The Converted Community

WESTMINSTE R PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
November 1st 2009
Communion Meditation/ All Saints Day
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“The Converted Community”
Acts 2:14, 32-39; Micah 6:6-8

How could Peter be so arrogant? How can he talk like this after all he did? Peter was always so loud and obnoxious. He was always acting like the super disciple until Jesus got arrested. When things went badly Peter ran away just like the rest of the disciples. So what is Peter doing on Pentecost acting so boldly?
In that first Pentecost it is easy to get lost in the loud noise of the Spirit and the many languages being spoken that we miss something much deeper. And today we are going to go deeper and talk about the important relationships which are revealed on that day. We are going to focus on at three relationships that must be healthy for our church to be all God wants us to be. The three relationships are 1) Relationship with God, 2) Relationships between Church Members, and 3) Relationships with People outside the Church.
Before we begin with the relationships I want to start with saying something about God. Yes, I know this is always a dangerous exercise but we are going to risk it this morning. In the heart of God is a willing vulnerability. God was willing to become human and as a result was put at real risk. The final result of this gift was the crucifixion.
Despite this risk, God did not hold back. God is willing to risk and share with us from the deep places. It is an honesty which challenges our belief in control. It breaks down our pretence and our belief that we have it all together. It calls into question our reliance upon the masks and personas we have crafted to keep us from ever being at risk with other people. And the honest truth is that we too often put on these masks with God.
As a community who follows the crucified One, we are called to put down the masks that cover the broken places in our lives. We are invited to find healing in the broken places. This ought to be the place where we can risk sharing and seeking healing for those places but that is risky. However, before I suggest we try and do just that we have to do something else. Before we can begin to think of getting honest with one another, before we can admit our broken places to one another, we have to get honest with God.
That sort of honesty with God requires some internal honesty. It means we have to unearth the stuff we work so hard to cover up. The stuff we cover by our attempts at over-competence and control. It means we have to learn to risk the well ordered world we work so hard to maintain. The truth is that until we come face to face with the brokenness in our lives and put it before God we have not moved into a mature relationship with God. Until we open up those places to God we are really just playing with the religious life. I am not suggesting that we turn church into a therapy session I am saying that we need to at least get honest in our prayer. Jesus says we ought to go into a closet and shut the door when we pray. I believe that is because there are things we need to say to God that no one else needs to hear.
In the Micah passage I naturally gravitate to the calls for peace and justice. However there is a lot more going on. In the passage, God is speaking to a community of faith that knew how to do worship well. They knew the right words and the proper order. The music was well done and the service was decent and in order. But the inner life of the people and the community was in shambles. How can I say that? Well if you find injustice in society it exists because the interior life of the people is disordered. It is because the “trinity of relationships” is out of order. If our relationship with God is out of order our relationship with each other and our neighbors will be also. The followers of Jesus know well that God requires justice but figuring out who is clean and unclean is where we spend most of our energy. We know that God requires kindness but the certainty of orthodoxy makes kindness a frivolity. We know that God requires us to walk humbly but proving we know more than everyone else is just way more satisfying. There will be no peace and justice without peace and justice in all our relationships.
Before the resurrection Peter was as certain about life as a radio talk show host. He was so sure and so clear and knew the mind of God. But then something happened and his world collapsed. His version of the Messiah got crucified on the cross. His certainly was burned in the fire that warmed those who mocked the weak messiah. It all came crumbling down. But the good news was this was not the end of the story. It was only the beginning. His calling as a disciple really began when he was faced with the reality of a resurrected savior who did not demand perfection but honesty.
It is for this reason that Peter could stand in front of the gathered community and speak with honestly and authenticity. Not as a super disciple but as an honest one. When he arises to speak not one of the other disciples challenge him because they know he is speaking truth from the broken places in his life. Until he and the community were able to get honest with the broken places healing and authenticity could not be found. And until that happens all our relationships with God and one another will always be less than they could be.
How can Peter stand? He could stand because he is living out his forgiveness. He is bearing the fruit of a spiritual reality. This is what a person freed by God’s love looks like: Standing boldly, Proclaiming freely, Sharing generously The love of God.
Peter is experiencing a whole new, fresh start given to him by God. He is living out a moment of forgiveness.
