SUNDAY OF THE BLIND MAN The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2015

Transcription

1 SUNDAY OF THE BLIND MAN 2015 The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2015 I. Since Pascha, we ve been reading from the Book of Acts both on Sundays and during the week. St Luke authored this book and he wrote it in such a way that it reads like a daily journal. In it, he describes his travels with missionaries and the church s growth during the very earliest years of its existence. These stories of missionary efforts are fascinating and we can draw on them to learn a great deal in our 21 st century. II. The passage that we heard this morning tells us of the travels of four missionaries Ss. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke himself and their particular efforts to evangelize in the city of Philippi. Two people in that city, along with their families and dependents, converted to Christianity through the efforts of these disciples. Our passage this morning only speaks of one of them the jailor. The other convert is described in the 1

2 passage just prior to the one we heard today. Her name was Lydia. Let me tell you about her first. III. Lydia was a woman who came from a city called Thyatira, which was located in Asia Minor. Geographically, it was separated from present day Greece by the Aegean Sea. That city was famed for its skilled residents who learned how to extract and manufacture a purple dye from root of certain plant. The dye was used in clothing and in carpets and was so brilliant that the demand for it stretched beyond the borders of Thyatira, even as far as Macedonia where the city of Philippi was located. So Lydia, in fact, was a businesswoman who had settled in the city of Philippi to import and sell the purple dye. And it was at Philippi, that God had planned for her to meet these missionaries. IV. They met in the following way: Whenever Paul entered a city, his practice was to visit the local Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath. When Paul and the 2

3 others arrived in Philippi, they searched for a synagogue but could not find one. Evidently, there were not enough Jews in the city to establish one. After inquiring, they discovered that there was a special place on the banks of a near-by river where Jews met and prayed if they should be travelling through Philippi on the Sabbath. When Paul and Silas arrived at the riverbank, they found only a group of women praying. When the opportunity arose, Paul spoke about Jesus. But even though a good number of women were present, God only opened the heart of one of them to Paul s words. Her name was Lydia. She heard Paul s words, accepted them, and decided to be baptized along with her family, her servants and her other dependents. Then Luke continues by telling us about the second convert the Roman jailer. IV. The jailor also came to Christ through Paul, but through very different means. If you remember from today s passage, 3

4 the Roman authorities in Philippi imprisoned Paul and Silas, accusing them of stirring up trouble among the Roman citizens. After they were put behind bars and tortured with leg stocks, a jailor was placed to watch them. Paul and Silas spent the night praying and singing Psalms. At midnight, an earthquake shook the prison walls, releasing all the prisoners, including Paul and Silas. The jailor, in a panic, decided to do what he thought was the most honorable thing and that was to commit suicide. But from the darkened cell, Paul said, Don t harm yourself. We are all here. And being stunned by the events, the jailor asked Paul and Silas: What must I do to be saved. V. We can t be sure what made him ask this question. Was it the fear caused by the earthquake? Was it the fact that Paul and Silas prayed and sang Psalms while they were in their cells, instead of cursing the authorities? Was it the fact that no one escaped after the earthquake, even though they 4

5 could have? Perhaps, it wasn t just one of these things, but a combination of all of them that prompted the jailor to ask to be saved along with his household. And in answer to his question, Paul said simply: Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved. Our passage ends with the jailor and his family being baptized, just Lydia and her household. VI. What can learn from these two stories and what can we apply to our situation? Let me share with some lessons. First, Paul and Silas were always interested first and foremost in people as people and not as numbers. Their missionary efforts were always person oriented. There were no special techniques or slogans. They had found the one thing in their life that gave meaning and purpose and they had a great desire to share it with others. Thus, the missionaries, and specifically Paul, didn t discriminate who should or shouldn t hear the message of Jesus. Lydia was a Jew; the jailor was a Gentile. 5

6 Lydia was rich; the jailor poor. Lydia was in the prime of her life; the jailor, it is thought, was a retired military man. Second, Paul and Silas never forced Jesus upon anyone. But they were able to recognize the opportunities given them by God and they knew that God would open the hearts of those whom He would. Not everyone would accept the invitation or hear the call. But Paul and Silas were always ready to give a word about Jesus. Paul once wrote that all of us must be ready to give an account to others about our faith. But they were never overbearing. Third, their central message was Jesus. They always called people to Christ. They were not interested in peddling Jesus name like the woman in today s reading who was possessed. Neither were they interested in calling people to convert to a church or a religion or a community. They always pointed to the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. And fourth, they witnessed to Jesus with their own lives. What we say about Jesus doesn t amount to 6

7 hill of beans if we ourselves are not convinced of Him and live our lives accordingly. Lydia converted by what she heard, but the jailor by what he saw in Paul and Silas. VII. We are community that wishes and needs to grow. But perhaps, that places too much emphasis on our needs rather than on need of others to come to know Christ. Jesus Himself once spoke about Himself being the one needful thing. Let s challenge ourselves today to try to consider how God can use us, (each of us), even in the smallest of ways, to bring others to Him. Let s challenge ourselves today to change the way we think about church growth not as increasing church membership, but by increasing believers. Everyone of us do not hesitate to tell others of a great movie that we have seen. Why should we be so hesitant to tell others about what God means and has meant to our lives. Person-to-person, the message of Jesus, and knowing how to approach others with gentleness and confidence and 7

8 with discerning the moment, - these are the lessons that today s epistle provides for us. Amen. 8