TO GOD BE THE GLORY
Acts 3:1-12
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer at three o’clock in the afternoon. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple he asked them for alms. 4 Peter looked intently at him as did John and said ‘Look at us.’ 5 And he fixed his attention on them expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said ‘I have no silver or gold but what I have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth stand up and walk.’ 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 Jumping up he stood and began to walk and he entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God 10 and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 While he clung to Peter and John all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico utterly astonished. 12 When Peter saw it he addressed the people ‘You Israelites why do you wonder at this or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
I remember as a child my takeaway from this story was that with sufficient faith all disciples including us could perform such miracles. Unfortunately I never experienced a crippled beggar rising to his feet much less leaping and praising God. The implication in my mind was that faith must have taken a downturn over the centuries. It is yet another example of literalism leading me to missing the point of the story.
This story is another example of the impact of the resurrection on the early church. Last week we discussed the new capacity to trust God to share and to be mindful of the community. Even though such communities are rarely seen and rarely sustainable they pointed to a new way to live. Living the Christian life has always been an uphill climb but that does not change its value nor the conviction that such a life leads to life. Just because we are inept and often poor followers does not detract from the validity of the direction. The literal replication of these early stories is less the point than the fact the resurrection led to new energy new ways of seeing and new possibilities for life. And it does today.
I cannot read this account without remembering a similar story in the Gospels. In John 5 Jesus encounters a crippled man at the pool of Bethesda. The crippled man had been carried daily to a pool that reportedly could heal the afflictions of the first to enter it ‘when the waters were troubled’. This had been going on for 38 years. As in our story in Acts both men sought relief in the way they knew how – waiting for a miracle and/or begging for sustenance. Both men relied upon others to carry them and feed them. In both stories neither received what they sought – first into the waters in John or alms to live on in Acts. Both men were offered something far outside of their imaginings. They were no longer bound by their affliction by how they saw themselves nor how others saw them. That new freedom is something resurrection faith offers.
Resurrection faith is the faith that new life is possible where we only saw closed doors and death. In the first century people who were invisible secularly – women children slaves the poor the sick and the injured – were people far more likely to be shunned than included. They were far more likely to be discounted than listened to. Jesus turned those values on their head. No one was outside of his notice or care. He certainly was not always received but the offer of new life was there. That new life was a welcome as a child of God. That new life was founded upon a value and worth that emerges from being loved. It was independent of secular rankings and comparisons. It was a gift independent of any secular ‘deserving’. That is the good news and any who can enjoy such love will be transformed.
When human beings come to believe that they matter though their inner voices as well as the external voices declare differently there is a freedom and peace experienced no other way. So it is quite possible to have a life you thought impossible. This week Adam Duval an outfielder with the Braves spoke with a group of young people and their parents about Type 1 Diabetes – also known as Juvenile Diabetes. This is a limiting disease requires constant monitoring and regular shots – none of which are pleasant for anyone much less an active child. Adam was speaking because he has this disease and contrary to conventional wisdom had found a way to stay physically active at the professional level. He was not bound by the limits of his diagnosis. He found ways to care for himself ways to adapt and ways to find new life when his aspirations could have been completely thwarted. His message to those young people was give yourself a chance you never know what you can become until you take the first steps to find out. God does not expect all Juvenile Diabetics to become professional baseball players but he does expect us to utilize what we have been given. It may well be harder but when we use the gifts God gives us instead of complaining about them we have a better chance in life.
Jesus asked the man at the pool of Bethesda: “Do you want to be healed?” This seemly silly question is important and in that story the man never answers it. He ‘explains’ his plight but does not say “Yes I want to be healed.” Jesus responded by telling him what he must do – “Take up your pallet and walk.” Use what you’ve got. Don’t only rely on others for your welfare. Basically the same thing happened in our story in Acts. That man sought alms. He begged for his sustenance. It is also true that someone carried him – every day – to his begging station. He was a regular recognized by passersbys. He expected alms. He expected to be treated as a beggar. Peter and John offered another way to live—much as Jesus did.
Let me be clear. I have no idea whether either of these men were physically healed. We have no video tape. My faith does not rest upon ‘proving’ such claims. I do believe each of them was invited into a life that gave them purpose and hope. It was a life neither of them could have imagined. It is often true that we are limited by a failure of imagination in life and/or a fear of failure in life. When either happens we leave God out.
No matter what your circumstance in life if you can imagine God loves you you will live differently. If you trust that your failures will not be held against you (you are forgiven) you will live more boldly. In both cases you have a much better chance to be all that God intended.
In FIRL Ron Johnson pointed out a fundamental paradox of the Christian life. First we are expected to use and develop the gifts God has given us. And second we are not in control. We have no control over what we have been given and we often have no control over the outcome of our efforts. My way of saying much the same thing is: There is a fine line between our obligation to do all that we can do and the belief we can do anything if we work/try hard enough.
There is always a balancing act between pride in our accomplishments and the humility to know that none of our hard work is sufficient. It is necessary but it is not sufficient. It is God who has made us and not we ourselves. We have blessings beyond count that we all too easily take for granted. Even a cursory look at any third world nation will show you that there are many people in this world who are smarter than we are and who work much harder than we do. But many of them live at or near the poverty line. By comparison we live extremely well. Whatever achievements any of us have accomplished depend on BOTH our hard work and an accident of birth we cannot explain. Such knowledge leads to humility and gratitude.
There are traditions that seek to weave this paradox into daily living. When praised many athletes will say something like: “To God be the glory.” At its best such language expresses gratitude and humility. At its worst it is prideful humility and/or a diminishment of the work we have put into developing God’s gifts. The trick is to let both be true. We must work to utilize gifts AND we must remember we had no say in the gifts we’ve received.
In our passage today Peter asks: “…why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” It is Peter’s way of saying “To God be the glory.” Peter’s life had been transformed and as a result he could invite others into the same experience.
We are celebrating our seniors this Sunday. They have worked hard. It is an exciting time and it is a frightening time. It is a combination of feelings all of us have known and all of us will know again. They like each of us need to live in the transformative power of God’s gifts and God’s presence.
We must do our part but we cannot do it alone. Because of our resurrection faith we don’t have to. Let it be so.
