Sermon: Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2020
Acts 17:1-9;
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Acts 17:1-9;
1 After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you." 4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason's house. 6 When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, "These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus." 8 The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, 9 and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction;
just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9 For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
Rene¢ Girard was a French anthropologist and theologian whose main contribution to the question of who we are, and why do we behave the way we do as human beings, was his thinking called Mimetic Theory.
Mimetic theory goes something like this: humans learn by imitating other members of their groups, but we are not able to differentiate between good things like learning skills that help the individual and the group; from bad, acquisitive behavior like desiring scarce objects such as money, fame, power, someone else’s mate, and other things that belong to someone else. Another key insight is that human desire is not an autonomous process, not something that happens and is fueled by just the individual person, but it is a collective one. We want things because other people want them. And then, as more and more people want something and that object remains scarce, there is conflict.
Maybe this way of thinking about human behavior wasn’t articulated until the 20th century, but there is no doubt that Jesus was always aware of this. And maybe that is why he seemed to always stress the importance of teaching, of modeling for his disciples what it meant to be part of the kingdom of God that he was bringing into the world.
There are so many examples of this. But perhaps this moment, on the night before his death on the cross is a good example: From John 13:
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. . . 12After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
This way of living for others and not just for yourself; of teaching about forgiveness and grace and love and acceptance of all was not easy. And Jesus’ narrative came into conflict with other narratives of condemnation, of only looking out for oneself or those who were like you. And this led to conflict, anger, and to his death on the cross.
It was not easy for the early followers of Jesus; living the ways Jesus taught, either. Did you catch what it was like from the reading from Acts? Paul and Silas brought the good news of Jesus to Thessalonica, and it caught on! Greeks and women, people who would have been on the outside according the Jewish religious leaders believed and joined into this Way, the way of living as Jesus taught and believing that Jesus was the Messiah. But it didn’t go well. A riot broke out, a house was attacked. The followers of Jesus were accused of ‘turning the world upside down.
But then, we hear in Paul’s letter to this amazing group of people that, in spite of all the challenges and conflict, things were happening!
Paul writes: For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit
and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus
So, dear friends, what about us in this very hard time in which we are living?
It seems to me that the ways Jesus calls us to live and the message we are to share are many times at odds with the world around us.
It seems to me that the way we understand freedom is way different than the current understanding of freedom. For us as followers of Jesus, believing and having faith in Christ is not about me as an individual, but as being part of the body of Christ.
Yesterday, I read a blog from an Episcopalian bishop;
"Christianity is not a faith with “rights”. It is a faith with “calls”. We should spend a lot less time on what my personal right is, and more time on what the call of the Gospel, and of our God is, now, for me, in this time. I continue to be amazed that Christianity is a faith, the origin of which, comes directly from sacrifice, perhaps one of the greatest sacrifices ever, but much of our professed and practiced theology is one of entitlement, preference, avoiding sacrifice at all costs, most especially for anyone else."
Dear friends, it is not easy, and it is not going to be easy for a while. And it is hard, to think of others when our own needs are so huge.
But our witness is so important right now! People are looking at us; and listening to what we have to say about Jesus; and how this Jesus has been our teacher, the one we imitate. And people are hoping to catch a glimpse of what we believe; that Jesus is the one who loves us, and who chooses us to be his children, and then who sends us out to tell the whole world about him. Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, we are loved, we are chosen, and we are sent. Let us pray . . .
Messiah, Jesus, your followers established churches in communities near and far. Take us outside of ourselves and teach us to give away what you have given to us. Show us how to witness to your presence in places near and far. Amen.