Who?
Sermon
Sermons on the First Readings
Series II, Cycle C
Object:
My guess is that unless you're a fan of Elizabethan theater you've never heard of Robert Greene (1560?-1592). In his day, however, he was a well-known and respected poet and essayist. His best-known play, "Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay," remained popular for decades. Yet, for the most part, he is remembered solely for one phrase in a pamphlet written on his deathbed, in which he lashed out at everybody and everything. In that one passage he characterized the young William Shakespeare as "an upstart crow"for supposing he could write without a college education. As it turns out, Will could.
For better or worse, many people who were extraordinarily famous in their day are all but forgotten now, except for their connection to someone famous. What do we really know about Stephen
A. Douglas except that he debated Abraham Lincoln? How about Thomas Dewey? He was a major political figure of the middle part of the twentieth century, but the main reason he is remembered is because of a photograph of Harry S. Truman, the newly re-elected president of the United States, gleefully holding up the incorrect headline that read: "Dewey Defeats Truman."
The same might be said for Gamaliel, a first-century rabbi and teacher. In the Mishnah, a second-century Jewish commentary on scripture, he is especially revered. There it is said that "when he died the glory of the Torah ended."
However, for most Christians his fame rests only upon his oft-quoted remark in the book of Acts. At the time, the apostles were warned by religious authorities that they were to stop teaching about Jesus, or face dire consequences. Perhaps this command came because the authorities feared that the disciples of Jesus would draw the ire of the Roman authorities who would interpret their plan to turn the world upside down as open rebellion against the Empire. More likely, however, it was jealousy for the power these disciples brought to their preaching. The apostles disobeyed this command, saying, "We must obey God rather than any human authority" (Acts 5:29).
The Rabbi Gamaliel cites two instances in which false teachers were eventually discredited and their followers scattered. "So in the present case," Gamaliel says, "I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them -- in that case you may even be found fighting against God" (Acts 5:38-39).
There's a little mystery involved in this scene. Luke is a careful historian. For much of the latter part of his book he himself was present. For other scenes it is easy to guess which of the apostles or participants might have been his source. But Gamaliel's famous saying was part of a closed court session. Gamaliel seems to have wanted to slow down the Sanhedrin before they did something rash, so he spoke to them in private. Who might have heard this scene so that Luke could report it? Perhaps, and this is just a guess on the part of some Bible readers, it was one of Gamaliel's pupils -- none other than Saul, who would later have his life changed on the road to Damascus! (cf. Acts 22:3).
Put simply, Gamaliel suggests that when it comes to innovations in the practice of faith, time will tell. The perspective of the present moment is a lot like a large plain, so flat that it's difficult to get a good look at things. Let enough time go by and it's as if we have climbed a mountain. Suddenly we can see everything laid out before us and things make sense.
Prophets come among us and challenge our comfortable assumptions. Most of us want to be let alone. The tendency is to attempt to discredit these prophets instead of listening to them. Take the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a Christian minister who preached nonviolent resistance to the racism that was accepted in his day. Even people who thought racism was a bad thing assumed there was nothing to be done about it.
Along came King, and some political and religious leaders tried to discredit him as a person, rather than consider his message. The FBI tried to destroy his reputation. Racists, preachers, and politicians, screamed and hollered.
But in Birmingham, Alabama, some religious leaders who were not racists simply encouraged him to go away and not disturb things, much like the religious leaders of Jerusalem who did not want the apostles upsetting the apple cart. Martin Luther King's famed "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is addressed to these people. Folks probably a lot like us.
There are many examples of people who stood up to the authorities, and were proven right, even though at the time everyone thought they were wrong. Take the case of Ralph and Mary Smeltzer, teachers who lived in Southern California in the middle of the twentieth century. They are good examples of those who suffered dishonor for the name of Jesus and yet were vindicated in the end. The two stood up for the victims of Japanese American internment during World War II, receiving death threats because they spoke out against the internment, quit their jobs in the public school systems so they could teach in the internment camps, and later helped relocate many of those interned to other parts of the country.
Later, they worked with such major Christian civil rights leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Andrew Young. They were criticized by the church's mainstream for defending the rights of outsiders and minorities. Yet, history shows they were on the right side, while those who counseled against helping Japanese Americans and African Americans have been proven wrong, wrong, wrong.
