EASTER
2-A
30 March AD 2008
What Did the Apostle Really Say?
Assigned
reading: Acts 5:29-42, 1 Peter 1:3-9 (3)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According
to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
If not good old..., then let's call him wise ol' Gamaliel, Pharisee.
He is respected by all. Over the years he has learned more than
a thing or two, one of them being you can't put God in a box and
say, this is how the Almighty is going to act. The moment you
do that, of course, God will behave in an altogether different
manner and something contrary to the laws of nature or reason
is bound to happen.
Gamaliel
is talking to the Council. The Council has gathered over their
concern about the teaching of the Apostles; what they say about
Jesus has spread through all of Jerusalem. It seems as if the
Apostles are laying the blame for Jesus' death at their feet.
Some of its members think they need to be stamped out. Gamaliel
has seen enough bloodshed in his lifetime, however. Experience
has shown that messiahs and false prophets come and go all on
their own. The elder realizes that you can't control everything,
and someday you might find yourself opposing God.
But has anyone
heard, really heard-that is listened to what the Apostles are
say-ing? Yes, they speak about the death of Jesus; but not for
the purpose of blaming the ruling the ruling council. They are
preaching God's unexpected work in the death and resurrection
of Jesus, the very thing Gamaliel would leave as an open possibility.
"The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed...
God exalted him at his right hand as [Prince] and Savior, to give
repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:30-31)
As is so
often the case, people don't listen. They only hear what they
want to hear and see only what they want to see. You might think
that identifying Jesus as a "leader" or a prince would
have caught their attention. It doesn't. But aren't we just as
bad? Okay, we do get the part about God exalting Jesus, the resurrection,
and about his being our prince-leader, the promised messiah. But
we often miss the good stuff.
The good
stuff in this case is God's gift of repentance, v. 31. Peter claims
that "God gives repentance and forgiveness of sins."
These are spiritual gifts from God. To us then it would seem as
if the Almighty rewards us for receiving his own gifts. And I
might add, that's how I see it. This peculiar way of speaking
is not uncommon to scripture. I've particularly seen this word
pattern in regard to faith and repentance in Paul's writings.
Listen:
" Romans
5:11 we have "received reconciliation"
Now usually we are urged to "make reconciliation," or
"to be reconciled" to one another, as though we are
the active parties. Not here; in Romans 5 reconciliation is received
as gift from God.
" Acts 11:18 God "gives (or grants) repentance"
also to the Gentiles
We tend to think that repentance comes from within a person, that
it is born from our own remorse. But it can't, can it? In the
language of Paul we are spiritually "dead in trespasses and
sin." We're so spiritually dead that Jesus calls for a new
birth (John 3). David, in Psalm 51, asks God for the gift of a
new heart, and a new spirit.
Also:
o Romans 2:4 God's kindness "leads you to repentance"
o 2 Tim 2:25 Paul prays that God "may grant [sinners] repentance"
through Timothy's ministry
In the language
of the Bible, it's not until the Holy Spirit has gotten hold of
some-one's heart and begun his work that repentance happens. Repentance
and faith therefore are gifts from God to us. We sinners can only
receive these gifts with open and empty hands. Now that our ears
are finely tuned to the language of God, we can hear the truly
good news. Listen to the apostle:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and
unfading, kept in heaven for you..."
You heard
it right, God caused this new birth. To it, he adds faith in the
vicarious suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This
faith is rewarded with the hope of everlasting life and heaven.
What did our Lord say about those who have? "They will receive
even more." (Mt. 25:29) The heavenly evangelist, St. John
says that from Christ's fullness we have received "grace
upon grace," that is gift on top of gift! (Jn. 1:16)
Overwhelmed
with joy, you give thanks. You should! That's what all the Easter
morning alleluias are about. That's why the apostles will not
shut up about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our shouts
of joy and exuberance on Easter are our way of saying thanks for
something that would never have come about if we were left to
ourselves. Yes, if God just left us alone we would live our lives
and that would be it. But God does not leave us alone, he does
not leave us to our own devices. He rescues us. In Jesus' death
he pays the price of our sins and by his resurrection, he give
us the hope of a better life, a new life, a life undeserved, a
life unearned, life as a Gift. By grace alone.
Our response
is that word that I've been waiting all Lent to utter. Alleluia!
Christ is
risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Hamburg, NJ 07419
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