June 26: Community of the Spirit 3

The community of the Spirit and Stephen

Text: Acts 6:8-15; 7:51-60

⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. ⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)-- Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, ¹⁰ but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. ¹¹ Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." ¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." ¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Acts 7

⁵¹ "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- ⁵³ you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." ⁵⁴ When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." ⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

The way in…

Mary Bergman editor of the collection of essays entitled Martyrs writes that ‘to be a martyr you have to believe that something matters more than life.’ To be a martyr you have to believe that something matters more than life. Stephen believed. Polycarp believed. The seven Trappist monks believed. What about us?

The first martyr

One of the first problems in the early church, as it so often does, involved food. As the number of Jesus followers grew and as the people held everything in common, naturally some of the people began to complain that they weren’t getting their share of food. Some of the Greek Jews brought this complaint to the disciples who were caught up in study, teaching and arguing in the synagogues. They didn’t have time for these issues, so they decided to set aside a group of leaders as ‘servants’ for which the Greek word is ‘deacon,’ who would take care of the food distribution. And so they set out to select seven men who were full of the Holy Spirit who were willing to serve the people. And we learn in the 5^th verse that Stephen was the first selected because as Luke writes, he was a man ‘full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…”

Holy Spirit at tables. I think it is important to note where Stephen starts, before he performed wonders and miraculous signs, before he delivered one of the longest recorded sermons in the Bible, before he became the first martyr of the church he was a waiter, a deacon, a servant. It seems that we are more likely to be faithful in the big things if we remain faithful in the small.

Holy Spirit in the synagogue. The next place we see the Spirit show up was in the synagogue. Apparently some of its members were having discussions with Stephen about Jesus. Apparently these members were losing these arguments badly for the Luke writes that, “…they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” Now at this point, the members of the synagogue had a choice. They could have concluded that Stephen was right and believed his words. Or they could have concluded, like I often do when in an argument with Erin, that he won the argument not because he was right, but because he just argued better. It’s interesting to see what people do when they don’t get their way. These folks seized Stephen and took him before the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin and made false claims against him saying that Stephen was speaking against Temple claiming that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy it. After which the high priest looked at Stephen and asked, “Are these charges true?” Does any of this sound familiar?

At this point Stephen replies with the longest recorded sermon in the New Testament which is not bad from a guy who was just chosen to wait tables. In this sermon Stephen does nothing more than recount the history of God’s work in the Old Testament. It’s funny because if you read it, there isn’t anything radical about it until... Until you come to the last section when Stephen turns to the Sanhedrin and all of those who’d accused him and says, “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!” Now forgive me if I’m wrong, but were I facing an angry mob, insulting them is generally not the best way to stay unharmed, yet Stephen continues by claiming that they resist the Holy Spirit and that instead of him, it was them who though they had received the law of Moses, they were not obeying it.

Holy Spirit exposing the weakness of the ‘strong.’ It is here that the conflict devolves one step further. Arguing did not work. Lying did not work and so they religious leaders resort to violence. Notice their reactions. First they gnash their teeth, then they cover their ears and yell at the top of their lungs until finally they take him out of the city to stone him. The first time I read this I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen this kind of behavior before (gnashing teeth and covering ears) and then it hit me that I certainly had seen it, in each of my kids when they were 2 or 3 years old. When my kids don’t get their way they first try to argue, when that doesn’t work, they will sometimes lie and if they still don’t get the answer they want, they will pitch a fit and if that still doesn’t work they’ll throw whatever is in their hands or perhaps even start swinging. Do you see what is happening in this story? Through Stephen, the Holy Spirit is exposing the immaturity of violence. By the time the religious leaders are throwing stones they seem more like 3 year olds than like the wise, faithful leaders they are supposed to be. But what about Stephen? Stephen seems wise, faithful and mature beyond his years.

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.” To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life. What was it Stephen believed mattered more than life? Look again at the start of his prayer, “Lord Jesus…” Three words that have caused more trouble than one might ever think are the simple claim that “Jesus is Lord.” To the Jews this was a blasphemy, an unutterable claim as only YHWH could be Lord. And to the Romans, this was a political challenge as every Roman citizen was expected to proclaim that the Caesar was Lord. This is ultimately why the Romans crucified Jesus, because he claimed an authority that the Romans would not grant. Now, here it is at the root of the stoning of Stephen, he claims the Lordship of Jesus which the religious leaders would not accept. Jesus is Lord. Three simple, yet incendiary words. But not only does Stephen proclaim these words, but he imitates Jesus’ life. What are his last words? Instead of words of hate, they are words of forgiveness. The very Jesus who Stephen called Lord said to ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ And what does Stephen do? He prays, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life.

