Rev Hugh Perry

Readings

Acts 3: 12-19

Peter’s sermon to this impromptu audience begins by identifying the God he refers to as the Jewish God and this God has glorified Jesus.  William Barclay says the early preachers never regarded themselves as sources of power but only challenges of power and this he says is the key to the Christian life. ‘Not I but Christ in me’.

Peter goes on to offer mercy and warning. Those who crucified Jesus did so out of ignorance, but that ignorance is no longer possible because of the resurrection, therefore there are no excuses for rejecting Jesus.  Barclay notes the text blames the Jews for the crucifixion and this blame has played a significant part in some appalling acts of anti-Semitism over the last two thousand years.  We need to recognise that, under Roman rule, Jesus was legally executed, and that execution critiques all empires and all power systems.  The resurrection calls us to live differently, and we are all vulnerable to being sucked into systems that deliver us comfort while disempowering others.

Luke 24: 36b-48.

The details here are similar to last week’s account from John and it is slightly odd that, as Christ arrives in the midst of a discussion about the resurrection, the disciples are said to be terrified and thought they had seen a Ghost.  But Luke is using this story to point out that whatever the experience of meeting the risen Christ is it is not about being frightened by a ghost.  Jesus’ identity is verified by the marks of the crucifixion and his reality by the eating of the fish.  Both these verifications were also used in John’s Gospel which would indicate that both writers had access to similar sources, or equally possible John had access to the synoptic gospels, but his more Gnostic or spiritual agenda makes this less apparent when compared with Mark, Matthew and Luke.

Sermon

I recently watched the documentary ‘Escaping Utopia’ and the comment that really shocked me was the young mother, who was obviously miserable, living in squalor in India.  When her sister challenged her she agreed her life was miserable but added, ‘The Lord will return soon, there is so much bad in the world, he must come soon.’

I reflected sadly on all those who, like her, have endured exploitation for thousands of years on the promise that God will build a new world for the righteous.

In fact, one of the mistakes the disciples made was their expectation of a superhero messiah.  Today’s readings are about their realisation of what Jesus’ mission was really about.  The startling realisation that they are the resurrection.

The gospel writers are also encouraging us to realise that is also true for us. As Christ lived in them so Christ lives in us and in the power of Christ we are called to transform our world.

The greenies are right, there is no planet B. As followers of Jesus, we are called to build a new heaven and a new earth.  Christ is risen in us!

The post Easter gospel readings have rightly been about the first disciples meeting the Risen Christ.  The question for us in those readings is ‘how do we meet the Risen Christ’.  We also should note what the readings tell us the Risen Christ is not.

Luke is very helpful because he gives us a selection of possibilities and to truly appreciate that we must look at the textural context of today’s reading.

Jesus appears in today’s reading to all the disciples together when Peter has returned after a meeting with the Risen Christ at the empty tomb.  The couple who met Christ on the Emmaus Road have also returned and related their experiences.

This episode is opposite to the Emmaus Road encounter where the couple recognise Christ in sharing a meal after he had opened the scripture to them on the journey.  In this episode the disciples verify Christ’s identity and then he opens the scripture to them and eats with them.

So perhaps Luke is stressing that there are different ways of meeting Christ.

But the point of the Risen Christ eating a piece of fish it that the disciples are not meeting with a ghost.  So why are they frightened?

Perhaps they are frightened because of the realisation that Christ is risen in them.  They are the ones who have to build the new heaven and the new earth.  It’s a scary prospect and church history testifies that plenty of people suffered a similar fate to Jesus for standing for what is right.

The gospel writers are very clear what the resurrection is not.  Even if the challenge of the resurrection may be frightening the resurrection is not a ghost or an hallucination.  From Luke’s account the Risen Christ can be met at the empty tomb, on a journey or more particularly when we break bread with a stranger.  The Risen Christ can also be met as people gather to talk about their religious experiences.  Meeting together and sharing food together is about meeting with the Christ in each of us.

Most importantly those meetings with Christ the readings describe, involve sharing the scripture together and seeing Christ in the context of the Hebrew Scripture or Old Testament.

Some people dismiss the Old Testament, but the Gospels only make sense in the context of what has gone before.  This is apparent in the Acts reading where Peter first defines the God he is referring to from the scripture of his religious tradition before introducing Jesus.

