IF IT WERENʼT FOR THE HONOR OF THE THING,... James S. Currie. civil rights movement in this country based on a series of videos that documented that

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1 Mark 10:17-31!!!!!! First Presbyterian, Pasadena Acts 5:27-42!!!!!!!!! October 11, 2015 IF IT WERENʼT FOR THE HONOR OF THE THING,... James S. Currie! A couple of years ago the Wednesday Noon Brown Bag Study group studied the civil rights movement in this country based on a series of videos that documented that movement. Last month a pastorʼs study group of which I have been a part for eight or nine years did some reading on the integration effort that took place at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in September One of the books that I read in preparation for that conversation was by Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of the African American students who was part of the Little Rock Nine. Another book was by Daisy Bates, head of the NAACP in Arkansas who served as the adult advisor, friend, confidant, and cheerleader for those African American teenagers who had wanted to gain entrance to Central High School. Our own Jane Christopher attended Central High School in Little Rock.! The accounts of Carlotta Walls, Daisy Bates, and others who have written of their own experiences of that time reveal such affronts as frequent verbal abuse, being spit upon, seeing their parents lose their jobs, having their homes bombed and then being accused of doing it themselves, family members being arrested without any provocation. And one of the agreements between the school district and the students was that these students were not allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities or even attend any of the schoolʼs sporting events. Because such fear tactics had their desired effect on some of the students and their families, a few of the Little Rock Nine 1

2 students withdrew from Central High School. But some, like Carlotta Walls, persevered and, eventually, graduated in 1960.! Carlotta went on to college, attending first Michigan State University and then earning a degree from Colorado State University. She rarely mentioned to anyone that she had been one of the Little Rock Nine. Even her husband did not discover that fact until she told him many years after their children were born. To say that such an experience as she and others endured made them stronger and built character is to minimize the trauma that they underwent. No doubt, those pioneers made it possible for others to follow without having to undergo what they did. For many, they are heroes, though they themselves hardly see themselves as such.! In the passage we read this morning from Acts we find Peter and some of the other apostles find themselves and others in the early Christian movement under suspicion and attack by the Jewish authorities. They are brought before the high priest and other leading elders who imprisoned them for teaching and preaching in the temple what they considered to be violations of the Law. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, this movement was gaining more and more followers. After Peter and others of the apostles are imprisoned, the prison doors are mysteriously unlocked, and they return to the temple to teach and preach. Assembled again before the high priest and council, Peter reviews for them the story of Jesusʼ death and resurrection and how they were witnesses to these events.! The council was ready to kill them, but a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, under whom Paul would study, persuaded them to hold off. Suppose these folks happen to be right? If they are not, they will fail, but if they are right, we might find ourselves 2

3 fighting against God! (Acts 5:39). Acknowledging the wisdom of such an approach, the council decided to release these troublemakers, but not before they had been flogged. And then Luke reports that as they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 5:41-42).! Considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. While some might ask, Why me, Lord?, Peter and those early followers counted it an honor to suffer for the cause of Jesus Christ. The roll call of the saints, especially in the early church, include many who were executed. Tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down because he did not think himself worthy to be crucified in the same way Jesus was. The book of Hebrews tells us that some were stoned to death, others were sawn in two, still others died by the sword (Hebrews 11:37). They were, the writer continues, were ones of whom the world was not worthy (11:38).! Thereʼs a story thatʼs attributed to Abraham Lincoln in which he heard of a person being ridden out of town on a rail. According to Lincoln, that man was heard to have said, If it werenʼt for the honor of the thing, I would just as soon walk. One could imagine Peter and some of those early apostles saying something similar. If it werenʼt for the honor of the thing,... But it was for the honor of the thing, and that made it all worthwhile, worth the preaching and teaching, worth the imprisonment, worth the flogging, worth the death that would certainly come.! In the Gospel lesson that was read this morning we heard about the rich young man who ran up to Jesus asking him what he must do to have eternal life. Follow the 3

4 commandments, Jesus said. Oh, Iʼve done that, the young man boldly replied. Then, go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor, Jesus told him. And while Jesus looked at him and, Mark says, loved him, the man went away shocked because he was a very wealthy man. Matthew says he went away grieving. Luke says he went away sad. The conversation with the disciples continues with Jesus saying that itʼs easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom. Who, then, can be saved? the disciples ask. And Jesus says that as long as we depend on God, all things are possible, but itʼs when we depend on ourselves that we get into trouble. But the conversation continues beyond that. Peter reminds Jesus that he and the others have left everything behind to follow Jesus, and Jesus replies that they will have their own reward, a hundred times what they have in this lifetime.! Little did Peter and the other disciples realize at that time what following Jesus would mean for them. But following Pentecost and the emergence of a movement of which they would assume early leadership, they quickly found out. I wonder if any of them ever wondered what they had gotten into after the imprisonment, the flogging, and other forms of persecution. Clearly, after this particular encounter with Jewish authorities they began to have a clear idea. And their response? They rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.! A few weeks ago I heard a fellow minister say that she did not wear a cross around her neck because it seemed to her that too often people hide behind the cross. That observation caught my attention because most people seem to wear such a cross out of pride in identifying themselves as Christians. But I think this personʼs comment 4

5 was a way of suggesting that discipleship involves more than identifying oneself as part of the Christian movement. It involves a willingness and a commitment that goes beyond self-identification. It means not so much asking, Why me? as asking, Why not me? It means being clear about what the costs of discipleship are and accepting them. It means trusting that, for better or for worse, God is with you every step of the way. For the church of Jesus Christ, it means trusting that, when things look bleak for the church or when the church seems to shoot itself in the foot, all will be well because we belong to a God who is always faithful. The church is in service to and belongs to him who is the head. We follow the Spirit wherever it may lead. Thatʼs what those first apostles did, and they considered themselves fortunate to be considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.! If it werenʼt for the honor of the thing,... perhaps we would all be better off spending our time and effort elsewhere. But the fact of the matter is that God has called us to this life together and to this work, and it is an honor and a joy and a privilege to be part of this movement. Itʼs more than worth it. In my view thereʼs nothing better.! Thanks be to God! 5