Acts 3:1-20 The Church that Heals Sermon preached September 15, 2013 Opening I have this recurring

dream, a little bit of a nightmare, where Im in the stands watching a NFL game and the quarterback goes down and gets carted off the field, and somehow the next thing I know, Im suited up, in the huddle, supposed to call a play and somehow that happens and Im at shotgun and the ball is snapped to me and there are 300-lb linemen rushing at me and I have to heave the ball downfield into the hands of a receiver. And the sense of it all is, people are expecting that I can do it and I feel responsible, well, Im the quarterback now, Im in charge. Problem is, Im 54 years old, even in my prime was big, bulky and slow - never played quarterback except in backyard pickup games - and Im called out of the stands to do something, that I have no idea how to pull off. Like I said, kind of a nightmare. Maybe something like that has happened to you. You get drafted or called or suckered into doing something, that you think, thats nuts, you think, theres no way I, we can do that. Well, you may feel exactly that way, during this sermon too. Because were going to think about how the early church was a church that brought healing to people, and how we can be a church that does so too. Peter and John on their way to worship In our scripture reading, Peter and John are on their way to worship at the mid-afternoon Temple prayer service. And these are busy guys. In Acts chapter 2 we learn that after Peters Spirit-inspired sermon, 3,000 people - 3,000 - joined the church in one day. Peter and John, they have just become pastors of a megachurch! No doubt, they had a lot on their minds. And maybe they were walking with some extra oomph in their step, in a hurry to get to worship. And on the way they get interrupted. Theres a beggar there whose family and friends strategically deposited him by one of the gates you had to go through to get to the temple. Now, in the ancient world, beggars were everywhere. No disability, no rehab - if you were born like this man, unless you had a rich family, you were going to spend your life as a professional beggar. Try to imagine being dependent on the coins disgusted people might throw your 1

way in order to get enough food to eat. Try to imagine the loss of dignity, the loss of control over your life, all the doors that have shut in your face. And then add to that, this man would be excluded from the communitys worship in the temple. For one thing, because he wasnt going to make it up those big steps - no Americans with Disability Acts in those days, no handicapped ramp, no elevator - but tragically, their faith taught that this disabled man was somehow defective, and as such could not appear before a holy and majestic God to worship. So the temple gate - thats as far as you get, buddy. So - a world full of beggars, two men on their way to prayers, and this guy interrupts them by wailing for help. And beggars in that part of the world, they do wail - making a piteous cry, trying to be heard above the hub-hub around them. You learn to tune it out. Peter and John dont. They stop, look and listen. They pay attention to the man. They make eye contact. They see he is lame, handicapped. And they do something to help him. First rule - pay attention If we are to be people who bring healing to others, the first thing we have to do, is pay attention to people around us, who God may be directing us to in order to bring them healing. And this takes some work. Because many of us, when we see someone who is hurting or needy or disabled or disfigured, our first instinct is to turn away. Sometimes, thats because of fear. For instance, if people who are seriously ill, especially if its cancer, or a terminal illness, they find that their friends and sometimes even family stay away. Why? Because theyre afraid - that they wont know what to do or so, but even more so, that the same thing could happen to them. Sometimes, we turn away because were busy, in a rush, got a meeting, a deadline And sometimes, our hearts become hardened, and we learn not to care. The first rule of being a person who heals and a church that heals, is pay attention! How do you pay attention? You begin to look at people with Holy Spirit eyes. Meaning, you see them as God sees them - as precious, created in Gods image. And there is a discipline here - we must learn to slow down and actually look at people, talk to them, develop relationships, hear their stories - at soccer games, Starbucks, PTO, book clubs, work, wherever. Pay attention. Everyone you meet is precious to God, everyone has a unique story, and a whole lot of the people you meet, are hurting. 2

