Ac 5:27-32

11 April 2010

2nd Sunday of Easter

“We Must Obey God”

What is your reaction when you hear someone confidently proclaim that they take their directions from God, and not from other people? What impression are you given when you encounter those who say they follow God’s law, rather than human law—that they aren’t slaves to the dictates of others, but instead, they obey orders from on high?

Considering the often questionable wisdom of political leaders everywhere, that might seem to be a refreshing change of pace. I must confess (and I know I’m not alone on this), when I hear people say that kind of stuff, I am doubtful. I am dubious regarding their true motives.

It’s very easy to follow a course of action that one would have followed anyway—and then claim that “God told me to do it.” There’s a whole continuum of deeds, ranging from stuff like ignoring certain people in our daily lives, all the way to acts of murder and terrorism, which gets wrapped in a cloak of holiness. If we’re aware of such things, we can see that right here, as well as in countries all over the world.

Please understand, I’m not saying that these actions necessarily have to be bad things. In no way do those who say they’re following God’s law automatically have corrupt motives. (Even as I say it, I realize how bizarre that sounds!) Who can say what will be the result after a time of prayer—or after reflection on the scriptures? Part of the problem is when our underlying impulses, the things that drive us, go unnoticed and unexamined.

Having said all that, our scripture reading in Acts 5 has someone making the very claim I’ve been talking about. Verse 29 reports Peter and the apostles [saying], “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (NRSV). What is it that has led them to make such a blunt statement?

Earlier in the chapter, we read “that many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles” (v. 12). The sick are being healed, right and left. According to Luke, the author of Acts, the high priest and those with him are filled with jealousy. They have the apostles put under arrest. However, that night an angel arranges a jail break. The escapees are told to go right back to what they were doing.

The next morning sees the Sanhedrin, the religious council, gather together. When they find that Peter and his crew can’t be brought before them—because they’re no longer in custody—“puzzled” would be one way to describe them. And when they hear that the apostles are again teaching at the temple, the police are called to “escort” them to the council.

The high priest lectures them, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us” (v. 28). Here’s where Peter leads the others when he says they have to obey God, instead of humans. He backs up his claim by presenting the gospel in a nutshell. I’ll go into that in a moment.

After Peter’s speech, the boys in the Sanhedrin are seeing red. The audacity of these upstarts who don’t know their place! We know how to handle these types. Were it not for the widely-respected Pharisee, Gamaliel, Peter and his friends would surely have met their Maker right then and there.

Gamaliel has them taken outside, and he says, “Timeout! Let’s think about this.” He reminds his brothers in the Sanhedrin of some other characters who claimed to be somebody, but before long, they and their followers disappeared. He warns against drastic action; if there’s nothing to these guys, they’ll come to the same end those other clowns did. However, “if [they are from] God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” (v. 39).

So Gamaliel talks some sense into them—kind of. When the apostles are brought back in, they still receive a flogging, and they’re still ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus. I guess they still need to be reminded who’s in charge!

Still, when Peter says that they should obey God instead of human authority, he’s not saying anything a good Jew wouldn’t understand. In fact, the Pharisees arise during the time between the Old and New Testaments. One of their trademarks is opposition to unjust authority.

Last week, I mentioned how the Jewish nation replaced its Babylonian leaders with the Persians. Well, in the 4th century, a fellow by the name of Alexander the Great storms out of Greece and conquers everything between Egypt and India. He dies before returning home, but he leaves quite a legacy—Greek values and customs are spread throughout the Middle East. That includes Greek philosophy, as well as more mundane stuff, like consuming pork and wrestling in the nude.

During what’s known as the Maccabean revolt, the Jews fight against their Greek masters. In the books of the Maccabees, we see some often gruesome displays of rebellion. Among them are Eleazar, a revered scribe, and a mother with her seven sons—all of whom undergo severe torture rather than eating the flesh of swine (2 Mc 6-7). It’s during this time that the Pharisees champion the cause of struggle against the Greeks.

I bring all this up to make a point about Peter and his fellow apostles. We’ll allow others to remain nameless, but one thing we can say about them: they haven’t betrayed the faith of their ancestors. As for the fellows in the Sanhedrin—they need to check themselves before they go throwing stones!