Another good example of a Christian with a great idea who found opposition at first was Dan West (1893-1971), from the state of Indiana. He was a Christian aid worker in Spain in 1936 during their Civil War. West agonized over the life and death decisions involving the cups of powdered milk he gave to starving children. There was never enough milk, and infants that received no milk died. He realized: "These children don't need a cup, they need a cow." If only, he thought to himself, he could bring some of the cows from his native Indiana to hungry people then they could produce their own milk. And then he wondered -- why not do exactly that?
Then he got another idea -- why not send impregnated cows so those who received the gift of life in the name of Jesus Christ could pass it along to another and become part of the chain? When he first approached Christian aid groups in England with the idea there was some enthusiasm, until he explained that he intended to feed people on both sides of the coming World War. Christians refused to help.
West returned home to Indiana in 1938. He told dairy farmers who belonged to his denomination, the Church of the Brethren, about his idea. Some were frightened by his idea, and called him a Communist. In those days that word could destroy a person's reputation. But others thought the idea so good, and so obvious, they wondered why no one had thought of it earlier. Cows were quickly donated by the Indiana farmers. The first three were named Faith, Hope, and Charity. It took a while for the program to get off the ground, and the first cows actually went to Puerto Rico, rather than Europe where they were intended. But when World War II ended, West and the others began to wage peace. Animals were shipped to people on both sides of the conflict. The idea grew, and many churches were invited to join in the ecumenical organization known today as Heifer International.
Millions of animals of all sorts have been given to people in 128 different countries, but the mission -- providing a future with hope by working in partnership with the hungry to help provide a long-term source of food in the name of Jesus -- has remained unchanged.
The fact is, every idea goes through three basic stages. Stage 1 is "It will never work." Stage 2 is "It might work, but it's not worth doing." Stage 3 is "I'm glad I thought of it."
We see this not only in the groundbreaking work of the prophets, but even in advances in the way we worship. This is especially true when it comes to music, where people are always ready to circle the wagons to protect the church from heresy!
Thomas Ken (1637-1711) lived in a time when the established English churches believed the only songs that might be sung in church were metrical arrangements of the psalms and other scriptures. What we know as hymns were considered blasphemous, because it was thought people were trying to write new scriptures.
In 1672, he wrote Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College. Included was a twelve-stanza song called "Awake My Soul And With The Sun." Ken insisted that the boys who learned these songs sing them only in their rooms and not in church, in order to avoid giving offense.
This song, which was forbidden to be sung in church, is now perhaps sung in church more than any other song in the English language -- at least the last stanza is! You know it better as the Doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In the past some churches have taken stands against pianos and organs. There was a time when familiar hymns such as "I Love To Tell The Story" or "The Old Rugged Cross" were considered new hymns. No doubt people stood four-square against them, pleading with others to sing "the old hymns of the church"! Now these are the old hymns, and we find that some speak out against praise choruses, drums and guitars, or what are truly the old hymns of the church -- chants, Gregorian or otherwise!
Despite Gamaliel's warning, the apostles were beaten before they were released with the warning that they were to stop preaching about Jesus. But the followers of Jesus had no intention of following this order. As Luke tells us, "As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah"(Acts 5:41-42).
So where will you stand with regard to the prophets in our midst? Will you criticize every idea simply because it is new? Will you stand against people who call us to social and economic justice, hallmarks of the ministry of Jesus? Remember, it was Jesus who, when he came home to Nazareth, unrolled the Isaiah scroll, and read: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19).
Those who do follow Jesus can expect opposition, suffering, and even death. Some of the apostles who stood up to the authorities were themselves killed for their faith. Many of the reformers who tried to help lead the church back to our roots were themselves killed.
Certainly the apostles themselves suffered. Gamaliel seems to have counseled a nonviolent course -- but though the religious authorities did not kill the apostles, as they had planned, they did have them lashed 39 times. Still, as Luke notes, "As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name" (Acts 5:41).
Now, as then, believers have to expect some opposition when they preach the gospel. And now, as then, believers should show some tolerance and patience for unusual witness. If we are not ready to accept the honor of being persecuted for God's good news of justice, peace, and salvation, then can we at least, as Gamaliel counsels, stand to the side while new innovations are brought to worship and praise. Can we stand to the side while others forget trials in the mission field, and still others serve in the name of Jesus by defending death row inmates, pleading for the poor, and accompanying the outcasts who seek redress from civil authorities?
