This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday April 25, 2010, the 4th Sunday in Easter.
Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
This morning, we begin with our reading from Acts. The last time we saw Peter he was in Jerusalem with the other apostles. They had been imprisoned and flogged for teaching and healing at the temple in the name of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Since this time, Peter had made his way to the city of Lydda, not far from the modern city of Tel Aviv.
Two men were sent from Joppa, the modern port city of Joffa, to Lydda, a distance of about ten miles. They were sent to find Peter and tell him to come with them without delay. Scripture is silent about whether Peter knew what was happening or not. It is easy to assume that he did not considering the reported conversation. But when you consider the social norms, sending two men instead of a messenger with a note, along with the request that he come without delay, Peter would have naturally assumed it was urgent. Surely along the journey, we can assume the two men would not have kept Peter in the dark.
When he arrives, he doesn’t see Tabitha, first he sees widows showing the clothes that she had made for them. In fact, the verb from the Greek implies that they were wearing the clothes she had made.[1] They were not showing the clothes on mannequins or hangers like in a department store display. They were standing and showing how Tabitha lived her faith giving generously to support the widows, some of the weakest people in the society. Peter then puts everyone out of the room and prays. If this looks familiar it’s because it is. Jesus did this same thing in Luke 7; and since Luke and Acts were written by the same author, the similarity is not a coincidence.
Peter finally, simply prays, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes and he helped her up. Peter then called to the saints and the widows to come and see what the Lord had done. This vignette ends with the proclamation, “this became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”
They had seen the glory of God. They shared so that it may be known, and now many more believed in the Lord. Only Peter and Tabitha experienced the miracle first hand. Only a handful of people saw the immediate results of this miracle. There were many more who came to know in the hours and days that followed when Tabitha was again in the market and in the local meeting. And of course all of Joppa knew what had happened to Tabitha when the widow network spread the news at the Senior Center.
Now that she had been brought back to life, now that she had been restored to the community, this word spread too. And in a society where the main source of news is word of mouth, you know that just as soon as the word left the house, it reached all the ships in the harbor and spread across the Mediterranean. The only difference between now and then is that now we say, “It’s true, I saw it on the news,” or “I read it on the internet.”
I started with this story from Acts to illustrate the point Jesus was making to the Pharisees, the people Jesus referred to as “the Jews” in this passage.[2] In Acts, we learn that many people believed after experiencing what happened with Peter and Tabitha. It wasn’t that they saw what happened; only Peter and Tabitha were in the room. It wasn’t that they were in the house, there were at least two men and a bunch of widows in the house, but that’s nothing compared with the population of a port city. Yet we learn that many believed because of this miracle. By hearing, many believed in Jesus because of the power of this miracle.
Our gospel reading begins with the Pharisees gathering around him and asking him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” They want Jesus to tell them who he is in words they can understand. What’s funny is that Jesus has used the words of the Law and the Prophets. The words the Pharisees know. He has told the world who he is in ways the Pharisees were better equipped to understand than anybody else on earth; and they didn’t get it.
Even more than the words that he used, Jesus used an even more explicit way of telling the Pharisees and the world who he was. Jesus told them that he is the long awaited Messiah through his actions, along with his words.[3] It isn’t that words aren’t useful, but so far Jesus has shown the world who he is through actions more than words. On a deeper level, this points out that the fullness of faith in Jesus the Messiah is not something that can be boiled down to words alone. The fullness of the gospel cannot simply be reduced to a creed, it must be experienced.
Jesus answers the Pharisees, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe.” Jesus tells these Pharisees, as he has told the world, that he is the long awaited Messiah, they just didn’t get it.
Jesus tells the Pharisees “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me.” He provides the finest wine for the wedding banquet in Cana[4] and feeds the five thousand.[5] He heals the son of the royal official[6] and the beggar at the pool of Siloam.[7] Jesus feeds the people and heals the sick. Knowing the Law and the Prophets, the Pharisees should have been able to see that Jesus is the Messiah, but they didn’t get it.
This is where the use of the good shepherd becomes useful again. In the preceding verses from this chapter, Jesus tells all who were present, including the Pharisees, “I am the Good Shepherd” who keeps his sheep.[8]
He says “I am the gate” and the only way to enter is through him. Being the gate is more than a metaphor. The pens used at this time were little more than earthen circles with bramble around the tops of them. There was no gate on these pens, so the shepherd would stand in the gate mouth, between the sheep and the wilds and terrors of the world. For a predator to enter, it would have to go through the shepherd who would guard the pen with his life.
We celebrated this ultimate guarding a mere four weeks ago on Easter Sunday. The sheep who know him and know his voice have a place with Jesus, but the predators who would take the sheep do not.
Two weeks ago, I spoke about making our faith real. I said:
These first Christian disciples, these who become the first apostles sent into the world, are the first graduating class of the church. These Christians are given their commission, they are sent to do something. Far more valuable than an Ivy League sheepskin, they are then equipped with the one thing that enables them to do anything; the breath, the Holy Spirit of God.
They will not be able to present Christ to the world in the same way Christ presented himself to them. Christ presented himself physically, bodily to them; this option is no longer available. Instead they, and we, we represent Christ to the world. It is important for us that we represent Christ in the world. It is we who are now Christ’s body in the world. By the word of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to show the grace and peace of God to the world.
In a world that insists on touching a wall that is covered with signs that say “wet paint,” it is up to us to paint the world in ways that people will reach out and touch. This is how we make our faith real for ourselves and for others, by representing Christ’s love and forgiveness in the world. In Christ’s grace and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit, our witness makes Christ real to the rest of the world.
Peter and Tabitha shared one of God’s miracles together, and then with the people in her house, then with the city of Joppa, and then with the world. This miracle has been shared across time and space. This miracle has been shared from generation to generation. I don’t know if any miracle you have experienced is as grand as this, as for me, no. Still there are miracles in our lives that happen every day; some as small as a smile from a loved one, others as grand as divine intervention. These do not spark our faith as much as they kindle the spark of faith in our lives. Miracles don’t start our faith, they help reinforce it.
In Christ’s grace and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are saved by faith through grace. This is important for us to remember, that our faith is not a product of what we do. The development of our faith is based upon God’s actions in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.[9] While I said two weeks ago that it is up to us to share our faith, I failed to say that our faith must also be real to us. I don’t say this to tell you that if you never had a mountain top experience you have the worthless faith of the Pharisee. No, I only say this to say that this is not true; we are saved by grace through faith. We are saved by the work of Jesus Christ, not by anything we do.
What I do say is that it is up to us, as sheep of the fold, to listen for the voice of the shepherd. We are promised that as the sheep we recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd. It is when we listen that we hear and it is when we hear that we recognize. Then are we able to share by botrh deed and word. So let us listen. Let us rest in the outstretched arms of the loving God. Let us then follow and be sent and share God’s loving kindness with the world.
[1] Harvard, Joseph S., Wall, Robert W. Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, pages 426-431.
[2] Excursus from The New Interpreters’ Study Bible, “I am” sayings
[3] Jones, Gary D., Donelson, Lewis R. Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, pages 444-449.
[4] John 2:1-12
[5] John 6:1-15
[6] John 4:43-54
[7] John 9:1-12
[8] John 10:7-14
[9] Ibid, Donelson
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