Untitled Sermon

One of the hardest things that I, and probably many other Christians, is intention. What I mean by that, is the reason for why we do the things that we do. I have read many articles and even had experiences where people have felt that the only reason that we, as Christians, do good works is so that we can secure our place in heaven. The most cynical of them believe that the works are not actually well intended becuase the motivation that we have is for our own benefit and eve gain. They say we want to persuade God to favor us and see our good works so that God will save us when it is time.

As I said, I have had many experiences with this, but the one that is most ingrained in my mind is from my high school years. I was taking a civics class and our teacher talked about how there is no purely good deed that is done for the sake of a good deed. She claimed that we do good deeds as citizens so that we do not get in trouble with the law, in order that others may see our good deeds and therefore conclude that we are a good person, or as I also said already that we do good works because we are obligated to do them by our faith.

Myself and several other people of faith in the class took issue with these conclusions and attempted to argue that there are good works or deeds that are done purely because they are the right thing to do. Sure God shows us what those good things are but if we believe we are saved by grace apart from the works of the law, then the deed we do is done without thinking we’ll get or earn anything in return. To that our teacher responded that even the good feeling that you feel after helping someone is getting something in return for helping that person. The discussion eventually ended and neither side of the discussion swayed from their view, but like I said, it was something that has always stuck with me and even motivated me to be careful of my intentions behind what I do.

Now I will admit that this is not a perfect analogy but there is a similar vein weaving its way through the text today. Honestly the best way to fully understand today’s text is to go beyond it into Peter’s speech that he gives to the people in the temple after they see this man healed. Peter sees how all the people who saw this man healed come rushing up to them and immediately understands that they think that Peter was the one to do it. He immediately corrects them and lets them know that it was power of God that was glorified in his servant Jesus who made this possible. He doesn’t want people to think that somehow Peter has some kind of power or magic through invoking the name of Jesus. Peter further explains that it was the faith in Jesus that made this all possible.

Thanks to the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary I have come to understand it in this way: think of it as we do when we speak of communion. When we gather for communion we say the words of Jesus from his final night and in that we are inviting Jesus to be with us in the meal. Therefore we believe that the very presence of Jesus is in the meal. Luther explains this in depth about the real presence of Christ as being in, with and under the meal. In the same way when Peter calls on the name of Jesus to heal this man he isn’t invoking some spell that if spoken correctly could heal a person, but instead he is inviting the real presence of Jesus to come down to this man and heal him.

While Peter does have the motivation to bring people to faith, what he isn’t motivated by is self-glorification. He isn’t trying to have people marvel at what he is doing. In fact, he outright rejects the notion that he is doing anything other than having his own faith in Jesus and that it is that faith and the presence of Jesus that does the miracle. This is no different than the healing stories we see in the gospels to be honest. The faith of someone in the stories is what brings about the healing of the people in the gospels. Sometimes it is the faith of Jesus, much of the time it is the people wanting to be healed, and sometimes it is a friend or family member who’s faith reaches out on behalf of the person.

Another story that I believe really helps us see this is from Acts 8:4-25 where Philip is preaching in Samaria and there is a sorcerer named Simon who sees Philip, Peter, and John laying their hands on new believers to receive the Spirit. He perceives the Spirit as the way that they were able to do all of their miracles and offers to pay them so that he could receive the Holy Spirit so that he could really have ‘power’ like the apostles. Peter sends him away and tells him that his heart is in the wrong place. He needs to repent, or change his heart and his life if he wants to be a part of the family of God. So again, it is an understanding that faith in Jesus and the gifts of the Spirit all come from God, it is not meant to be something that is exploited or bought. It is not meant to be something that is used up for our own glorification or gain. It is simply there for the building up of the kingdom.

Which is what this Easter season and the book of Acts is all about. It is the realization and celebration that God’s love and grace is more powerful than anything else in all this world. We know fully about this power of love and grace through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And that it is through God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that all of this is possible. Which is what Peter helps to see as he heals this crippled man. It is Jesus who makes this possible, who makes all things possible, it is not our own doing or understanding, but the gift of faith through grace. May the gift of the Spirit embolden you this Easter season to be motivated to share the love and the grace of God so that God may be lifted up and glorified in this world. And may the grace of God permeate your life throughout today and always. Amen.