We Learn Life by Watching Jesus
Easter 3 – April 26, 2020
Click here for the YouTube video of this sermon
Late 80s PSA
·
Dad
confronts teen with drugs mom found in his closet: “who taught you how to do
this stuff?
o Son: “You, alright? I learned it by
watching you!”
·
Anyone
my age can quote this line and we’ll laugh, remembering this PSA
·
But
it’s an important lesson – that we learn to do what we see lived out around us,
especially by those who are important and influential in our lives, like a
parent to a child
True in life of the
disciples too
·
We
pick back up in the book of Acts this week
o Last week saw Jesus ascending into
heaven, and the remaining disciples plus some women and a few others returning
to the upper room to pray and wait for the promise of the Father, the baptism
of the Holy Spirit
o Since then in Acts, Pentecost has
happened (we skipped and will circle back at the end of May for the celebration
of Pentecost Sunday)
§ Holy Spirit descended like tongues of
flame, apostles shared the good news and people with many languages were able
to understand; 3000+ became believers
§ All together focused on teaching and
fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer, selling belongings and sharing as any
had need
o This is the early Christian community
·
Then
one day, Peter and John go to temple for afternoon prayers
o Man lame from birth being carried in
– people would lay him at the gate everyday so that he could beg for alms;
really the only option for a disabled person in that time and culture
·
And
he sees Peter and John and asks him for money
Stop there for a minute, b/c we’ve all been there and we know
what an uncomfortable moment that is
·
Will
generally try to avoid eye contact, give a wide berth; don’t want to give $,
also don’t want the guilt of saying no; so many complicated layers (suspicions
mostly, don’t want to support addiction or get taken advantage of by someone
who’s really not poor or disabled or whatever)
World around us right now is filled with people in such
desperate need
·
Existed
long before this pandemic, but now economic insecurity, unemployment, lack of
food, concerns about health have widened that circle immensely to include so
many more people
·
People
aren’t just in financial need everywhere
·
Emotional
toll is high too
o Past week seemed to be particularly
hard for a lot of people
o The weather here in Wisconsin –
cloudy and kinda cold not helping, but suddenly the weight of what we are going
through as a world just seemed to catch up with a lot of us (myself included)
o Psychologists describing this as a
traumatic event, this complete disruption of life as we know it…
§ And how hard can it be for us to sit
around at home and work or binge watch TV or do puzzles or bake? and yet the
anxiety is high, isolation, disconnection, lots of ways we would typically
reduce stress unavailable to us
·
May
want to avoid all of this need (and in some ways that’s easier to do now, b/c
we’re not going very many places, so we’re not confronted with those needs in
person!)
·
But
we know it’s out there; may feel helpless in the face of it all as we deal with
our own struggles and stress
o May feel more like the man asking for
help than the ones who are able to offer it
Don’t know how Peter
and John felt in that moment, if they had a split second of wishing they’d gone into the
temple by another entrance
·
But
if they did, we don’t see it here
·
Instead,
they look intently at the man, and ask him to look at them!
·
And
instead of telling them man they don’t have any silver or gold and then moving
on, they do what they learned to do by watching Jesus!
o They stop. They notice. They are
filled with compassion. This man isn’t part of their community of faith, but
they are no longer huddled at home in fear or in preparation. Their faith sends
them out to participate in the needs of the world!
o Peter speaks: “I have no silver or
gold, but what I have I give you; in
the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And took him by the right
hand and raised him up (the same word used here as for the raising of Jesus
from the grave!); and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping
up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking
and leaping and praising God. !!
·
They
learned it by watching Jesus – not just the miraculous healing, which they are
very quick to point out is not their own ability but comes from faith in the
name of Jesus –
o But acknowledging those in need of
help and healing and hope as fellow beloved children of God
o The act of offering what you have to
give for the sake of others and the world around you
o The compassionate engagement that
leads to transformation and restoration and new life!
This is what the disciples learned as they watched Jesus at
work in the world around him.
·
This
is what the life of discipleship looks like
o To follow Jesus and to be involved in
the world around us – because he claims us to be about the work of life!
o This is the promise of Easter, of
resurrection – this encounter with the lame man outside the Temple is a stark
reminder that God’s kingdom hasn’t quite come in its fullness yet
§ Even after Christ is raised, there is
still poverty, still sickness, still struggle, still death – But when God
raised Jesus from the dead, God said NO! to the power of all of those things at
work in the world!
§ Death and darkness will not have the
final word!
·
Resurrection
reminds us of the character of God – that God desires life over death!
o And God enlists human beings to do
this work of proclaiming the good news of love’s victory and living it out!
This is our call, our mission too, as followers of Jesus
·
To
not just devote ourselves to the teaching and fellowship, to breaking of bread
and prayers, to just our own families and faith communities
o But to engage in the life and the
hurts and pains of the wider world
o To see one another as fellow human
beings who are deeply loved by God
·
And
when we are called on to help someone or a situation to respond like Peter and
John, like Jesus
o To say, “what I have, I give you.”
·
And
there are so many different opportunities and different ways to serve like
Jesus
o Can you sew? Maybe you are already
making masks!
o Do you garden? Maybe you can share
plants for people to grow food (seeds seem to be in short supply) or plant
extra and share the harvest!
o Can’t get out, but have some time on
your hands – phone calls and cards and letters are all great ways to remind
people that they are not alone
o Do you have extra food stored up in
your house? Who needs what you have more than enough to share?
o What do you have that someone else
may need?
Jesus calls us to give what we have, to participate in
bringing life and healing and hope to the world.
·
And
if anyone asks you why, you can just say, I learned it from watching Jesus! ;)
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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