“You Don’t Own Me” – Earth
April 12, 2015The Window of God
April 26, 201519
Apr.
2015
Leaping Through the Beautiful Gate
“Leaping Through the Beautiful Gate”
Click here to watch the sermon, or click here to listen to it.
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And 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. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter 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.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished. When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
This is the word of the lord,
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray:
A couple of years ago I was on a study trip to India, and we came to this beautiful old Syrian catholic church that was built in the year nine hundred and ninety-nine. We were asked remove our shoes and place them outside the threshold of the door. So I along with my travel companions removed our shoes and sandals. They were all jumbled up, and some of us stayed behind to tidy up the row of 30+ shoes along the wall and steps. Some others were taking photos of the façade of the building and blooming trees in the courtyard. Once arranged I pulled out my camera too, and snapped a few photos, even some artsy ones of the doorway with all of the neatly aligned shoes. Realizing I’d dottled enough, I entered the church. The priest was welcoming the group and talking about some history of the Syrian Catholics. They then left the sanctuary to prepare delicious chai tea to share with us.
People took back out their cameras and were snapping away around the sanctuary and the ornate objects. A friend of mine and I had promised to send pictures back to the church we were both student pastors, so we took the opportunity to get some shots of the pair of us. Let’s go up to the pulpit! We gave our camera to a friend climbed the chancel stairs, and all of the sudden people from the group start yelling me to get down! I was confused because some of the other guys from the group were up there taking pictures too. And then I was informed that women were not allow up on the chancel itself. Apparently that was part of the introductory statements I had missed while organizing the shoes…
For some people gates are symbols of welcome. They mark passage from one place into the next. From the outside to the inside. From the courtyard to the sanctuary from the chancel steps up to the chancel. Each passageway marking a place of entry.
In the temple of Jerusalem, gates and thresholds and doors were ornately decorated with stones and carvings, some with bronze and others with gold, lavishly marked the importance of the sacred space. And for the ancient temple, each gate of passage marked a closer presence to the holy of holies. Which was believed to be the physical manifestation of God on earth. As you passed through, you would be closer and closer to the presence of God.
Peter and John passed through for the evening prayers. Even though they were trouble makers—leaders in a movement that made the religious and governmental authorities nervous, they could pass through the gate. Their physical wholeness allowed them daily passage and entry into the inner spaces for worship, and closeness to the physical presence of God for prayer.
But while gates can be a sign of welcome—they also can be a barrier for exclusion. They keep out certain people or animals or anything unwanted.
This beggar sat outside the beautiful gate. He was a regular there. He had come to sit by the gate, many many times. Unwelcome inside. As he reaches out, people might lower a few coins into his hand. But would they take his hand? Offer him passage through the beautiful gate?
I’ve often watched our ushers peering through the tiny windows on the big doors outside our sanctuary. Then leap into action as they see someone walking up the stairs, so that they might open those heavy doors for them. We want our doors to be a sign of welcome. As our ushers and our deacon of the week greet worshipers, they are our first chance for setting the tone of a worshiping experience. Our hope at Bradley Hills is to be a place of welcome, never a gate of exclusion or barrier for passage.
That welcome is so important, not only for people entering through the doors for the first time, but just as important for people who’ve entered a hundred times.
Last week we learned that the earliest believing community shared all things in common, because of this they probably didn’t have individual funding to give out when asked. So when this man reached out to Peter and John as they head to the synagogue for the evening prayers, they have nothing material to offer him.
Instead they encourage his faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, took his hand and helped him up. Once he was standing his ankles and his legs and his feet became strong.
So he jumps…
And leaps…
And finally enters through the beautiful gate and into temple courts—with praise on his lips.
People recognize this man and start running towards this group of men. The healed man stays close and clings to Peter and John.
The people are amazed, Amazement seems like a reasonable response… yet Peter scolds them for their reaction… “Why does this surprise you? It wasn’t me and john that made this happen, it was God.”
We often think about church as a solemn place where we are quiet and reflective, which is of course, an excellent form of contemplation and prayer to God. But what if we leapt? What if we allowed our hearts to be full of joy, and gratitude and praise for God?
What is it in your life that makes you leap for joy, or skip or do a little happy dance?
And what would it be like for us to enter that beautiful gate walking and leaping and praising God?
This story holds a beautiful celebration of a beautiful faith in God, as he is made strong. While Peter and John, are not the healers. Peter is quick to tell the gathered crowd in the sermon that follows, that it was not them who healed the man, it was God. They are still an essential piece of this man’s story. They might have thought they were merely reach out a hand to the beggar.
But sometimes that’s all it takes to inspire faith. Someone reaching out a hand— a hand of invitation, a hand of strength, a hand of comfort, a hand shaken in recognition or respect.
Is there something in your life that you feel on the edge of? What is your Beautiful Gate where you are waiting outside, afraid to enter, afraid to become too involved or too vulnerable? And you’re just waiting for someone to take you by the hand?
And how will your story change once you enter?
God uses each one of us to be a vessel to extend God’s love world wide. In each encounter. And we can’t always do that from the inside of the gate. We have to go out, beyond our sacred spaces. Leaping beyond the gate and going out into the world to share the joy of the resurrected Christ beyond the walls. Not just this sacred space of ours. To leap into action and often our hands to others, break bread with our neighbors and reach out beyond the gates of our lives. There is beauty in that.
This year at Bradley Hills, we’ve been talking about connectionalism. People desire deeply to feel more connected to this community, to truly know one another’s stories. A large number of you participated in the small groups during lent. And as a result expanded your circle of spiritual friends. My hope is that we can continue to deepen those relationships and new ones, beyond the structure of a small group. And so I challenge you this week to invite someone from within this community, to do something together. Beyond the walls of Bradley Hills. And the real challenge is that I hope for it to be someone who you don’t really know very well already. Maybe its someone whom you’ve chatted with briefly at the fellowship hour. Or one of the other parents in your child’s Sunday school class. Whoever you feel called to reach out too… This week I invite you, I challenge you, to do something beyond the walls of the church with someone else, OR at the very least, to make a plan for something the following week. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee together. Or an early morning walk with someone who lives in your neighborhood. Or you exchange cell numbers and plan to do your grocery shopping at the same time. Or you meet to pray together. Maybe you can get together with another family for a game night. Whatever it is, have fun with it. Let’s reach out our hand this week and enjoy one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Because we have this important thing already in common. A welcome place within the beautiful community of Christ’s loving embrace.
Together we can leap through the gate, and beyond the gate more joyfully than alone. Amen.