The human face of the church

From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul

The human face of the church 24 July 2011: pm

The Revd Jenny Wilkens

• Psalm 75
• 1 Kings 6:1-14, 23-28
• Acts 12: 1-17

http://wellingtoncathedral.org.nz/index.php/Sermons

I hope you enjoyed the drama of this evening’s reading from the book of Acts about the deliverance of Peter from prison – it’s just made for Acting literally! It’s a story with some lovely comic touches, which really give it that ring of truth – if you were trying to ‘sell’ the early church, as a polished body who’ve got their act together, full of faith and trust in God, you wouldn’t do it this way! And yet, that is what I like about Luke’s portrayal, he describes God engaging with real people with all their foibles and doubts and hang-ups – and that can encourage us in turn in our day.

I get the feeling that Peter doesn’t respond too well to being woken in the middle of the night, even by an angel! He is not a ‘morning’ person, it takes one to know one! The angel seems to have to almost get him dressed: get up, fasten your belt, put on your sandals, wrap your cloak around you… Peter is on remote, he takes a while to cotton on to what is happening, it seems he could have done with a good cup of coffee!!

Then I love the cameo appearance we get of the maid Rhoda, who gets so excited at hearing Peter’s voice at the gate, that she leaves him standing there out in the dark, and vulnerable to danger, and rushes in to tell the others… for once Peter is on the receiving end of someone who is as impetuous as he is! But I love too the hint that already the gospel of Jesus is breaking down the walls that divide – the maid and the church leader rejoice together that God answers the fervent prayers of the church and is still in the rescue business.

Note too the mention made in passing that Peter went from prison to a familiar gathering place of the early church – the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12). I had the privilege of visiting in Jerusalem one of the sites associated with this place, on the edge of the Old City – now the home of the small Syrian Orthodox church of St Mark. A delightful Iraqi Christian nun Sister Justina proudly showed us what their tradition hails as the Upper Room, which 2000 years later, you actually visit by going downstairs to a room below ground, such has the street level of Jerusalem risen since Jesus’ time, through centuries of occupation.

Well, we can but imagine the exhilaration of the early church at the rescue of their leader Peter, so soon after they had been torn apart with grief and filled with fear at the killing of Stephen, and then now of James, son of Zebedee, at the hands of King Herod Agrippa. Peter's rescue is the high point of Peter’s story as he dominates this first part of the book of Acts, and it is interesting that Luke chooses to end this half of Acts with a story that shows clearly a power encounter between Herod, King of the Jews, and Peter, the leader of a group who claim to follow the true King of the Jews, the risen Lord Jesus. Note that this incident took place probably around 43-44AD, so only about ten years on from the death and resurrection of Peter's Lord, and there are echoes in Peter's story of Jesus' own arrest at the time of Passover.

At this point in Acts, Luke begins a transition of focus. Attention shifts from Peter, who must step back into the shadows now he seems to have a price on his head. The leadership of the Jerusalem church will fall to another James, this time James the brother of Jesus. Luke will go on in the book of Acts to tell the stories of Paul, as he seeks to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, and to proclaim Jesus as not just King of the Jews, but also Lord of the nations, travelling even to the very centre of the Empire in Rome itself.

As we reflect on both our readings tonight, we notice another transition. Our Old Testament reading was part of the account of the building of the temple by King Solomon, and God’s promise that God will dwell among the children of Israel through his symbolic presence in the temple.

You’ll recall from the early chapters of Acts that the first Christians continued to meet in the temple precincts in Jerusalem: 'Day by day as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts' (Acts 2:46). There is that balance between gathering for the rituals of worship in the temple as was their custom, and the more informal gatherings in people's homes, such as had been the gathering in John Mark's mother's home to pray for Peter's release (Acts 12:11).

But now Luke begins to speak of ‘the church’, the ekklesia, speaking not as we might immediately think of a building, but of the people of God: 'King Herod laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church' (12:1), 'the church prayed fervently to God for Peter' (12:5). We are beginning to see the human face of the church – a body of people who face tough times together, who show concern for each other, and who turn to God in prayer and worship.

I think we often idealise Peter, Paul and those first Christians as super-saints, and so they are, yet the New Testament record shows us clearly that they had their strengths and weaknesses as we do, they were all too human – and yet God used them to lead and develop and grow the church.

God chose Peter, such a mixture of bravado, impetuousness, faith, fear, cowardice, and yet recognised his faith, his desire to follow Jesus wherever he led, and said on this sort of faith I will build my church, on the bedrock faith of people like Peter and Rhoda. Maybe that can give us hope that God can use us, just as we are, warts and all, with all our weaknesses and uncertainties.

I had the privilege last week of spending half a day out at the Common Life Missions Conference of our church out at Waikanae. It was thrilling to see 550 or so members of our church from all 3 tikanga: Maori, Pasefika, Pakeha, along with a good number of speakers from the church overseas: Nigeria, Canada, Malaysia, Tanzania, South Africa, all mixing and mingling as we shared in worship, fellowship, meals, cups of tea, listening to speakers…

I heard an address by one of our Archbishops, Winston Halapua of Polynesia, who reminded us that whereas we so often think of ourselves in this world as continents separated by oceans, Polynesian peoples understand the world from the viewpoint of Moana or oceans which link up with each other and so form one great interdependent whole. What a powerful image that is too of the church, the body of Christ, part of the ocean of God!

I was reminded again in this age where it is so easy to divide off into our own little worlds, cultures, compartments, sides and parties, even in the church, how it is when we actually spend time together and rub shoulders with each other that we get to know each other, and love one another in Christ. Oh yes, we also then get close enough to see each other in all our humanity, but we can also be surprised by meeting ‘angels unawares’ (Hebrews 13:2) who minister the love and hope of God to us.

Charles Wesley was sufficiently challenged by Peter's story in the book of Acts that he made it part of his great hymn, And can it be, CP 376, a favourite of many of us. It is a hymn which takes us on a journey, from quite a tough starting place, where we may wonder if Christ’s love can reach even us, but then he convincingly sets forth the wonders of God’s love and mercy in Christ, and the new status we have before God in Christ.

Who can forget the word pictures Wesley gives us in such strong verbs – “I woke, the dungeon flamed with light, my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.” This is the point of transition where like Peter, we get up and follow, and just as Peter followed the angel, we commit to follow Christ wherever he leads us.

That is the confidence with which we can walk with Christ through whatever this week holds, through this year, and right through our lives, knowing that as we come to the end of our journey, there is no place for fear – ‘Jesus, and all in him, is mine. Alive in him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine, bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.’ May this faith which was Peter’s, Rhoda’s, Charles Wesley’s, be ours too as the church in our time, to the glory of God among us. Amen.