Polycarp

Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrnia in the 2^nd Century when he was arrested because he refused to call Caesar God. His captors tied him to a stake and prepared to light him on fire. “Come now,’ the urged, ‘where is the harm in just saying Caesar is Lord, and offering the incense and so forth when it will save your life?” Polycarp replied, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior.” And with that Bishop Polycarp was killed. To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life.

Of Gods and Men

A couple of months ago I went with Carol and Dave to watch a movie called Of Gods and Men, which tells the story of 9 Trappist monks who live in a monastery near a little village in Algeria. There they live in harmony with the Muslim community caring for their sick, working side by side to raise food and offering spiritual counsel just as those before them had done for hundreds of years. Until in 1996 they were caught between a band of terrorist and the repressive military regime of the government. Neither of these groups knew what to do with the monks as repeated efforts failed to get them to ‘come over to their side.’ The movie shows the brothers’ deep struggle to decide whether to stay and continue their mission or depart to safety. Despite the dangers, they decide to stay which proved to be fatal. One evening a still unknown group arrived and kidnapped 7 of the 9 brothers and took them away. Months later they were found dead; some of the last martyrs of the 20^th century. To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life.

Early Challenge

Few things caught my attention in the worship services of my youth. My friends and I spent most of our time playing tic tac toe or making fun of Felix Harrod for falling asleep in the choir loft. However, one Sunday morning we had a guest minister who told a story which to this day I’m not sure is true, but has value nonetheless. He told a tale of a church in a village in South America that sat in the middle of violent rebels. One evening as the people were gathered for worship the doors to the sanctuary burst open and in stormed a squad of armed men. They marched to the front of the sanctuary, pushed the pastor aside, took the microphone and said, “Anyone willing to deny that Jesus is Lord may leave right now, but all of those who remain will die.” There was a pause as the people looked at one another until finally an old man rose and departed, he was followed by a young family and several other people until finally the flow of people stopped leaving only 20 people or so. The rebel leader waved his gun at the remnant and issued a final chance to deny Jesus and live. The 20 held fast with heads bowed until finally the leader handed the microphone back to the pastor and said “Now, we may worship with the true believers.” And with that the rebels set down their guns and took their seats in the pews.

With all of our attention fixed on the minister telling this story he closed with this challenge, “What would you have done? Would you have remained or would you have gone?” Being the enthusiastic Christian that I affirmed in my heart that nothing could have forced me to leave that church. That no matter the cost I’d never deny Jesus as Lord. I went home that day assured that I’d be willing to die for my faith. And then after lunch my mom asked me to do the dishes. At which point I argued, I gnashed my teeth and stopped short of threatening violence. I didn’t want to wash the dishes, I wanted to go play with my friends. And there I stood a young believer who was supposedly willing to sacrifice his life for his Lord, yet unwilling to do the dishes for his mother. I can almost hear the echo of John who wrote, “Anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20). Which I might paraphrase, “Anyone who does not allow Jesus to be Lord of the dirty dishes, will fail to proclaim Jesus as Lord in the face of death.”

It’s interesting that in each of these stories of martyrs that none of them sought death. Martyrdom was a consequence of their faith, not a goal. The monks in Algeria sought only to serve God by loving the people of the community. Polycarp sought only to serve God by loving the people of Smyrna. And before Stephen was a martyr, remember that he was called to be a deacon, a servant, one who not only served the food, but likely washed the dishes as well. Each of these martyrs proclaim the truth that if Jesus is Lord, he is Lord not only in our death, but also in our life. To be a martyr one must believe that something matters more than life. Do we believe? Do we believe? Do we believe? May the same Spirit that gave Stephen the power to answer yes both in the face of stones as well as the face of dirty dishes empower us to say “Jesus is Lord” as well.

June 19: Community of The Spirit 2

Preached on: June 19, 2011

Acts 2:36-47 & Genesis 1:1-3
6 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The Message

Intro

Peter was bring’n it that day of Pentecost. Last week we heard how the disciples of Jesus were gathered in a room in Jerusalem when suddenly there was a great roar followed by tongues of fire that settled on each of them. This Spirit enabled each of them to speak in other languages, which they began to use to ‘speak God’s deeds of power.’ Speaking God’s deeds of power in a multitude of languages pricked the ears of the Pentecost pilgrims in Jerusalem that morning to the point that they gathered around these disciples to hear more what they were saying. At some point in this gathering, Peter arose and began to preach. He began to bring a message from God for the people. Last week we looked at the beginning of that message, while this morning we are going to look at the effects.

[Acts 2:36-47]

“Therefore,” Peter concludes, “let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” According to the former pastor of University Presbyterian Church, Earl Palmer, a good sermon is simply one in which the people encounter Jesus. If such is the case, then Peter preached a good sermon. His final line declares the identity of Jesus as both Lord and Christ.

