A story is told of St. Thomas
Aquinas. He visited Rome (and recall that this was before the splendor of the
Renaissance) where a local priest was assigned the task of showing him the
magnificence of the church buildings. At the end of the tour the guide said,
"At least the church no longer needs to say, 'Silver and gold have I
none!'" Aquinas replied, "Neither can she say rise up and
walk." I submit there is a connection between the two. That connection
is the use, lack of use or abuse of the name of Jesus. Let's see how the
Apostles dealt in Jesus' name:
(Acts 3 NIV) One day
Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in
the afternoon. {2} Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the
temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those
going into the temple courts. {3} When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he
asked them for money. {4} Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter
said, "Look at us!" {5} So the man gave them his attention, expecting
to get something from them. {6} Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not
have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk." {7} Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly
the man's feet and ankles became strong. {8} He jumped to his feet and began to
walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and
praising God. {9} When all the people saw him walking and praising God, {10}
they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate
called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him. {11} While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the
people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's
Colonnade. {12} When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why
does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or
godliness we had made this man walk? {13} The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to
be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him
go. {14} You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be
released to you. {15} You killed the author of life, but God raised him from
the dead. We are witnesses of this. {16} By faith in the name of Jesus, this
man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that
comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all
see. {17} "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your
leaders. {18} But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all
the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. {19} Repent, then, and turn
to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come
from the Lord, {20} and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for
you--even Jesus. {21} He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to
restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. {22} For
Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from
among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. {23} Anyone
who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'
{24} "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken,
have foretold these days. {25} And you are heirs of the prophets and of the
covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your
offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' {26} When God raised up his
servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your
wicked ways."
Character Studies
It would be well to begin with a
look at the characters in this drama.
Peter and John
Peter and John were not
particularly looking for this man. But the story gives us some insight in
their lives:
·
They are on their way to prayer. These are men who worship God,
and so they prepare themselves spiritually for the combat to come.
·
Their attention to the beggar tells us at least this: they were
not looking for someone rich and famous to be healed. Indeed, there is no
"respect of persons" shown here.
·
Indeed, the man has been at that gate for almost forty years.
How many times did Jesus pass him by? Did those who place him there simply
refuse to put him in the right place and time?
·
There is one touching moment: "Look at us." Peter is
not about to dispense cold charity; rather, he will heal this human after they
have been eye to eye.
·
The phrase "I do not have" carries with it the meaning
that one does not have it anywhere; not the idea that "I don't have it
with me." Peter gives only what the Lord has given him - a point of some
note!
The beggar
The beggar has just arrived for a
day of begging. We know that he is a regular character at the gate, and
evidently of some success, for the custom here was that those who carried him
were paid for the job. It would be reasonable for us to presume he knows the
tricks of a beggar's trade - including the idea that making eye contact was not
smart, as it causes potential contributors to look the other way.
What's particularly
characteristic of this man is what he does not know. His theology is
incomplete; he has none of the usual steps of repentance and baptism behind
him. Rather, Peter just turns, looks at him man to man, and heals him in the
name of Jesus. What the beggar knew didn't matter. Who Peter knew
mattered entirely.
The Church in
"poverty"
Talk to any minister these days
and it will not be long until you hear how the church needs money. It may be
the building campaign; this, that or the other. But it is money that is the
need. May I suggest that the church is never so successful or so powerful as
when she is, in the world's eyes, flat broke? We tend to substitute giving
money for the gift of ourselves. The church is not a building; we are the
church. It is time we acted like it; and we have here an excellent example.
Deeds done "in the
Name"
It matters completely why
you do your good works. You think not? I submit the following: suppose we
have an individual who is starving (and of course, is not guilty of anything,
lest we become judgmental).
·
You could feed that individual because the government taxes you
and takes some of the money and feeds that person. The person is fed, but you
are denied the joy of giving and the fruits of righteousness.
·
You could feed that person because you are basically a nice
person. You like doing things like that; it just comes naturally. (Perhaps
you are rich, and it feels good.) Is there praise from God for doing what you
like to do?
·
You could feed that person at Christ's command, sacrificing to do
so.
