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We've been reading the beginning of the Book of Acts the last few Sundays. 

At the Beautiful Gate - Acts 3: 1-11; Isaiah 35: 1-7 - May 30, 2010 - Cicero United
Methodist Church - Everett J. Bassett

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            We've been reading the beginning of the Book of Acts the last few Sundays. Acts, chapter 1, described the in-between time between Easter and Pentecost, and we talked about that over three weeks of sermons. Last week, on Pentecost Sunday, we read the second chapter of Acts, and Darryl Barrow led us to understand how God sent the universal language of love, and the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit, and formed a community of faith, generosity and praise.

            Today we continue into Acts 3, where the author of Acts, uses one of the earliest stories of the church to show us how the power of the Holy Spirit began to make amazing things happen. The idea that we have power in our lives is hard sometimes to grasp; there are so many things that seem out of our control - so many forces in the economy and the political situation and in the directions of society that seem unchangeable. We often feel more frustration than power. But the book of Acts is about God's people living with power. I'd like to invite us to read that story more closely, and to notice how the Spirit of God brings power to our lives, and how we can make the most of it.

            Verse One of Acts 3 says, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the
hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon." The first thing we notice in this story, then, is Peter and John claiming the power of their faith-roots. Peter and John are going to the temple at prayer-time, the way good Jews do. Last week we talked about Pentecost as the birthday of the church, because the coming of the Holy Spirit started something so new and wonderful. But it wasn't the birthday of God - God had been doing many wonderful things long before the church came along. The coming of the Holy Spirit wasn't a cancellation or denial of the past. It was, instead, an extension, and a conclusion of a story of love and salvation that had poured from God for a long time. And the temple was the great emblem of that story. And Peter and John, filled with passion for this new thing God was doing, longed to keep it grounded in the faith they knew.

            There is a lot of spirituality these days - these are very spiritual times. But much of it
isn't grounded anywhere. Much of it is very inward directed, and intentionally unattached to any kind of tradition. It can still have beautiful moments, and lead to some good feelings and some good actions. But there are some problems with it. If our spirituality is not grounded in any kind of proven tradition, then it can be pretty fleeting. It can flit from one bestselling self-help program to the next, without effecting any lasting change. Much of the spirituality we see today is more like a leaf floating in the wind than one that is attached to the tree. Without grounding in a community of believers, and in a proven history of God's love, we can, quite simply, get it wrong. And that's not to say that traditional faith always gets it right. But it has a better chance of keeping us humble, challenged, and inspired than a purely private faith. That's what we offer each other in the church, when things are going right. And there's a power here that we can't get alone - a synergy that not only keeps us on track, but multiplies what any of us can accomplish
in this life. And Peter and John, despite everything new that had happened, wanted to stay grounded in that power. They went to the temple.

            Verse Two says, " ... a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple." It's important to consider the experience of that man, and the social stigma attached to physical disability in biblical times. Today we are much more appreciative of diversity, and the way all of us are differently-abled, and the grace that adds to all of our lives. But in biblical times, that wasn't understood, and a disabled person was more likely to be treated like an outcast. For example, a lame man was not entitled to be a priest, by Old Testament law. Lameness, like many disabilities, would have been connected with sin and punishment in many peoples' minds, and this man was 'lame from birth.' In other words, being treated like a second-class citizen was the only life he had ever known. A hard way to live. But it was a good location. People coming to pray can be very compassionate, and Verse Three tells us that 'When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms.'

            I think Verse Four is remarkable, and is the heart of this story. It reads like this: "Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, 'Look at us.' And he fixed his attention on them ... " And if we are searching this story for the sources of power that we can use in our lives, I think it begins right here. I imagine hundreds of people walked by that man every day. If they were regulars through that gate, they were used to hearing his voice cry out. The vast majority, I imagine, avoided eye contact, or didn't pay any attention. Occasionally, someone threw a coin and hurried on, with a furtive glance, and without any real connection with the man. We have all been in that situation where we see the person holding the sign on the street comer, and the question, 'Do I make eye contact, or not?' But with Peter and John, this was not going to be an impersonal transaction; it was going to be a personal interaction. The first thing they made sure of was that they really saw the man, and the man really saw them.