We can see that this encounter with Jesus was powerful as the crowds responded in a manner that every minister longs for. They asked, “Brothers, what must we do?” If this is true, if this Jesus you speak of is both Lord and Messiah, master and savior, God and deliverer, then what does that mean for us? What shall we do? And what does Peter say? Does Peter unfold a laundry list of tasks for the people to accomplish? Well, I’m glad you asked, first we need someone to clean up this room we’ve been praying in. Second, we need someone who can cook… No. Does Peter unroll a list of commandments? Well, okay where do we start? Thou shalt not swear. Thou shalt not drink too much. Thou shalt not think unclean thoughts. Or perhaps one might have thought Peter would have given the people some great quest. On the top of Mt. Sinai there are shards of broken rock. You must travel through the desert and climb this mountain, find those rocks and return them here. No, Peter does none of these things. Rather what he says is fairly simple. He says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…”

Three commands, not 613 as the Pharisees would have said. Not even 10 as Moses said, but 3; repent, be baptized and receive. I could spend the entire sermon talking about the first of these directions; repent. I could also easily spend the entire summer speaking about the second of these commands; be baptized. But this morning, in the spirit of Pentecost, I want to focus on the third of these commands; receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The gift

Have you ever received a gift that really liked but you never used? Do you know what I mean by this question? Have you ever received something that you at first thought was really cool then put it away and then forgot you even had it?

A couple of summers ago we were in Tennessee and I was at my brother’s house where he was showing me some of the stuff he’d been working on in his basement shop. One of my brother’s hobbies is restoring old firearms. When we were kids he used to be so into westerns that he’d make pistols out of wood and paint them til they looked close to real. He was showing me some of the stuff he’d worked on when he came to this long narrow stick of wood. “Oh yeah,’ he said, “I’ve been making these too, it’s a long bow.” He held it up and sure enough it was a bow that he’d cut and carved and sanded into a long bow. “Wanna shoot it?” “Of course,” I said. So we spent the next hour firing arrows at one of his stuffed dear figures in his backyard. It was a blast. When it was time to go, he held out the bow to me and said, “Here, you can have it.” I was flabbergasted. He’d spent countless hours honing this bow and here he was going to give it to me? Despite repeated refusals he eventually prevailed upon me and I found myself the proud owner of a handcrafted long-bow. Much of the flight home I spent thinking of the things I could do with this long-bow. I could turn my backyard into an archery range where I’d learn to shoot with great accuracy. As the kids got older I could teach them to use the bow. I could even use it as an outreach tool and bring it over to the park and let kids learn to shoot it. And maybe, if I got really good with it, I could even use it to hunt for small game. With a little hard work I’d become the William Tell of the northwest.

My brother gave me that gift 5 summers ago. Since that time, do you know how many times I’ve taken it out to shoot? Once. One time. Oh I had great intentions, but all the little barriers started to seem big. I needed to get some arrows, but the store I was at didn’t carry them, so I forgot about it. Later when I remembered, I got some practice arrows, but then when I got the bow out to shoot, the arrows were so cheap that the tips broke off with one use. I put the bow away, promising to get some better arrows, but there it remains, in its case in the shed; an incredible but unappreciated and unused gift. Have you ever received a gift that you really liked but rarely used?

The Holy Spirit

Apparently people liked the gift of Peter’s message as 3000 people took Peter up on it. 3000 people in one day, can you imagine? 3000 people repented. 3000 people were baptized. 3000 people received the gift of the Holy Spirit. What a great thing. But is this where the story ended? No, just the opposite, we are just in the 2^nd of 27 chapters in the book of Acts. Instead of an ending, this is the beginning. Here we see the people receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What we read in the rest of the book is how they chose to use this gift of the Holy Spirit, and I dare say that they used this gift much better than I used the gift my brother gave me. Thanks be to God for that.

Repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. Of these three one might think that the third would be the easiest. Receiving things is easy right? All you have to do is take it. As it turns out, receiving requires some work as well. It requires some work, but it is good work.

Devotion

Immediately after reading about the 3000 we read that the people ‘Devoted themselves…” Devoted, what do you think of when you hear this word? The greek word is proskarterew and literally means to persevere or endure towards. The word makes me think of Olympic athletes who commit themselves towards the goal of winning the gold. But to be an Olympic athlete, devotion is not enough. I could devote myself to winning the gold in the 100m sprint, but can assure you there is absolutely no way that I’d ever make the team. No, to make the team you need not only devotion, you need the talent. You need the gift of speed. Devotion doesn’t create the gift. Rather, devotion allows the gift to live. Having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, how did those first believers allow it life? “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Four devotions for freeing the Spirit. Four ways to nurture the gift of God’s Spirit. Are you interested in nurturing the gift of Holy Spirit? If so, then we might do well to look briefly at these four devotions.