As Gamaliel warned, if something is not of God, it will fail in time. But do you really want to be found standing in the way of God's will? Amen.
For better or worse, many people who were extraordinarily famous in their day are all but forgotten now, except for their connection to someone famous. What do we really know about Stephen
A. Douglas except that he debated Abraham Lincoln? How about Thomas Dewey? He was a major political figure of the middle part of the twentieth century, but the main reason he is remembered is because of a photograph of Harry S. Truman, the newly re-elected president of the United States, gleefully holding up the incorrect headline that read: "Dewey Defeats Truman."
The same might be said for Gamaliel, a first-century rabbi and teacher. In the Mishnah, a second-century Jewish commentary on scripture, he is especially revered. There it is said that "when he died the glory of the Torah ended."
However, for most Christians his fame rests only upon his oft-quoted remark in the book of Acts. At the time, the apostles were warned by religious authorities that they were to stop teaching about Jesus, or face dire consequences. Perhaps this command came because the authorities feared that the disciples of Jesus would draw the ire of the Roman authorities who would interpret their plan to turn the world upside down as open rebellion against the Empire. More likely, however, it was jealousy for the power these disciples brought to their preaching. The apostles disobeyed this command, saying, "We must obey God rather than any human authority" (Acts 5:29).
The Rabbi Gamaliel cites two instances in which false teachers were eventually discredited and their followers scattered. "So in the present case," Gamaliel says, "I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them -- in that case you may even be found fighting against God" (Acts 5:38-39).
There's a little mystery involved in this scene. Luke is a careful historian. For much of the latter part of his book he himself was present. For other scenes it is easy to guess which of the apostles or participants might have been his source. But Gamaliel's famous saying was part of a closed court session. Gamaliel seems to have wanted to slow down the Sanhedrin before they did something rash, so he spoke to them in private. Who might have heard this scene so that Luke could report it? Perhaps, and this is just a guess on the part of some Bible readers, it was one of Gamaliel's pupils -- none other than Saul, who would later have his life changed on the road to Damascus! (cf. Acts 22:3).
Put simply, Gamaliel suggests that when it comes to innovations in the practice of faith, time will tell. The perspective of the present moment is a lot like a large plain, so flat that it's difficult to get a good look at things. Let enough time go by and it's as if we have climbed a mountain. Suddenly we can see everything laid out before us and things make sense.
Prophets come among us and challenge our comfortable assumptions. Most of us want to be let alone. The tendency is to attempt to discredit these prophets instead of listening to them. Take the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a Christian minister who preached nonviolent resistance to the racism that was accepted in his day. Even people who thought racism was a bad thing assumed there was nothing to be done about it.
Along came King, and some political and religious leaders tried to discredit him as a person, rather than consider his message. The FBI tried to destroy his reputation. Racists, preachers, and politicians, screamed and hollered.
But in Birmingham, Alabama, some religious leaders who were not racists simply encouraged him to go away and not disturb things, much like the religious leaders of Jerusalem who did not want the apostles upsetting the apple cart. Martin Luther King's famed "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is addressed to these people. Folks probably a lot like us.
There are many examples of people who stood up to the authorities, and were proven right, even though at the time everyone thought they were wrong. Take the case of Ralph and Mary Smeltzer, teachers who lived in Southern California in the middle of the twentieth century. They are good examples of those who suffered dishonor for the name of Jesus and yet were vindicated in the end. The two stood up for the victims of Japanese American internment during World War II, receiving death threats because they spoke out against the internment, quit their jobs in the public school systems so they could teach in the internment camps, and later helped relocate many of those interned to other parts of the country.
Later, they worked with such major Christian civil rights leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Andrew Young. They were criticized by the church's mainstream for defending the rights of outsiders and minorities. Yet, history shows they were on the right side, while those who counseled against helping Japanese Americans and African Americans have been proven wrong, wrong, wrong.
Another good example of a Christian with a great idea who found opposition at first was Dan West (1893-1971), from the state of Indiana. He was a Christian aid worker in Spain in 1936 during their Civil War. West agonized over the life and death decisions involving the cups of powdered milk he gave to starving children. There was never enough milk, and infants that received no milk died. He realized: "These children don't need a cup, they need a cow." If only, he thought to himself, he could bring some of the cows from his native Indiana to hungry people then they could produce their own milk. And then he wondered -- why not do exactly that?