Getting back to his synopsis of the gospel message in verses 30 to 32, Peter puts Jesus into the story of Israel. He places him into the history of salvation and liberation. With Peter’s claim of following God and not humans, he shows that he isn’t going off on some wild tangent.

He addresses the council, “The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.”[1] This is a statement of belief, but it’s also a not-so-carefully-veiled rebuke. It’s also a reprimand. God resurrected the one you killed! (How would you like to hear that? Maybe that explains why they still had them whipped, even after Gamaliel got execution off the table!)

But not only has God resurrected Jesus, God has “exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior” (v. 31). And I know you fellows don’t want to hear this, but it’s for your own good: Jesus is the one God uses to bring repentance and forgiveness.

Verse 32 is especially interesting. “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” The apostles deny that they’re bearing false witness. They know this stuff because they’ve seen it. And guess what? So has the Holy Spirit.

How can they make such a claim? How could they possibly know that the Spirit of God joins with them as witnesses? They know because God gives the Spirit to those who obey—those who obey God, rather than human traditions and ambitions that take the place of God.

Joan Chittister comments on a chapter in the Rule of Benedict that’s called, “Members on a Short Journey.” It’s a brief note on how monks should behave during quick trips outside the monastery. But I like that: members on a short journey. For her, “spirituality is not a set of rules; it is a way of life.”[2] Obeying God isn’t simply a question of exchanging one set of guidelines for another.

“What life demands from us,” she says, “is the single-minded search for God, not a series of vacations from our best selves.”[3] When we’re like the Benedictine monks, members on a short journey, we really do have to be careful that we don’t take a series of vacations from our best selves! (Contrary to popular opinion, what happens in Vegas…stays with you!)

Chittister goes on, “The point is a clear one…being business people does not give us the right to do during the week what we tell ourselves on Sunday that we shun; being American does not give us the right to be less Christian in order to be more patriotic; being rich does not give us the right to forget the poor. No Christian ever has the right to be less than the Gospels demand of them wherever they are.”[4]

What message would Peter and his friends have for us, in this community, in this country? Do we betray the faith of our ancestors? Thinking of obeying God and obeying humans, do we put the American dream in the place of God? I know this may be a surprise to some, but those two are not the same!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, who was assassinated thirty years ago last month. I’ve been reading his book, The Violence of Love, and there’s something in it that really spoke to me. (Actually, it might be better said that it struck me, as in, punched me!)

“Those who, in the biblical phrase,” says Romero, “would save their lives—that is, those who want to get along, who don’t want commitments, who don’t want to get into problems, who want to stay outside of a situation that demands the involvement of all of us—they will lose their lives.

“What a terrible thing to have lived quite comfortably, with no suffering, not getting involved in problems, quite tranquil, quite settled, with good connections politically, economically, socially—lacking nothing, having everything.”[5] Whoa! Hold on there, Oscar! Aren’t we supposed to dream for that stuff? Isn’t that what everyone says? Who wants to get involved in problems?

Still, we shouldn’t think that Romero glorifies suffering. In absolutely no way does he do it. Elsewhere in his book, he calls it what it is: terribly sinful, horribly evil.

Paraphrasing Jesus, he says, “‘But those who for love of me uproot themselves and accompany the people and go with the poor in their suffering and become incarnated and feel as their own the pain and the abuse—they will secure their lives, because my Father will reward them.’ Brothers and sisters, God’s word calls us to this today. Let me tell you with all the conviction I can muster, it is worthwhile to be a Christian.”[6]

I realize that some will immediately dismiss this, for whatever reason. But for those who are willing to listen, there is something of great value. I hate to say this, but when we get too comfortable, we start to become spiritually dull. We start to die inside. Sometimes so much of us has already died that we no longer notice, or even care.

This is the Easter season, and it’s all about resurrection. What in us is dead? What in us needs to be resurrected? When we make even the effort to obey God, God sends the Spirit who fills us with new life—the Spirit who leads us forward.

[1] the Greek word translated “tree” is xulon (xulon), which literally means “wood”

[2] Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (New York: Crossroad, 1992), 138.

[5] Oscar Romero, The Violence of Love (Farmington, PA: Plough Publishing House, 2007), 142.