The
Third Sunday of Easter, Year B
Acts
Pastor
Gayle M. Pope
Folded
into God’s Unfolding Plan
So much to do … so little time.
Life can be pretty stressful. So many things are going on all the
time.
Just thinking about the members of our little
congregation: there’s school, which includes prom, graduation, tests, homework,
concerts, plays, sports, fundraising and concerns about the future. There are church
activities, farming, health problems, car problems, jobs, financial issues,
changes in relationships and all kinds of life transitions.
Beyond that are all the community issues with schools
and taxes and development and tourism. And beyond that, national and global politics,
famine, war, the environment and the price of gas.
There are so many expectations on us – pressure to
get things done, make decisions, do the right thing. Sometimes we get on a roll and things seem to
be going well and then, poof, something unexpected happens to turn our plans
upside down and we’re, like, “OK – now what?”
The disciples were in a situation like that after
Jesus died. Things had taken an unexpected turn. They were confused and afraid
– unsure of what to do next. Then people started reporting that Jesus had risen
from the dead! He had appeared to Peter and some of the women and now these
guys from Emmaus were talking about seeing Jesus when he broke bread with
them. What on earth is going on here?
The disciples are together now, talking about Jesus
when, “Speak of the Savior, and in he comes!” And the first word out of his
mouth is. “Peace.”
They don’t feel the peace yet. They are startled and
terrified. “Hey, what’s wrong?,” Jesus says. “It’s me! It’s REALLY me! Not a ghost!”
Now they are joyful, bewildered, wondering. And then
Jesus says, “Say, what have you got to eat around here?”
Reality check … everyday stuff ... chill … Let’s have
something to eat.
THEN he starts teaching. “Remember what I said, that
everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms
must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
He connected the dots for them, as if to say, “You
didn’t understand everything as it was happening, but that doesn’t matter. God
is in charge. See what he has been doing
all along? Look, it’s all here in the
Scriptures. God has a plan and God is doing it.”
I searched the internet for “Old Testament Prophecies
fulfilled in Jesus” and I found one place that listed 92 Prophecies of the
Psalms and 121 Prophecies of Isaiah
fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Just think about all the things God’s people went
through during those hundreds and hundreds of years – tragedies and triumphs,
war and peace bondage and freedom, successes and failures and just ordinary
every day life. All along, God was working God’s plan to save and bless the
world.
And God is STILL doing it. In spite of wars and pain
and death and pressures and expectations and everything that’s got you in a
thither, God is at work. All is well.
Jesus finished his work, but God is not finished. See
how Jesus wraps up the whole long story?
He says, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise
from the dead on the third day” – that’s the finished part – “and that
repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem” – that’s the next chapter.
And how is that supposed to happen? Jesus tells the
disciples and US, now that you understand, “YOU are witnesses of these things.”
“I want you to tell people about God’s plan. Proclaim
repentance and forgiveness in Jesus name. “Start right here where you are, and
take it to the whole world!”
Now look at what is happening in today’s first
reading from Acts. Peter and John had
just healed this man who had been lame from birth. Everyone knew this guy
because he sat by the temple gate every day, begging. When he asked Peter and John for money, Peter
looked at him and said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give
you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk."
People were filled with wonder and amazement. They ran
after Peter and John and stared at them in utter astonishment.
Then Peter played the Jesus card. He used the
opportunity to testify. “It wasn’t US who made this man walk,” he said. And he started
connecting the dots for them.
“YOUR God – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the
God of your ancestors – has glorified his servant Jesus. You know – Jesus, the one you had crucified.
You killed the author of life, whom God raised. It is by faith in HIS name this
man was healed.”
First he gave them the reality check: “Chew on
this!” And then he gave them the good
news. “You didn’t understand. But God was at work all along. Jesus completed his part. And now here’s mine: Repent, and turn to God
so that your sins may be wiped out.”
The movement in these stories is from confusion or
amazement or fear to clarity – NOW I see! – and immediately to proclamation. From “Oh, my God” to “Oh! My God!” to “Oh,
this is my God!”
This is a pattern for our lives, too. We may be
caught up in a whirlwind or bound up in chains – amazed, afraid, anxious and
looking in the wrong direction for answers or affirmation. When suddenly God
gets our attention somehow.
Stop. Connect with reality. Have something to eat.
Walk. Breathe. Hug. Face the truth. Remember. God is in control. God is
connecting the dots. God has a plan that is unfolding according to His will.
It’s happening in spite of you, but you can be a part of it. Everything you do
can be a part of it if you keep Jesus in the center.
What do all the things that are happening in your
life have to do with Jesus? Is Jesus in
the center? Repent. Turn around. Get back in sync. And then point the way to
the next person in the name of Jesus.