Then he got another idea -- why not send impregnated cows so those who received the gift of life in the name of Jesus Christ could pass it along to another and become part of the chain? When he first approached Christian aid groups in England with the idea there was some enthusiasm, until he explained that he intended to feed people on both sides of the coming World War. Christians refused to help.
West returned home to Indiana in 1938. He told dairy farmers who belonged to his denomination, the Church of the Brethren, about his idea. Some were frightened by his idea, and called him a Communist. In those days that word could destroy a person's reputation. But others thought the idea so good, and so obvious, they wondered why no one had thought of it earlier. Cows were quickly donated by the Indiana farmers. The first three were named Faith, Hope, and Charity. It took a while for the program to get off the ground, and the first cows actually went to Puerto Rico, rather than Europe where they were intended. But when World War II ended, West and the others began to wage peace. Animals were shipped to people on both sides of the conflict. The idea grew, and many churches were invited to join in the ecumenical organization known today as Heifer International.
Millions of animals of all sorts have been given to people in 128 different countries, but the mission -- providing a future with hope by working in partnership with the hungry to help provide a long-term source of food in the name of Jesus -- has remained unchanged.
The fact is, every idea goes through three basic stages. Stage 1 is "It will never work." Stage 2 is "It might work, but it's not worth doing." Stage 3 is "I'm glad I thought of it."
We see this not only in the groundbreaking work of the prophets, but even in advances in the way we worship. This is especially true when it comes to music, where people are always ready to circle the wagons to protect the church from heresy!
Thomas Ken (1637-1711) lived in a time when the established English churches believed the only songs that might be sung in church were metrical arrangements of the psalms and other scriptures. What we know as hymns were considered blasphemous, because it was thought people were trying to write new scriptures.
In 1672, he wrote Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College. Included was a twelve-stanza song called "Awake My Soul And With The Sun." Ken insisted that the boys who learned these songs sing them only in their rooms and not in church, in order to avoid giving offense.
This song, which was forbidden to be sung in church, is now perhaps sung in church more than any other song in the English language -- at least the last stanza is! You know it better as the Doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In the past some churches have taken stands against pianos and organs. There was a time when familiar hymns such as "I Love To Tell The Story" or "The Old Rugged Cross" were considered new hymns. No doubt people stood four-square against them, pleading with others to sing "the old hymns of the church"! Now these are the old hymns, and we find that some speak out against praise choruses, drums and guitars, or what are truly the old hymns of the church -- chants, Gregorian or otherwise!
Despite Gamaliel's warning, the apostles were beaten before they were released with the warning that they were to stop preaching about Jesus. But the followers of Jesus had no intention of following this order. As Luke tells us, "As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah"(Acts 5:41-42).
So where will you stand with regard to the prophets in our midst? Will you criticize every idea simply because it is new? Will you stand against people who call us to social and economic justice, hallmarks of the ministry of Jesus? Remember, it was Jesus who, when he came home to Nazareth, unrolled the Isaiah scroll, and read: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19).
Those who do follow Jesus can expect opposition, suffering, and even death. Some of the apostles who stood up to the authorities were themselves killed for their faith. Many of the reformers who tried to help lead the church back to our roots were themselves killed.
Certainly the apostles themselves suffered. Gamaliel seems to have counseled a nonviolent course -- but though the religious authorities did not kill the apostles, as they had planned, they did have them lashed 39 times. Still, as Luke notes, "As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name" (Acts 5:41).
Now, as then, believers have to expect some opposition when they preach the gospel. And now, as then, believers should show some tolerance and patience for unusual witness. If we are not ready to accept the honor of being persecuted for God's good news of justice, peace, and salvation, then can we at least, as Gamaliel counsels, stand to the side while new innovations are brought to worship and praise. Can we stand to the side while others forget trials in the mission field, and still others serve in the name of Jesus by defending death row inmates, pleading for the poor, and accompanying the outcasts who seek redress from civil authorities?
As Gamaliel warned, if something is not of God, it will fail in time. But do you really want to be found standing in the way of God's will? Amen.
