Sometimes, I have these wonderfully confirming moments of where I am called to preach. This weekend happened to be one. I was rather uninspired about preaching on Doubting Thomas again. In years past, I have reminded you that the name is unfair to Thomas, who was willing to go to Jerusalem and die with Jesus and, as we know better than many at Advent, who answered James’ and God’s call to travel from Jerusalem to India to plant churches there. Talk about a long walk and risky sailing requiring faith! I landed in Acts and then NT Wright had a nice proposal yesterday that made me think I was not crazy about where I should be preaching. So, turn in your Orders to Acts, if you want to follow along.
The passage is a part of the pericope of Peter’s speech at Pentecost, so we are peeking ahead about five weeks. The Apostles and disciples have stayed in Jerusalem, per Jesus’ instructions, to await the gift of the Holy Spirit. That has happened. Everyone hears the Apostles in their own language, and many have suggested the Apostles were drunk. I cannot speak for everyone, but I know when I get drunk I speak in slurred English. The idea of mastering a previously unknown foreign language while drinking would seem very unlikely to me, which is not to say a nice wine or beer might temper the frustrations that come with learning new languages. Y’all are laughing, so I am guessing you share similar experiences or understandings.
Peter begins his speech by reminding those present that it is only 9am on the morning of Pentecost, far too early for the Apostles to be drunk. I can only assume, given Peter’s conviction, that they had never before heard of a Breakfast of Champions in that day. Those of us who had secret societies or fraternities or sororities in our backgrounds might disagree with Peter’s assumption, but that is a sermon for another day.
Peter ties their experience to the prophet Joel, who wrote that God would one Day pour out His Spirit upon His people. Young and old, male and female, Joel’s people would begin to prophesy. This is that day is the essential beginning of Peter’s sermon to the crowd in Jerusalem.
Peter goes on to declare that Jesus of Nazareth is responsible for the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, but he reminds them of their role in it and God’s sovereignty. Jesus was attested to them by God with deeds of power and wonders and signs. Those in Jerusalem knew many of those signs. Some had seen the signs themselves. As the hive mind of the crowd would begin to consider this, they would begin to rattle off in their own minds or in conversations with those around them that Jesus of Nazareth did those signs that would mark the Messiah.
But Peter is not finished. Peter reminds them that those in the crowd handed Jesus over to those outside the law, you and I would call them Romans, to be killed. Peter tells them that this was all done according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, but they had a role in it. Curiously, if they consider the prophets seriously, they will see more of the prophets’ foretelling in their own actions, their own betrayal.
Then Peter gets to the really important part: God raised Jesus up, having freed Him from death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Though it will be three centuries before the Church officially recognizes the sinless nature of Christ, Peter already understands, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, that Jesus of Nazareth was not subject to the power of sin and death!
Peter then cites David and the Psalms as proof of Jesus’ uniqueness in God’s plan of salvation history. The use of David would cover another thread of Messianic expectation. Some thought Elijah might return to rule for God; others envisioned a heroic king or warrior figure like David, breaking Rome’s hold over Judea. Of course, everyone present would recognize that David was a king and heroic figure and heir to the covenant made by God that his descendant would sit on his throne for ever.
That last part is even more important as Peter reminds them that David was not the Messiah. David died. David’s tomb was still with them. From Peter’s, and our, perspective David had to be speaking about the Messiah when he prophesied that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
This Jesus God raised up, and all those in the crowd, as well as all of us who read this passage in Nashville, Tennessee nearly 2000 years later are witnesses.
But there seems to be a big problem. None of us were present to those events described by the Gospel writers. We did not get to see the fear, confusion, struggling, and joy of the Apostles and Disciples play out as they wrestled with the news that Jesus was no longer among the dead but alive. We did not get to see the Apostles burn with fire as Jesus opened their minds to the Scriptures. We did not get to hide with them in the locked upper room or the closed upper room and see Jesus enter, hear Jesus’ words of comfort, and prepare ourselves for the Pentecost moment we touched on this morning in Acts. Few of us even have the advantage of being untimely born like Paul, and still have encountered the Resurrected Jesus. How can we witness to these things as well as those who came before and saw or heard these things?
It is a fair question. Christians have wrestled with it for centuries. Liturgical Christians, though, have the answer baked into the way they worship. We know, because those witnesses taught us, that Jesus instructed them that it would be to their advantage for Him to leave so that He could send the Holy Spirit. That advantage, of course, is that Jesus would no longer be the locus of God’s power on earth. All those in whom the Holy Spirit abides would be able to accomplish God’s will in the world around them. When you and I experience those Holy Spirit moments, we know the truth of God’s power and will every bit as well as those about whom we read in the Scriptures. Had Jesus not ascended to be with the Father and to send us the Spirit, we would not have those experiences. Because we do, we know He did.