Done that last way - and done so
that the person eating knows that you do this because Christ tells you so - and
Christ is lifted up. So which would you have? A welfare state, a transient
feeling of doing good, or "well done, good and faithful servant?"
And which of these three might lead your fellow man to salvation?
Preaching did not come first!
There seems to be an addiction to
the idea that the preaching of the Gospel must be the first thing done. But
our Lord did not say so; rather, he said that if he is lifted up (he wasn't
very specific on how) he would draw all men to him. That's true at the Cross;
it's true in our good deeds as well.
Some might complain that we
should do such things only "for those who deserve it." But consider:
·
Does God himself not cause rain on the just and the unjust? And
does not our Lord use this to teach us not to judge?
·
Suppose the opposite for a moment: only the worthy shall
receive. What a tangled mess - who's worthy, what are the rules for
worthiness, who's going to investigate…. It seems more practical to skip it;
otherwise we spend all the time and effort investigating.
·
"Deserving" is not a moral state (we are all sinners,
after all). "Deserving" is a value judgment. You think not?
Consider: she's unmarried and pregnant, and needs money and help. Deserving?
Does it make a difference that she's your daughter?
Sometimes this charity will not
produce the results we desire; even the best of sowers must deal with thorny
or hard ground. We are not even permitted to judge the results; just to pray
to the Lord of the Harvest for the time of reaping to come.
Power in poverty
Peter issues no call for money
(note that the early church had no building campaigns, but people gave
willingly). I suspect Peter would be shocked at the frequency with which we
ask for money. I suspect it would be even more so if he looked at how often we
substitute giving for doing.
It is simple, really. When the
church has a lot of money, she uses it. When she's broke, she must rely
on the power of God. Never is the church so dangerous to the world as when she
is poor in money and rich in spirit.
Peter's Message
Peter asks his hearers:
"Why does this surprise you?" He's about to tell them some things
they already know - things you know too.
Constancy of God
God is eternal and unchanging.
Of all peoples on earth, the Jews should know that best. Peter brings this to
their mind:
·
In the past, the prophets were sent to produce repentance and
point the way for the Messiah to come. In all his dealings with man, God
intended the Cross.
·
In the present, he tells them the facts of the death, burial and
Resurrection of Jesus, things they can plainly see and remember. Just as God
intended it.
·
In the future, he tells them, Christ is coming again to judge the
living and the dead - just as God intended it.
Those who calculate as if God
would not care might take a look at the track record.
Guilt and Sin
Peter spends much of the sermon
reminding them of one thing: guilt.
·
The factual nature of that guilt for them can be seen in Pilate's
handling of the case. They know that Pilate washed his hands of the matter and
declared him innocent - yet they still sent him to the Cross.
·
Their guilt remains even though this was in fulfillment of
prophecy. Just because God foresaw and allowed your sin does not make you
innocent.
·
Their guilt remains even though they were unknowing or ignorant.
If you've ever injured someone accidentally you know the feeling; this is the
fact of it.
The Redeemed
Peter draws two pictures: that
of the redeemed and the condemned. The redeemed see three things:
·
They see their sins "wiped out." The original means to
take a wet cloth to the papyrus and wash off the ink. Our sins are wiped out
and recorded no more, praise God.
·
They will see "times of refreshing." The
existentialist is condemned to a dreary downhill fight with death; the
Christian sees the beauty of God and is kept from trouble (from time to time)
so that he may appreciate the better what God has done.
·
The redeemed have the hope of his coming.
The Alternative
Peter needs no words of the New
Testament for this. Moses is sufficient. If you will not obey this prophet to
come (Jesus, the Messiah) then you will be cut off. For such warnings the
prophets come: to tell of the Messiah to come, and to warn the people to
repent.
Epilog
John Chrysostom wrote two
homilies on this passage. In both of them he ends his lesson with an
injunction that no one of his congregation should take an oath (a common thing
in those days). He felt that it trivialized the Name. I think there is much
in that; in our time, however, the disease is worse. We give; sometimes we
even work, for what we see as the church - but we fail to give Jesus the
glory. We do his work, but not in his name. This should not be.
Remember what he said: If I be
lifted up, I will draw all men to me. Therefore, Christian, lift him up in all
you say and do.