April 22, 2018
First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL
Christina Berry
Today’s gospel reading is from the poetic gospel of John. Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the gospel of John does not give a chronological account of the life of Jesus. His deeply theological narrative shows Jesus to be the light of the world, he tells of the signs that point to Jesus as Messiah and point us to Jesus. In the reading for today, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd. Like the shepherd in Psalm 23, Jesus provides care, guidance, sustenance and safety. Let’s listen for the voice of the shepherd in John 10:11-18
“I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep,
sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—
and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
The hired hand runs away
because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.
And I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
For this reason the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.
I have received this command from my Father."
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Our reading from the Acts of the Apostles continues our learning about the development of the early church, in those uncertain days after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. We talked last time about the sharing of the gathered community, and how they brought whatever was needed and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Now we hear how the disciples began the practice of preaching, of giving testimony, of sharing the good news, even as the women who went to the tomb came running back to tell the story! Our reading today requires a little bit of prologue to set it into context. You may remember that in the second chapter of Acts, the Holy Spirit comes to the Jesus-followers that will become the church. In the third chapter, we see the apostles stepping out into the world to spread the news – to preach the gospel- to testify to the saving name of Jesus. Things are going well for them in the early days.
In a short time, the group expanded from a few dozen to a few hundred to thousands.
This makes the authorities nervous. The Romans who occupied the city of Jerusalem and who had executed Jesus were keeping a close eye on the Jews. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, did not want to distress their Roman occupiers. Just prior to the scene in today’s reading, Peter and John were on their way up to the temple when they encountered a man who could not walk, begging at the gate to the temple called the “Beautiful Gate.” Peter spoke to the man, telling him that they had no money to give, but could give healing in the name of Jesus. Peter reached out and took the man’s hand and said, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” The man got up and went into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.
People were accustomed to seeing this beggar at the gate and now they saw him dancing for joy, and they were amazed. Thousands believed what Peter and John were testifying about Jesus. But the Sadducees and the religious leaders were nervous, so they had Peter and John arrested. The two apostles spend the night in jail and are brought out into court in the morning to testify. Let’s listen for God’s word to us in Acts 4:5-12
The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly family.
When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired,
"By what power or by what name did you do this?"
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
"Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today
because of a good deed done to someone who was sick
and are asked how this man has been healed,
let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel,
that this man is standing before you in good health
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead.
This Jesus is "the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.'
There is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals
by which we must be saved."
This is God’s word for God’s people.
Thanks be to God.
A few hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a fellow named Herostratus set fire to the temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Tradition holds that he committed this heinous act on the same day that Alexander the Great was born, July 21, 356 BCE. The temple of Artemis was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Herostratus committed the arson in hopes of fame, but the authorities tortured him, executed him, and forbade anyone to mention his name on pain of death. The sentence was oblivion, later known as damnatio memoriae – Latin for “condemnation of memory” – erasing the name of the villain forever.
Obviously, it didn’t work, or we would not be telling this story today.
But the practice carried on until well into the third century of the common era. To erase a person’s name was to erase their legacy, to eliminate them from history, and obliterate what they had done. Conversely, when a ruler, like Julius Caesar, was considered to have been a great one, he was awarded apotheosis, became a god, and a cult was created in his name.The Roman Empire could award deification, make a man a god, or could determine oblivion, eliminating a man’s name and his memory. [1]
So when the leaders of the Sanhedrin ask Peter, “By what name did you do this?” it was not an insignificant question. And Peter’s reply was unequivocal - it was in the name of Jesus: “this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.”
Peter’s testimony is clear: we act and speak in the name of Jesus. Jesus was crucified, and he died, but the name of this Jesus Christ of Nazareth is not for forgotten: it is in his name that healing has come to this crippled beggar who sat crying for alms at the gate called “Beautiful.” Jesus was crucified, and he died, but God raised him from the dead and his name lives on. By his name, the blind see and the lame walk and the prisoner is set free.
Names are powerful.
When a person commits a terrible crime, like shooting people in a church, there is always a movement on social media to stop repeating that killer’s name.
And some names invoke immediate positive associations: Saint Francis…Abraham Lincoln…Abigail Adams… Florence Nightingale… That’s why company logos and corporate images and branding are so critically important to businesses. That’s why what we say and do in the world as Christians is so important – because we bear the name of Jesus.
The world around us is well-aware of the power of that name, but it might not be due to our good name as Christians. Almost half of the Americans who identify themselves as Christian don’t actually practice their beliefs in any observable way – that is, they do not pray, read scripture, attend worship or participate in church activities.[2]
Most unchurched people, especially younger people, consider Christians to be homophobic, hypocritical, judgmental and boring.[3] Boring. That one stings.
Our hurt feelings aside, the problem non-Christians have with Christianity does not seem to be with the name of Jesus. Their problem is with us.
The solution obviously is not simply shouting our message more loudly. Nor is the solution to somehow hammer our scriptures and practices into the public schools or the government at any level. Erecting public monuments to Christianity or blaming school shootings on the lack of prayer in schools only serves to further alienate people from Christianity. Using Christianity as a litmus test for political candidates has proven to be an unreliable strategy; for every Jimmy Carter there seems to be a Roy Moore.
Op-ed writer Rod Dreher, a conservative Christian, identifies a crisis in Christendom. In a piece in the New York Times, contemplating the support of evangelicals for the current president, Dreher said, “Too many of us are doubling down on the failed strategies that not only have failed to convert Americans but have also done little to halt the assimilation of Christians to secular norms and beliefs. [The current President] is not a solution to this cultural crisis, but rather a symptom of it.”[4]
Perhaps we need to be known as people of Jesus.
Perhaps we need to stop talking about Christianity and simply act like Jesus.
Perhaps we need to do less preaching and more reaching –
reaching out in love to those who are crippled
by poverty, addiction, rejection, or loneliness,
reaching out a hand and saying,
“In the name of Jesus, I give you what I have.”
If we, like the sheep in Jesus’ parable, follow the voice of the shepherd, his voice will be heard in our preaching and testimony, because our best sermons will be in the way we offer healing and hope, and the voice of Jesus will speak loudly through our loving actions.
Then when people want to know,
"By what power or by what name did you do this?"
We can answer boldly,
“By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
Amen.
[1] http://www.livius.org/articles/concept/damnatio-memoriae/?
[2] https://www.barna.com/research/state-church-2016/
[3] https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/hypocrisy-is-keeping-people-from-the-church-an-excerpt-from-the-problem-of-god/
[4] Dreher, Rod. “Trump Can’t Save American Christianity.” New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/opinion/trump-scaramucci-evangelical-christian.html
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