The Spirit Facing Idols - Acts 14: 8-18 - August 14, 2011- Cicero United Methodist Church - Everett J. Bassett

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            Sharon and I had an exciting celebrity spotting this past year. We were in New York City attending a play on Broadway. Of course, it was Broadway -- the play we were paying to see already had some famous actors. But the bonus came about five minutes before curtain time, when we looked up and in walked Jim Carrey, with a fashion model on his arm, coming to see the play. And he sat down about four rows in front of us. Sharon wanted to take his picture; I wanted to run up to him and say, "Al-righty then!" But it was New York, and he had a big bodyguard with him, so everybody kind of acted cool.

            But I did feel sorry for the usher. Obviously Carrey and his date wanted to slip in somewhat unnoticed; but their seats were in the middle of a row where they had to climb over a bunch of people. And then, the nervous usher sent them down the wrong row. So when they got down to the center, there were no seats. They had to turn around and make their way back to the aisle, and by now half the theater had noticed them. Carrey good-naturedly turned to the usher and said, "I'll get you for this." Now, I suspect Jim Carrey is a nice guy. (At least he plays one in the movies). But there are some famous people that would want to have the usher's head, or at least his job, for that mistake. Anyways, when Sharon and I got home, it was a toss-up whether the first thing we'd tell people was, "We saw a great play," or "We saw Jim Carrey." He was, after all, just a guy going to a show. But he's a celebrity.

            Also last year, I had the chance to chat on a stairway with one of the great Old Testament scholars, whose books I have read for decades. And you'd think that would be more important to share in a sermon. But here I am talking about Jim Carrey - because he's a celebrity, which means someone who is celebrated. And I think it must say a lot about a society to look at the people who are celebrated. The fact is, more people would pay attention to what Jim Carrey says than what that Bible scholar says.

            A couple years ago, after the death of Anna Nicole Smith, the commentator Anna Quindlen wrote a column about it. She asked why Smith became famous - the cover of magazines, gallons of ink in tabloids, got her own TV program - the whole deal. Yet she was not really an actress; not really a model. She had been a Playboy bunny who married a very rich man old enough to be her great-grandfather, and that made her famous. And that's where we are. We live in the age when there are people we can name who are famous just because they're famous. In a novel by Don Delillo, the main characters see a billboard with the picture of an old barn on it, billed as "The World's Most Photographed Barn." So they go to see it, and people are gathered around it taking pictures. They get out with their cameras. And then they drive away and continue their trip. And nobody ever asks the question: "Why is this barn famous?" It's the world's most photographed barn - that's all.

            Anna Quindlen, writing about Anna Nicole Smith, says that there was a time in small-town America when neighbors knew each other well enough to gossip. Someone would be selected - perhaps the woman who didn't pull her shades down far enough, or the prominent man who drank a little too much - and that person would be the entertainment in the buzz around the water cooler, or in the church parking lot, or the beauty parlor. Everybody knew that that kind of gossip was wrong, and it would be softened by the fact that you might very well run into that person in the grocery store; there could be eye contact, maybe even greetings, and you would feel a little ashamed, and that was a good thing.

            Now however, says Quindlen, we don't know our neighbors well enough to gossip about them. But we do have television. And we do have the Internet. And so we have Anna Nicole Smith; and we have Brittney Spears; and we have the Kardashian sisters: and we have papparrazi following them around to show us where they had dinner tonight, who they're hanging around with, what bar they frequented, and how they look on the beach these days - so we can still gossip. The difference, of course, is that we will never have to look them in the eyes, so we can gossip without guilt. We can put them on a pedestal, and then we can knock them down. And they play that game with us. The somewhat scary image that Quindlen uses is that it's almost the feeling of seeing them through the scope of a rifle; they are fair game. First we worship them; and then we take pleasure in shooting them down.

            I've often wondered how much of this phenomenon came into play with Jesus. From many descriptions in the New Testament, we can say that Jesus was a celebrity. He was celebrated when he arrived in a town; his reputation had preceded him. Great crowds gathered - thousands of people in little old Galilee. He tried to avoid it. He drew apart; he dispersed and avoided the crowds when he could - maybe because he knew that the bigger the crowds, the less understood he would be. The more his words and deeds would be distorted. And yet, the adoration was temporary. Even the ones who had known him as Joseph's son in Nazareth seemed to resent him when he became famous. And those crowds that celebrated him? Were some of them in that crowd that later cried, "Crucify him"? Or who made fun of him while he hung on the cross? Was the fact that Jesus was famous the reason so many could heap scorn upon him without feeling guilt or shame? Was it the reason he would not let them make him king or general? Or worship him on top of the mountain? Was it the reason he would not give in to the second temptation - where Satan offered him the worship of all the people of the world? I think Jesus understood the dynamics of fame, and he wanted to avoid shallow celebrity status.