As an aside - this is why mission trips are important. Yes, as critics have pointed it, it is more efficient use of money just to send a check for the amount one would spend to go on a mission trip - but that ignores the transformational power of seeing, talking with, getting to know, touching the poor and hurting of the earth. Mission trips, help you see with Holy Spirit eyes. So I ask, are you paying attention? Are you looking at people with Holy Spirit eyes? Second rule - bring healing however you can So Peter and John stop. The man has been begging for alms. Peter and John dont have coins clinking in their pockets and they want to give the man something better anyway. So Peter says, In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk! And the man does. Not only walks, but dances! Peter saying - In the name of Jesus - whats that about? Well, its a way of invoking the power of Jesus to do what Jesus does. Which is to bring salvation and healing. Heres a little nugget of knowledge that will make you glad you came today. The Greek word for salvation is sozo. You see the word salvation in the NT and its usually the Greek sozo. But sozo also means healing. When Jesus heals in the gospels, the word most often used is sozo. Now...a lot of people have a pretty puny understanding of what salvation is about. I know I keep harping on this but I want to make sure you understand, that salvation is healing and restoration that begins right now and continues into eternity. And that healing is holistic - includes the whole person. Jesus healed because salvation includes healing - of body, mind, soul - of the whole person. Salvation is not a matter of shepherding your soul through the many dangers toils and snares of the world so you can float up to heaven when you die - salvation begins right now. Followers of Jesus Christ are given the power to heal Listen to this - followers of Jesus Christ then, and now, are to be channels for the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This story is the first time in Acts where the disciples heal people. But its not surprising that they did - Jesus promised the disciples that they would do greater things than he did meaning that the twelve of them that then multiplied into the church would bring Jesus healing power all over the world - way beyond the arena of ministry where Jesus was able to operate.

Question I want to think with you about now, is what kinds of healing? Now, Ive been in ministry for 23 years, and during that time I have prayed for the healing of hundreds and hundreds of people. Held their hands in the hospital, in their living rooms and prayed, prayed, prayed. Ive seen people get better. Ive seen people get worse and die. But Ive only seen one healing that compares to our story in Acts. Happened in my first church in Bishopville, South Carolina. A woman named Ann was diagnosed with a tumor that was growing and wrapping around her brain stem. She went through all the treatments, with the usual awful side effects. Hardly slowed it down at all. Ann went from walking to a wheelchair to a hospital bed they set up in Ann and Ralphs living room. As the days went by she seemed to shrink visibly as the cancer ate away at her. Then hospice was called in to help Ann prepare to die, which the doctors said would come in a matter of days, maybe a few weeks. Well, I had just preached from the book of James where it says, Is anyone sick? Have that one call the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. Well, some of those elders had listened and they got together and said to me Lets go over to Anns and pray for her and anoint her. Remember, these are Presbyterians now, not slain-in-theSpirit, washed-in-the-blood, speaking-in-tongues Pentecostals. So we do. And about a week later, my family and I move up to Virginia where I begin my next pastorate. And Im so busy I forget all about Ann. Until about three months later I open a letter and inside is an article from the Sumter Item with Ann and her husband Ralph standing on their back porch. Shes not only survived - shes healed! Tumor is just - gone. Doctors cant explain it, say, give thanks and live your life. And so she did. I think Ann was healed through the power of God. It was amazing! But - I dont know why she was, and not other people that I have prayed for, my congregations have prayed for. But while that was a wonderful, jaw-dropping work of God, I think we make a mistake if we think thats the only kind of healing God does. There is more healing, in the story. Another dimension of healing - human community Remember how the handicapped man was barred from entering the temple? The temple was the center of Israels life. An Israelite was first and foremost a person who worshiped God. Every Israelite would make pilgrimages a couple of times a year to the 4

