Sunday, May 31, 2015

Teaching and Fellowship

Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with who the covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4the pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices on those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I sent, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I, send me!”

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Acts 2:22-24, 37-47
22You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know - 23this man, handed over yo you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord of God calls to him.” 40And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons where added. 42They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

43Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45they would seek their possession and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day be day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

The popular picture of prophets portrays them as ever-righteous, unwavering monuments of faith. Isaiah and Peter have both taken on almost mythic status, men who spoke to hundreds and left an indelible mark on their faith communities.

Well their legacy is powerful, but I'm not convinced that perfection is a prerequisite for prophetic ministry. I think if God waited for a flawless human to speak on his behalf, the Bible would be a fair sight shorter.

I think of the obnoxiousness of Amos, the arrogance of Paul, the PTSD of Jeremiah, the weirdness of Ezekiel, the stubbornness of Jonah, the outright abuse in Hosea, and I'm convinced that prophets are not flawless specimens of humanity. They're as broken as the rest of us. Even Peter, on whose testimony the church is built, was prone to say incredibly stupid things...

Prophets are picked for a particular purpose, and their formation throughout their lives shapes their voice as they proclaim the Word of The Lord. So Peter's overeagerness leads him to take charge and speak to a murmuring crowd at Pentecost. So Isaiah's unclean lips lead him to become a mouthpiece for The Lord of hosts. So a church with a history of division is called to embody unity in Christ.

The church began, as we see in scripture, in Jerusalem, among the people whom God had already called to covenant. “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: “ Peter spoke from amid the cacophony of a crowd, teaching truth: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know - this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.” From there it spread, inviting the church to grow in diversity, reflecting the image of God which is beyond the scope of any one way of being human.

For our triune God is in community within Godself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church is called to testify to who God is by being a community that is distinct, but inseparable in the truth. ”Like as God has gathered you into one peculiar people heretofore by his voice, so that same voice shall sound everywhere, that those which are far off may come and join themselves to you…" We are gathered here by God’s definite plan and foreknowledge, so that the glory of the Triune God may shine through us.

Like the prophets before us and among us, this congregation, and every member of it, has been picked for a purpose. Each person connected with this gathered body has been given a portion of the voice that spoke through the apostles at Pentecost. We gather together to proclaim the gospel and to give hope to all people, through the voice we have been given.

When the convicted crowd cries out “Brothers, what should we do?” The church responds by inviting them to join their newborn community. Peter’s call to repentance does not mean rejecting everything about your personality, it means dedicating who we are, both gifts and flaws, to the service of Jesus Christ, whom God raised up, "having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.” Turning away from sin is a part of repentance, sure. But the focus, as with all aspects of the Christian life, is on God. Peter calls upon the crowd to turn to God and live as people who are already forgiven. ”Here is salvation, not as earnest human striving but salvation beyond such striving, salvation which only comes as the call and work of the Spirit…"

God the Holy Spirit sustains us as a community, God the Son redeems us and defines our identity as people of the Word, and God the Father creates us and builds up the kingdom through us. The God who is in community with Godself calls us to be a covenant community, extending the promise to all peoples that we may share fellowship with one another and with Christ our Lord. “…Those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons where added. They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

We are rooted in our particular tradition, and we emerge imperfect, but made whole through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a church, we are growing closer to one another and to God. So we devote ourselves to the apostle’s teaching so that we are not pulled away from our identity as the people of God. “The church is not to drift from one momentary emotional outburst to the next... rather the church moves immediately to the task of teaching, keeping itself straight about what it is and what it is to be about.”


We are to be about God, who calls imperfect people to himself, and who builds up a community to testify to the world what love can do. For our hearts of stone are broken, and we have been given hearts for love alone, so that when God calls us saying “Whom shall I sent, and who will go for us?” We can respond with faith that comes from the Holy Spirit, saying, “Here am I, send me!”

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