            But even more than that, Jesus understood who he was, in relationship to God. Our faith tells us that Jesus was entitled to all the acclaim and glory we might give him. But he never looked for that; he always deferred the glory to God, taking a humble place among humankind. For example, in a famous episode, a rich man - a man of some prominence himself - came and actually knelt in front of Jesus. And he said, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said, "'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." And that attitude sorts through earthly fame and status in a hurry. Of course Jesus is good. But he won't claim that title if it focuses on him instead of God.

            Our scripture lesson from Acts shows that Paul and Barnabas understood that very well. Preaching in Lystra, Paul encounters a lame man who had never walked. After a moment of personal ministry where Paul sees clearly the deep faith of the man, he invites him to stand and walk, and the man does just that. It is a moment from which instant celebrities are grown. The people cry out, "The gods have come down to us in human form." They determine that Barnabas must be Zeus, the most powerful Greek god, and Paul must be Hermes, the messenger of the gods. The priests of the local cult, from their temple just outside the city, bring cattle and garlands, and get ready to sacrifice and bow down before these two gods. It was going to be a most opportune moment for Paul and Barnabas. Riches, fame, fast cars, reality TV shows, guest spots on Regis and Kelly - anything was possible.

            But Paul and Barnabas were grounded in their faith in Jesus Christ, the one who refused earthly fame, and gave all the glory to God. And these are their words to the Lystran people, and beautiful words to you and me: "Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, (but) we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them." Paul and Barnabas understood their true purpose.

            Celebrity in itself is not a bad thing. There are famous people who have figured out how to use fame as a tool to accomplish significant things in this world. People like Bono, who became famous as a rock singer for U-2. But his life is guided by his faith, not his fame; and he uses his fame to shine a spotlight on some of the hardest problems of the world, particularly in Africa, and to help improve human life. Whoopi Goldberg achieved fame as a comedian and an actor; but she works tirelessly for causes like 'Comic Relief', to raise support for the homeless in America. In an interview she was asked why, and she said, "I fear waking up one morning and finding out my life was all for nothing. We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark. When you're kind to someone in trouble, you hope they remember and are kind to someone else and so on. Soon it'll be like a wildfire." Those are not just the words of a celebrity; those are words of greatness; they spring from faith, and they are very closely aligned to life in the kingdom of God that Jesus talked about. And it
was a wildfire. It spread from person to person, from heart to heart, and is still spreading.

            Over the summer, I've been reading from the middle of the Book of Acts, and talking about what happens when the Spirit of Pentecost is moving in the world. It is quite a list we've been building, and today we can add an important item: when the Spirit is moving, the Spirit is facing idols - those 'worthless things' that Paul and Barnabas talked about. For them, the idols would have been to buy in to the fame and adoration the people of Lystra wanted to shower upon them. For us, it may be other things - fame, glory, popularity, money, reputation, adventure, travel, power, influence - all things which have a look of value. Idols can be beautiful things, and they can often be mingled with good intentions. Marriage can become an idol; children can be idols; patriotism can become an idol. An idol is anything we put before God. And even with the best of intentions, the end result of putting anything before God is loss -losing the thing itself, losing ourselves, losing God.

            When the Bible teaches that we should have no idols, the reason it gives is that God is a jealous God. And that has a negative ring to us. We don't admire jealousy in a person. Isn't God a bit too majestic to be jealous? But I wonder if it doesn't mean that God is jealous for us. He doesn't want to lose us. And he wants us to attain the true blessings of life. And He knows that only He can provide them. When we worship other things, we lose our way, and it breaks God's heart. So marriages and other relationships can be beautiful things; but they can't be our God. Only God is God. Patriotism is a high calling; but God must be higher. Only God can create us; only God can sustain us; only God could send His Son to save us. Only God is worthy of our worship and ultimate devotion.

            What are your idols? Who or what have you placed up on a pedestal higher than your God? If you want to find that out, there are some places you can look -like your schedule - do I not have time to pray, but have time for my favorite TV program? Or your budget - can I not afford a tithe to the Lord, but can afford the latest toy? Or your excitement - would I rush to the bookstore to buy a devotional book with the same excitement as I would to buy the latest book by my favorite author? Those are telling things. And we live in exciting times, because we have such a diversity of selections and gadgets and fun things -- there are so many things to choose from, and so much freedom to do it.

            But there is one God, and thou shalt have no other gods before (Him). In God alone is life; in God's Son alone is salvation; in God's Spirit alone is the ultimate power.

            Paul and Barnabas corrected the Lystrans who wanted to worship them: "No, no, no. We are people just like you. But we bring you good news of a living God who made the heavens and the earth and the beautiful things you see around you, who sent His Son to bring you hope and life and salvation, and whose Spirit is moving to break down walls and heal the hurting and give power to those who believe." This morning that's an invitation to you and me to turn to the living God. We've been hurting and we've been searching and we've been angry and confused -- and God is still the answer, and you are still His beloved child, and His words are still reaching out to you - Come to me; come to me. The spirit is still moving, and the news is still good. Come to the living God.