Notice that our experiences do not prevent us or our ancestors from falling under our sin time and again. Peter is the spokesman for the Church in Acts. We know that Peter became the rock upon whom Christ founded His Church. But Peter makes mistakes. Peter misunderstands. Peter walks on water with Jesus until he remembers what he is doing. Then he sinks. Peter confesses Jesus is the Messiah, but, as we reminded ourselves a couple times last week, Peter denies our Lord three times before the cock crowed. Peter does not stay at the Cross as His and our Lord dies. Peter does not know what to make of the women’s testimony and instruction, nor does he understand what he sees when he reaches the Empty Tomb. Heck, Jesus has to continue to teach Peter for Peter’s whole life. Peter has to learn about the dietary instructions and about circumcision just to name a couple. And these are not shared to pick on Peter. These are shared in Scripture by God to remind you and to remind me that, through Him, we can accomplish amazing things, glorious things, miraculous things. They are shared to remind us all that through obedience and repentance God will be glorified in our lives and that we will share in that glory!
How have you glorified God in your life? What moments has the Holy Spirit reminded you of as I spoke this morning? What empowered or enlightened moments have left you without a doubt that God is with you? I suspect we have as many answers as we have people here today. There are a million things you could be doing on this, Low Sunday as we like to call it. You could be watching the Masters. You could be sleeping in. You could be doomscrolling or reading the Tennessean, depending upon your age. But you are here, giving thanks to God for what He did in Jesus Christ our Lord! I suspect everyone has at least one great story of God’s Spirit acting in their lives. Some of us have far more!
But even if the best reason you have to be here today giving thanks to God is more corporate in nature than individual, you still chose to be here! You chose to give thanks to God in ways that Jesus reminds Thomas and all of us that you are truly blessed. Even though you have not seen or experienced, you still believe.
But maybe you have seen more than you realize. Perhaps you have served the homeless among us through Room in the Inn. Maybe you have heard the thanks of those whom we fed and kept warm in obedience to Jesus. Maybe you have heard their squeals of delight at a particular meal or dessert or our efforts to put important sporting events up for their enjoyment. You have treated them as one created in the image of God, and they have expressed their surprise and gratefulness for your effort.
Perhaps you have met some of those whom we serve through Insight. Our country has a horrible fight about medical care. We have some many healthcare professionals among us that we all know the negative impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on those around us and those in far more rural communities of Tennessee and the nation. Mental health care folks can only hope to get to the poor level of physical health care in our country. And, yet, we make it possible for those suffering from mental health concerns to get affordable care. And we hear the thanks from time to time. People will remark how easy it is for others to understand heart attacks and cancer, but how they were able to get help for anxiety, for trauma, for who knows what thanks to our commitment. We are heralds of healing in their midst, whether you recognize it or not, whether you hear it or not.
And the low hanging fruit, sometimes literally, is Body & Soul. By far and away those volunteers hear and see the fruit of their work frequently. They hear the sob stories when people confess they never thought things could get this bad, that they would fail their families in this way. They hear the excitement when they have comfort food for those whom they serve, and, at some point, begin to realize that all kinds of food serve as comfort food in God’s created order. We may even find someone this weekend who finds comfort in cooked cabbage!
But we all know Hilary & Nancy & me and all the volunteers. We all know that we are not smart enough to divide our money up to get those various food items. Heck, we do not have enough funds to cover the cost of feeding 6100 individuals each month last year, let alone the increase this year. And yet, day after day, week after week, month after month, we feed people in Christ’s Name, reminding them that He loves them that much and hates their food insecurity. We remind them that He calls them to the Feast where they will buy the choicest foods and drinks without money for ever. And we recognize that only God can explain some of our insights as we answer the questions of those whom we serve, that only God can cause someone to share those stories of failure and thanksgiving with us, that only God can cause us to figure out how we might serve a beloved daughter or son a bit better, how we might alleviate their hurt or distance with a book or item of clothing or whatever. My list could go on, much like John’s Gospel reminds us today.
But these I remind us because we are witnesses to these things. We know the Resurrection of our Lord is true because we have experienced the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And so, nourished by His Body and Blood, we are sent back out there, out into the wildernesses of our lives, to proclaim in our lives and to profess with our lips those things He has done, that all might be drawn into His saving embrace!
In His Peace and Power,
Brian+
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