd attacked Paul and Silas. Then the officials had them beaten, flogged and imprisoned. In the middle of the night, an earthquake broke open the jail. The jailer, seeing the doors open, assumed the prisoners would have escaped, and he'd be punished. So he prepared to kill himself when Paul stopped him. He asked Paul how he could be saved. Saved from what? Saved from Roman execution?

Paul and Silas told him about Jesus. His job, keeping the jail for wrongfully arrested prisoners, did not keep him from hearing about Jesus. But after he heard their words, he changed. He washed their wounds. They baptized him with his household. He turned from jailer to healer and host; he brought them to his home and they ate together. Hearing about Jesus changed his behavior.

Knowing Jesus impacts our behavior. In our reading from John, Jesus prays and the disciples overhear. We as a church overhear the prayer also. Jesus hands the disciples, those whom he loves, back to God. He reminds God of God's promises for this community. Jesus asks God to give them what God has already given Jesus. In his prayer, Jesus lets the disciples know they will be given the love and power to carry on. They are not responsible for their future; God is.

The church is the recipient of Jesus' prayer. We are a community for whom Jesus prays.

Jesus did not glorify himself, he glorified God. Who is being glorified? is a helpful question to ask, when you aren't sure if something is a truth, a lie, or just entertainment. If God is being glorified, it's probably the truth. Let us respond by affirming our faith from our Brief Statement of Faith.

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God's image, male and female,
of every race and people, to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our creator.
Ignoring God's commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature,
and then threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God's condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.

In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.

Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still.

Amen.

(1) Jonathan Fox's list in “How come tv psychics seem so convincing?” newspaper column The Straight Dope, Nov. 18, 2003 , supplemented by C. Dexter Haven

(2) Underdown, James. “They See Dead People—or do they?” Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2003, p. 41-44.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Ball, Philip, “ Oracle's secret fault found,” Nature, 17 July 2001