The Suffocation

I watch a lot of fire fighter shows on TV. Which our friends at the St. Lucie County fire department have warned us is not an entirely accurate representation of their day to day life. But definitely the people who write these shows do some homework on fire fighting, so there are some aspects that are true to life.

One of those aspects is the fact that a structural fire creates a lot of pressure as the oxygen is consumed and the heat and smoke fills the space. Particularly now, as our structures are built with intentional insulation and sealant to keep critters out and our climate control in, its very difficult for the heat and smoke of a fire to escape.

Which you might think, well that’s actually good because it naturally contains the fire right? Well yes and no. It’s good for your neighbors certainly. But it is not good for your friendly neighborhood fire fighter.

You see as the pressure builds, the fire becomes hotter. And fire by nature wants to move from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure. This means that when a fire truck pulls up to a fire that has been burning for a while they can’t just run in the front door to save you and your kitten. They run the risk of causing an explosion if they introduce low pressure and oxygen as they kick down the front door.

So often they will cut a hole or smash a window in a part of the structure that it far away from where they are trying to make access. This allows the fire to naturally move to a low pressure area safely while they get into position to begin to put it out and also search for anyone trapped inside.

Now I tell you all of this because this idea of a suffocating and high pressure fire is important to our journey through the book of Acts. You may know that we are in the midst of a sermon series called “How to Start a Fire” and what we are looking at is elements that the early church had that enabled the message of Jesus and the Kingdom of God to spread across the known world like a wild fire.

So today we are going to look at how Jerusalem became like a structure fire — much like a common house or factory fire — and how as the community of faith grew so did the pressure surrounding it.

You see, much like a common house or even factory fire, the fire of the early church was burning hot. People were coming to faith, and we’ll find that even some of the priests were coming to believe in Jesus and joining the community.

And that didn’t sit well. There was very real tension between the Jewish community and these new Jesus following people. To the Jews, these people were heretics. They were preaching and teaching — in their eyes — contrary to the scriptures.

Just take a moment to take that in. Because we live in this space right now right? The political climate of America is a bit of a pressure cooker, no? But even Christianity has pretty deep divides. We all read the same Bible and we often have very different interpretations of it. And that’s to be expected. We are trying to figure out what something written thousands of years ago, half way around the world, in ancient languages means for us today. There is a large margin for interpretation, and honestly a large margin for error. And on our best days we give each other grace because of this. And on our worst days we fight — sometimes bitterly. And we cause harm. And that’s not what Jesus came to create in us… Amen?

Stephen’s Call

Ok, so here’s the set up. Even the new Jesus community has a bit of pressure building up. Greek/non-Jewish Christians noticed that some of their widows and orphans are not being cared for as well as the widows and orphans who come from a Jewish background. So the Apostles get together and decide that they need to appoint some folks to oversee the care of the community while they are busy preaching and teaching and healing.

So they appoint 7 people, and the title that they are given is “Deacon.” Now deacon comes from the greek word “to serve.” We still have deacons today. In some church traditions like Baptist and congregational churches there is a board of Deacons who often do the more hands on care type of work of the church. Here we have Mary Weden and the congregational care team. While not given the title, that’s the kind of work that is being done.

In the UMC, Deacons are an order of clergy. They sometimes work in the church, but often work in other areas of the world. Their calling is to connect the church to the world in innovative ways. So they minister in contexts where they provide care to vulnerable populations.

In this picture (show picture of group in robes) you’ll see my very best friends. They are my covenant group. The three of us in black robes are elders. Sarah and Kipp are local church pastors like me. But the ladies in white robes are deacons. going across from the left: That’s Rachel. She’s the chaplain and Faith Service Coordinator at Wesleyan College in Macon Georgia. On the other side of me is Carey. She’s a discipleship Pastor at a church in Clearwater, but in July is transitioning to a role with a faith based community action organization. The next over is Anna. Anna works in Juvenile Palliative care with kids that have chronic illnesses. And on the far right is Paige. Paige is a director/pastor for the Wesley Foundation at Auburn university.

They do the hard work. Deacons are my heroes. All this theology and practice that I preach about the world outside of the church comes from my regular interaction with these ladies. They remind me of what the church is here for.

So back to Acts. Seven Deacons are commissioned by the Apostles, and one of them is named Stephen. And Stephen is incredible, and he almost immediately gets into trouble with the law. Because the pressure is still building.

So Stephen is doing his thing, he’s healing and teaching, and some people claim that he is teaching blasphemy. So they bring him before the Scribes and the Priests and they question him about his teaching. They say he is accused of saying that the teachings and the customs of Moses are being changed. That he is throwing away the teaching of God.