That may seem odd to us because we live in a secular world where people either believe in God or they don’t.  But in the world of the book of Acts there were alternative gods and Romans worshiped several of them including the Emperor.  In fact there were times when Christians were regarded as atheists because they insisted on only worshiping one God.  Often the spasmodic persecution that Christians faced was because they would not participate in the various public worship events dedicated to different gods.

Not participating in these events was seen to be putting the community at risk and not worshiping the Emperor was traitorous.  Of course Judaism only worshiped one God but as it had scripture tracing back to creation Roman society felt it safer to include it in the faiths of the Empire.  But Roman Society was very suspicious of new religions and cults that might be rebellion in disguise.  Therefore there could have been an element of self-preservation in Peter defining God.

Furthermore, William Barclay defines Peter’s speech as a well-structured argument.  So defining the divinity involved, would be an important part of that structure.  According to Barclay this sermon also contains three of the dominant points of the early Christian preachers.

Peter suggests that the crucifixion was the greatest crime in human history.  However, humanity is vindicated because of the resurrection.  The resurrection is proof of divine intervention and the possibilities of new beginnings and ongoing life.

The third point is the power available to us all through the power of the Risen Christ.

The episode we read from Acts comes immediately after Peter has healed a lame beggar.  We read from verse twelve.  But verse eleven makes the link to our reading and tells us the healed man stays with Peter and John and therefore pulls together the audience for Peter’s sermon.

‘While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished’. (Acts 3:11)

We have looked at what the gospel reading says about the resurrection and how that may be relevant to our meeting with the Risen Christ.  But this opening section of chapter three in Acts gives us an even better way of connecting with the resurrection.  We can observe the reality of the resurrection in others, and we can live with the power of Christ in us and so demonstrate the reality of the resurrection to others.

‘And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of us all’. (Acts 3:16)

The danger is that we take passages like this as authority to command sick people to get better.  I say ‘danger’ remembering the patient I spoke to in Hillmorton hospital who was back in hospital because someone told him that if he stopped taking his medication then Jesus would be able to heal him.

It would be nice if we were able to say magic words and amazing things happen.  But, like the boy in the insurance advertisement, it was the insurance payout that restored the household contents not him dressed as a wizard running through the house with his magic wand.  Magic only happens if the premium is paid.

Over the centuries people have toiled to pay the premium in research, dedication, and love.  Health insurance that changed the way we live and gave healing to millions of people.

The amazing truth is that the world, and the history of the world, is filled with superheroes that have done amazing things.  But they have all had to work hard for the deeds of wonder and power they have achieved.

Many such people would happily join Paul in saying ‘It is not I, ‘but it is Christ who lives in me’. (Galatians 2:20)

I was privileged while in Hamilton to listen to a talk by Sir Richard Faull.  It was organised by the City Ministers group as part of our outreach.

What really inspired me was Sir Richard’s comment that he probably wouldn’t find a cure for Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy or Motor Neuron disease.  Research, he said, is a collaborative effort and if he spent his working life studying the brain others could build on his research and they would discover the cures.

I have no idea what Sir Richard’s faith commitment or background is, but he is part of Western Culture that is grounded in Christianity and his dedication is the resurrection in action.

There are also people like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu whose revolutionary zeal not only sought justice for marginalised people but looked for forgiveness and reconciliation for their persecutors.  History is full of the faithful who have made extraordinary efforts to move mountains.

But the ‘kingdom of God’ also becomes real through the millions and millions of unknown people who live as Christ to others through small acts of kindness and devoted service inspired by their faith.

When as a young adult I was a Rover Scout, our motto was ‘service’ and when I joined the Jaycee organisation one of the tenets of our creed was ‘Service to others is the best work of life.’ Both those organisations are grounded in the Christian faith, as is our civilisation.  A civilisation that, in so many ways through so many people, brings the Risen Christ from the empty tomb into people’s lives.

However, those of us called to be part of the church in all its variety also have the responsibility of keeping the stories of our faith alive for future generations.

The Christ, who met the couple on the Emmaus Road, expounded the scripture to them which enabled them to recognise him in a meal shared.  That meeting sent them back to the other disciples where the Risen Christ appeared to them all.  When they had recognised Christ’s presence with them, he opened the scripture to them.

When Peter explained the power that healed the lame beggar, he referred to the Hebrew Scripture to first define God and then to explain how Jesus belonged to that religious tradition.

Our calling is not only to live as Christ to others.  We are also called to retell and expound the stories that bring Christ to us.  The Christ who empowers us to be the people we are called to be.

Like those first apostles we are the Resurrection and Christ lives in us.