The Apostles Teaching

They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings. The word apostle means ‘one who is sent,’ or ‘a messenger.’ To be sent, there must be someone who did the sending. To be a messenger, one must have a message. In this case, Peter and the other disciples were sent by Jesus to proclaim the good news of Jesus; Lord and Christ. They did this in a fashion similar to Jesus, they taught. Jesus was always teaching. He used the story of a farmer and seeds to teach about the word of God. He used a man born blind to teach about the power and glory of God. He used the prophets to teach about his purpose for coming. Most of the gospels are the teachings of Jesus and who was it that Jesus was teaching those things to? These very disciples who were now doing what? Teaching.

When it says they devoted themselves to the apostles teachings I’d be willing to wager that the bulk of those teachings started something like, “One day we were walking with Jesus when…” Or, “I remember one time Jesus gathered us on a hilltop and said “Blessed are the poor…” The apostles teachings were simply retelling of Jesus’ teachings in the context of a new community.

The Fellowship

They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and to the fellowship. Its likely you know the Greek word for fellowship, koinonia. At its root this word means common. When I took greek in seminary, we were learning koine greek, or common greek. It is from the word common that of course we get the word community. In fact, community occurs where people have things in common that lead to unity. In such light, the people devoted themselves to koinonia mean that they devoted themselves to having things in common.

I was talking with the walkers; a group of ladies I often see walking around Manitou Park and they told me they’d been getting together to walk for over 20 years. Can you believe that? They joked that the walking was just an excuse to do the talking. When I asked if they run out of things to say, they laughed and replied it was just the opposite. The more they talk, the more they have to talk about. Isn’t this an odd truth? You’d think the people you’d have more to talk about with were those who you hadn’t seen or those who you didn’t even know because you’d have so much information they didn’t have. But just the opposite is true. The more we talk with people, the more we have to talk about. So, when it says they devoted themselves to the fellowship, Luke is saying they devoted themselves to having things in common.

The breaking of bread

This devotion likely has two meanings. The first is likely a reference to sharing meals with one another. This goes well with the devotion to fellowship. If you just eat one meal a month with your family, its likely you’ll have little to say. Eat a meal every evening together and its likely the table will be filled with conversation. Food has a way of opening our hearts and eyes to one another. Two weeks ago, Harlan preached on the road to Emmaus in which Jesus broke the bread and ‘the eyes of the disciples were opened.’ Which leads to the second meaning of ‘breaking bread.’ It also referred to the sacrament of communion.

One of the things I remember from my Church History class was that the early believers were sometimes picked out because they showed up for work in the mornings with wine on their breath. This was not because they were alcoholics, rather it was because they would meet early in the morning to break the bread and share the cup of communion before going to work. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.

Prayer

Finally, they devoted themselves to prayer. Prayer is the glue of the church. Prayer is the water of the body; without we are just skin and bones. Prayer is the oil of the engine, without it all the gears will grind to a halt. Prayer is the invitation of the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, Jesus’ spirit to come and dwell in our hearts, in our minds, in our hands. We won’t get very far in our quest to use the gift of the Holy Spirit without prayer.

Bicycle

How did the disciples receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? They devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. How about us? Is this gift of God’s spirit tucked away in one of our closets or do we take it with us everyday?

Last summer we were in Oregon with our friends. They had a bicycle at the place we were staying and Janie wanted to learn how to ride without training wheels so we went out a couple of times and tried, but I just couldn’t get her to get it. However, our friends were so kind that they gave Janie the bike as a gift. So, we loaded it up in the van and drove it all the way home. We unloaded the van, put the bike in the shed and there it sat and sat and sat and sat for over 7 months until my parents showed up. One afternoon we decided to take the kids for a walk and the kids decided they wanted to ride their bikes. I warned Dad that I’d tried to help Janie ride, but I just couldn’t get her to do it. But we took the bikes out anyway. Janie was mostly content to keep her feet on the ground and push, but my Dad wasn’t content with this. He knew the joy of really riding a bike and he wanted her to have that joy. So what did he do? He proceeded to walk along with her, hold the back of the bike and encourage her to try. And what did Janie do? She failed. Over and over again, she’d tip over. But for some reason, because it was my dad, she persevered. She devoted herself to allowing Dad to teach her to ride the bike. Lo and behold would you believe that right up there on the water ditch trail, dad let go of the seat, Janie pedaled and pedaled and pedaled for at least 20 feet before putting her feet down at which point she shouted, “I did it.” And after that, as the saying goes, “It was just like learning how to ride a bike, you never forget.”

The way out…

Brothers and sisters, we’ve been given a great gift in the Holy Spirit, but what have we done with it? Does it sit in the shed collecting dust? Or do we sit upon it and experience the joy of the ride? If we want the second, let us, like our ancestors be devoted people; devoted to the teachings, devoted to the fellowship, devoted to the breaking of bread and devoted to prayer.