Literally, the last words that the author Luke has Peter say in Luke 23 are, "I do not know who Jesus is." But the words Peter says now are: "Let me tell you who Jesus is!" Peter's relationship with God has been renewed. He is living in bold joy due to the forgiveness he's received. Only if our relationship with God is renewed like this everyday will we be able to stand up and speak up when we hear confusion in someone's life.
At Pentecost, something remarkable happened in Peter’s relationship with God. Second, something remarkable happened in Peter's relationship with people outside the circle of believers. Peter is moved to his core by these people who don't know that God has sent Jesus for them. Verse 40 says Peter "pleaded with them." When you've received forgiveness like Peter, when you've gotten that kind of relief, you want to share it. This won't be the last time Peter is compelled to share the gospel. In a couple of chapters, he gets in real trouble by taking the news of Jesus to a non-Jew!
This Pentecost day catapults Peter into deep compassion for all God’s people. Something remarkable is happening to Peter's relationships with his fellow disciples. When Peter does stand, notice Peter does not stand alone. They stand together. The other disciples know that Peter has a big mouth that gets him into trouble. They know that Peter promised Jesus more than he could deliver. They know that Peter bragged about how faithful he would be and then failed. But they also know their own sins against Jesus. They could have just pointed the finger at Peter. They could have said, "Here he goes again, talking the big talk." But they didn't. In humility, they got up to support him by standing alongside him.
They are a vibrant picture of forgiven people forgiving each other. They are tangible evidence of the reality of the mercy of God. They are the most believable witness to the grace of Jesus Christ. Together, they are a community of the redeemed. All of the aspects of the Trinity of Relationships are essential for us to grow us a church. We need real and vibrant relationships with God, with people outside the church, and with each other.
But right now I want to ask you about our relationships with each other. Are we real with each other? Are we forgiving each other? Are we standing with each other, as Peter and the disciples stood together? I wonder what those outside of the community see when they look at this community of believers, when they look at our church? Do they see a community of redemption, a place where people are genuinely merciful to and supportive of one another?
In your bulletin is a drawing of the "Trinity of Relationships." Please consider prayerfully which of these three essential relationships needs your attention this week. Let’s take a moment right now. This is just between you and God. Let me strongly encourage you to especially consider the relationships you have with other church members. Is there is something that is not right in your relationship with someone here? Be real with God and with yourself about the need for reconciliation. Take a deep, gentle breath. Exhale slowly. Close your eyes. Simply ask God, “Where do you want to work in my relationships?” Just listen for a moment. Ask God for help to make things right again. [Pause for one minute] Has God put someone on your heart in our church? This is one way we could begin anew in a relationship that needs a fresh start.
One of my colleagues pastors a church that has been growing a lot. They had been adding several members a month but that suddenly stopped. Visitors came but they wouldn't join. The pastor finally asked a visitor to tell him what was keeping them from becoming a part of the church. They confessed, "We like the church, but . . . it's cold!" And they were right. The church members talked about being a friendly church, but the crossed arms said otherwise. Visitors didn't have to know all the details. They could sense people were tense. They could tell members were angry with each other. They could feel that forgiveness was being withheld. Members' energy was not going to new people because members were wrapped up in the conflict of the church.
The pastor realized his own lack of forgiveness was contributing to the big chill. He and another leader in the church had a conflict that was causing ill feelings. It was one of those heads-butting, arms-crossed tensions. The pastor mustered his courage, prayed, and called on the man he was at odds with. The pastor did his part in resolving the issue. In the following weeks, 2 people joined the church, and 4 more the next week. The visitors who had complained about the coldness of the church were two of the new members. When the pastor asked why they joined, they said, "It felt right all of a sudden."
When we stand in God's love, when we stand together, and when we stand for people who need to know Jesus Christ, it's Pentecost all over again. It IS right all of a sudden. It is all that is required, and everything that is needed, for the Spirit to work through us.
At this table where the bread is broken we are reminded that reconciliation with God came not through our perfection but through the broken places of the world. As we gather at this table let us be reminded of those relationships that are in need of healing. If God has put someone on our heart then may this table be the place where healing and reconciliation will begin. May God who overcame death, overcome the places which seem irrevocably broken in our lives and in our community. Amen? Amen!