Sunday Homily 4-22-12, 3rd Easter
Readings: Acts 3, 13-19, I know that you acted out of ignorance; Psalm 4, Lord, let your face shine on us; 1 John 2, 1-5, Whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him; Luke 24, 35-48, Peace be with you.
Acts: A review–
Author: Luke, the author of both The Gospel and Acts. Today we get Luke twice, in the first reading with Acts and in the last reading, today's Gospel.
While we are on the subject, Luke's gospel story today is a compliment to last week's gospel story by John. Both John & Luke find the apostles in a locked room, Jesus appears, and he says, "Peace." Both focus on the physical, last week on Thomas demanding to see the wounds, this week Jesus eating. What does he eat? Why so much focus on the physical?
Date: written about 40-60 years after Jesus death, i.e., ca. 70-100 A.D.
Subject: Two parts. Part one covers chapters 1-8, which focus on the resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost, plus their effect on the community. The rest of the book, i.e., chapters 9-28, the focus is on Paul, his conversion & travels.
Today's Selection:
The scene is this, just like last week. Peter & John have just healed a lame man at the door of the temple. The people come rushing to see. Peter & John say, "Hey, we did not do it." In fact, Jesus did it and he has been raised from the dead. This caught the attention of the priests and authorities who had the two arrested and put before the council. They are released the next day after a warning not to talk about this Jesus. Then they return to the local community of believers.
Today we go back to the time just after the healing of the lame man. The people have rushed to see the phenomenon and ask Peter & John to explain. Today's reading is their explanation.
Where is The Lord Here?
This morning I want to talk about something that has been tearing up my spirit. Anybody heard of a little dog named Justice?
He was a street dog, a puppy. He died mercifully a week ago Friday. Justice was apparently a peaceful, affectionate little puppy running around the streets of Pleasant Grove.
One day he had the misfortune to be noticed by some teen boys who were loafing around looking for some amusement. They decided to amuse themselves with little Justice. So, as happens occasionally in a group of boys, they began to pester him.
Things got bad. One kid put a rope around Justice’s neck and tried to hang him from a fence. When that did not satisfy them, another boy doused the puppy with charcoal lighter fluid and set him on fire. He ran around frantically.
At this point some woman in a nearby apartment ran out with water & an old T shirt to aid Justice. Someone else called the police and they found Justice shivering & hiding behind an air conditioning compressor.
They called an animal shelter who called DFW Rescue Me, because Justice needed intensive care. A big rig truck driver from Denton got involved and actually shuttled Justice around from his daytime treatment to his nighttime treatment. To the very end, even when his blood pressure was so low, Justice continued to wag in appreciation his little white tipped tail.
What would you like to do to those boys? There is a $5000 reward.
Luke’s message today describes how the Lord appeared among them two times and said, “Peace be with you.” Is he present in this event? I would like to propose that yes, God is in this event, even as ugly as it is. I see three possibilities.
First, I see God in the woman who had the courage to come out of her apartment and rescue Justice. She did not know what would happen. Those boys could have turned on her. It happens.
Secondly, I see God in the truck driver who shepherded Justice between his day & night treatment centers. His name was Wenger. He is from Denton. This happened in Pleasant Grove, opposites in the Metroplex. Wenger showed great kindness to the little street puppy.
Finally, the boys. Yes, God is in the boys. They acted out of their shadow sides, but they are still works of God. I have worked with kids and adults like this. Two speculations coming from my experiences.
First, I bet you when these boys were puppies they, too, were treated badly. Maybe not set on fire, but hurt & hurt repeatedly to a point where they are responding to the world with anger. Hurt breeds anger, anger breeds violence. I want to hurt others because I hurt.
Secondly, I bet that because of feedback that they are bad, they think they are bad. And act it out. The kid has nothing to lose. He is already a loser. I thought I was bad when I was a kid and I wasn’t.
So, where do you see The Lord in all this?
Reference: Dallas Morning, News, Jacquielynn Floyd, Metro section, April 18, 2012
Video: Candle Lighting (2 Min.)