temple to worship there. Except for people like this man. You ever been shut out of some kind of community you really wanted to be part of? A sorority? A sports team? Or maybe you experienced deep racism that told you that you didnt belong around here. Its really painful. Because, with rare exceptions, human beings need community. Were not solitary creatures. Remember the movie Castaway, where Tom Hanks is stranded on a little island for four years with only a volleyball named Wilson to talk to? It almost killed him. And seeing the portrayal of that profound loneliness - was frightening. Well, the handicapped man in Acts is not only restored in body, he is restored to the community of Israel. He walks and dances into the temple. Hes allowed to worship God. Hes a true Israelite for the first time! And that is another dimension of his healing, and another dimension of the healing that can come through us and the church. Restoring people to community. A member of my last church named Johnny Guyton liked to say, people need a church family. And hes right, people do need a church family because people need community. Like Peter and John did, we are supposed to reach out our hands and metaphorically take them by the hand and lift them up and welcome them into our community. Leonard Sweet writes that we are suffering from relational anorexia, and goes on to say, Opportunities for personal contact in American life are diminishing. It is increasingly difficult to have personal relationships with each person in your life - bank tellers, mail carriers, shoe repairers, dry cleaners. Weve already lost paperboys, telephone operators, door to door salesmen. The sad thing is, a lot of people have acquaintances, not friends. Sad thing is, a lot of people dont have someone nearby to call if their life comes crashing in. Like the great theologian Bill Withers sang, We all need somebody to lean on. If you are new here...and looking for a community that cares, we welcome you. And we are people that bring healing, we are a church that heals, simply by telling people about Jesus, introducing them to Jesus, and sharing our lives with them. People who have not belonged, who are lonely and hurting, who have been shut out and excluded, find a home here with us, and find the healing Christ wants for them. We are Christs heart to them. And heres the thing - we welcome people into this community not only so they can find friends and people who love and care about them - most importantly, we welcome them 5

so they can know and worship God through Jesus Christ - so they can have a relationship with Jesus who called his followers his friends. Third dimension of healing - finding our true identity So - back to the beginning of our reading - for a moment, try to imagine again what it would be like, to be born in the ancient world, unable to walk. You cant produce anything. Youll never get married and have a family. Youre a drain on society and you subsist on little coins people throw at you. You feel worthless. Well, one dimension of the healing the Jesus brings is restoring dignity and worth to human beings. Did it over and over again in his ministry. Does it again here through Peter and John. Still does it today. James Loder, in his book The Logic of the Spirit, talks about a woman with whom he had been in a therapeutic relationship for years. This womans underlying issue seemed to be a complete sense of rejection by her mother. She had never experienced her mothers unconditional love. This woman described an experience where she went back to the day she was born. The delivery room was cold. She saw her mother laying there looking at her with contempt. And suddenly, a warm light filled the room. Jesus picked her up moments after her birth and looked at her adoringly. Jesus kissed her and swung her around in delight. Jesus had replaced her mother at her birth. She saw his eyes looking at her as if she were his only child. Rejection had been replaced by sheer joy. After this transforming experience, the hurt of being rejected by her mother did not magically go away, but it was no longer debilitating for her. The rejection had been redeemed. And she was able to live out of a place of knowing that even though her mother had failed her, her mother Jesus had given her new birth. No matter how youve failed or screwed up or what people have said about or where and how you grew up or how youve been abused and let down and stomped on - Jesus Christ looks at you with eyes of love and confidence. Your worth flows from his love - if the one through whom the whole universe was created, if the one who died for the whole world, loves and wants you - that trumps all the failures and screw-ups, that can heal all the rejection and abuse. We are a people that bring healing, a community that brings healing, by telling them about Jesus, and by how we love and accept them, with the love of Jesus Christ. And were able to do that, when we open our hearts and are changed that same love.

Closing Get congregation to get close to one another Bow heads in prayer and reach out and touch someone on shoulder. Remind them that they are the healing presence of Christ to one another. Now, imagine the hand touching your shoulder, is that hand of Christ reaching to you through the body of Christ, and that God is saying to you, You are not alone. You belong here. You can find safety and healing here. Now, think of someone who maybe recently, maybe a long time ago, maybe in this church, maybe someplace else, who had ministered to you and helped you find salvation, healing, help, comfort, when you needed it. Think for a moment, and when I say go, mention that persons name as a thank-you prayer to God. Ready? Go! Finally...think about how your hand is the presence of Christ to others. And now think of one person or family that needs your help right now. And make a promise to God that through Christs power, youll do something to help. And in silence, say their name as a way to seal that promise.