And Stephen launches into a long speech that shows the leaders of Israel how they are the ones who threw away the teachings of Moses at nearly every single point of their history. And how every single time someone came to call their attention to their actions, they had them killed. He says you are the ones who received the law, but you haven’t kept it. And you accuse me? Come on now. You wouldn’t know the Law of Moses if it hit you in the face.

And this is the response: Acts 7:54-60

Acts 7:54–60 NRSV

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

Look at this. Stephen literally just preached at them about how they always kill the prophet who is calling them back, and meanwhile they bring him out to be stoned just the same way they killed prophets of old and just the same way that they killed Jesus of Nazareth. And Stephen’s response?

Not “this isn’t fair!” Not “you’ll get yours.” No. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Do not hold this sin against them.”

Sounds exactly like the words of Jesus from the cross. “Into your hands I commend my spirit. Forgive them Father for they know not what they do”

The reality of this whole thing lies in what is different here between the death of Jesus and the death of Stephen — the first Martyr of the Church.

When Jesus was crucified, the religious leaders knew that they did not have the authority to have him killed. So they appealed to a higher authority. They had him officially charged by Rome and sentenced to death by a Roman Governor named Pontius Pilate. They knew that they had a specific role in society, and that deciding if someone lived or died was not in keeping with that role.

But now, just a short time later, the pressure is building. The scene in Jerusalem a few months ago, although violent, stayed within the rule of law. Jesus’s life was taken lawfully and by the proper authorities.

Stephen’s life however is taken by a mob. Vigilante justice is responsible for the first Christian persecution. As the pressure inside of Jerusalem builds, the people who are opposed to the Jesus community are unwilling to submit themselves to the authority of Rome to dispense the death penalty. They instead turn their allegiance over to a Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, and take matters into their own hands.

The story goes on in Acts 8:1-3

Acts 8:1–3 NRSV

And Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.

This man, Saul, becomes the leader of the inquisition against the Christian community. It is unlawful, but he doesn’t care. He is consumed with hatred towards Jesus’s followers and going house to house, seeking to put out the fire that has been raging within Jerusalem. And it seems hopeless. But focus on and remember this important detail — the result of this persecution in the scattering of the people across Judea and Samaria.

Remember what Jesus said in Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NRSV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

That’s where we end our story for today. The fire that began in Jerusalem has created so much pressure that it’s bursting at the seams. But what we are going to find is that even though the leaders were hoping to quench this fire, when they started kicking in doors the fire merely escaped and was emboldened.

The Martyrdom of Stephen didn’t put out the fire, it only made it rage harder.

Life Pressurized

Our society is wildly pressurized. It doesn’t matter anymore what you believe — there’s always someone who will persecute you over that belief. We’ve widely lost the ability to be objective and loving and have discourse over things. Instead we take up the mantle of Saul and the crowds and tear people down who disagree with us.

Its about time that we, as the church, stop modeling or allowing this type of behavior. We are better than that. We appeal to a higher authority. We aren’t the judge, jury, and executioner. We have enough of that coming at us from the outside.

The reality in all of this is that it’s hard enough to follow Jesus in this world without having to deal with internal personal struggles. We are not always looked on with loving gazes. We are often, like Stephen, the brunt of false accusations and misunderstanding. That’s just a fact of life. It’s the way that it is for people who submit ourselves to an authority that is greater than the culture of our times. It’s reality for people who live in the shadow of an institution who has not often been on the right side of history.

And our response to that needs to not model the common response of culture. Our response, however hard as it truly is, needs to look more like Stephen. Stephen who, while actively being persecuted looked to heaven and appealed to God for forgiveness for those who were actively taking his life.

This is not an easy task. Imagine the kind of humility and the kind of love that it takes to act in such a way. To be willing to lay it all out on the line, to give up ones life for Jesus and not be spiteful in the moment towards those who are taking it. Its not natural. It’s supernatural. Its the kind of attitude we can only be afforded through the power of the Spirit of God.

I believe this is what really sets us apart. This is what truly makes the community of Jesus followers unlike any other community in the world. It’s our ability to set ourselves aside and meet with one another and with the world in spaces of grace. To come to the table together and say “listen I disagree, but I’m not mad about it.” Or “hey this thing you’ve done caused me or us harm, but I want to see restoration come of it.”

Jesus’s hardest command to us is to forgive those who hurt us. To turn the other cheek and love our enemies means that we must tap into a different kind of power than we are capable of creating within ourselves.

That power is what Stephen harnessed as he looked upward at the face of Jesus on the throne. So what if you took a moment in the midst of your suffering to really take a look towards Jesus, rather than at the one whom you’d like to lash out at and hurt? What if, in a pressurized heated environment you focused on peacefully moving towards a place of lower pressure? How would your life look different, how would your relationship to the world change, and how might you become the peace that the world so desperately needs?