            Jesus healed many people, and if you look back at the stories, it is amazing how personal the interactions were. And in many cases, it is hard to say what is the bigger blessing for the person - the physical healing, or the personal Savior who looked at them with compassion. These were not fly-by-night events, but personal interactions.

            If you project that principle forward to us, it really asks a challenging question. We are a generous church; you help people in multiple ways. Every Sunday's offering supports mission work near and far. The discretionary fund you provide when you put money in the plate as you come forward for Communion gives assistance to people in many different circumstances. You are generous when we take special offerings for many different causes. By their very nature, most of those are impersonal transactions- we rarely meet the person who could bring their child to a health clinic because of our offerings; or the United Methodist missionary who was there to advocate for clean water when no one else would. This is critical financial support that we are asked to give, that benefits people we will never meet. Financial support for those in need is important -- sometimes most important - sometimes it is all we can do. But I think we are also
always challenged to seek those times when we can go one step further - those times when we can truly Look at the person, and they can look at us. Because those times when we stop to truly look at a person - who they are, what are their challenges, what does it take for them to survive, what can we learn from them -- those are the personal interactions that change our hearts, and, by the way, that's what God wants to do.

            It's no newsflash to say that we live in a time when human contact is endangered. I love technology, but it's unsettling how easily we can pick up the phone, and carry on whole transactions without talking to anybody. In our Sunday School today there are young people who would be surprised to learn that there was a time when you couldn't fill your car with gas without talking to somebody. Now we do it all the time. On our computers we can carry on whole conversations, we can go to on-line parties, order groceries, reserve hotels and airplanes - and not look a single person in the eye.

            So it seems to me to be important to note that Peter said two healing things to the lame
man that day: He said, 'In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk,' and those were very healing words. There is no question that the source of power here is the name of Jesus. But how does that really work? Because we can't just walk around spouting Jesus' name, and expecting miracles-on-order. I believe more often than not the power comes by the way Jesus calls people to relationships of dignity and love. And that's why, in the name of Jesus, power can come to a nation - because people will finally look at each other and respect each other. It's why, in the name of Jesus, power can come to a household - because people are not just ships passing in the night, they are intimately caring for each other. It's why, in the name of Jesus, power comes to a church - because people are living in the spirit of the God who knows each of us by name, and the Savior who died for each of us on the cross, and promised to be there whenever two or more are gathered in His name - that is, in communities of intimate respect and love.

The gift given in the name of Jesus to that man who had spent his life peering up at people hurrying by wasn't just the ability to walk, it was human intimacy and dignity - and that may have been the most healing thing. Notice how in verse 11 of Acts 3, after the miracle has happened, that this newly healed man isn't running down the streets, going to all the places he has never been able to visit. Instead, in the word used by the NRSV, he is 'clinging' to Peter and John. When someone treats you with dignity and respect, that's someone you want to be around.

            And there is, someplace near you, someone who needs the healing of human dignity, human compassion, to know that someone cares. In today's hurry up, high-tech world, evangelism isn't hard to figure out. People are hungry for bridges to other human beings. And Jesus can walk across those bridges. How can you reach out to someone?

            One closing thought about this scripture. The gate where this event took place is called the Beautiful Gate in the story, and that is puzzling. There is no such gate named in any other Jewish source about the Temple. But I think that's almost a better thing. Because the Beautiful Gate is wherever two or more are gathered, and the spirit of Christ is shared. In such places and times, healing takes place. Lives are changed. New hope arises. May this church be such a gate. May your life be filled with such places. And may God's power fill us all and help us to see each other. If that is the case, then in the name of Jesus Christ miracles will happen, and the gate will be Beautiful.