Acts
16: 25- 40 About midnight Paul and
Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to
them. 26Suddenly
there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were
shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were
unfastened. 27When
the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was
about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.
28But
Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
29The
jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and
Silas. 30Then
he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31They
answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household.” 32They
spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33At
the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his
entire family were baptized without delay. 34He
brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire
household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
35When
morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.”
36And
the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to
let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37But
Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman
citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us
in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.”
38The
police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they
heard that they were Roman citizens; 39so
they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave
the city. 40After
leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and
encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they
departed.
Review
from last two weeks-
1.
Church building- Lydia, finance- call to build in that area- why do we build
churches? Equipping the saints. Ephesians 4:12 "Equipping" in first century had
four meanings
1-
medical term- meant when a bone was broken, you would set it right- fixing
broken things.... 2-nautical term- pack ships- someone going on a journey,
stocking the boat with everything they need 3- restore to original intent- so
whatever was the original purpose of something, it could be used again for that
purpose 4- military readiness for battle- training people to fight, wearing
armor and using weapons, learning strategy. Let's keep all 4 of those over here
for a moment and continue our catch up
2. Slave girl- what was wrong with
her?
3. Healing-why? reluctance possible
repercussions- devaluing property- perhaps timing
4.
Prison- beaten, stocks (built a case against them)
5.
Earthquake- freedom- jailer- don't do it!
6.
Jailers house, spreading gospel, reconciliation, washing
wounds
7.
The end of a very long day, they finally sleep. But across town, no one is sleeping.
Morning comes, and just as Mrs Jailer is putting breakfast on the table, there
is a knock at the door of the jailers house- it is the police-
Maybe
the jailer was afraid when he saw them, maybe not, but they aren't here about
the prison break. Instead they tell
the jailer to let Paul and Silas go free. The jailer goes to the kitchen and
tells Paul- "the police are here- you can go, so go on... go in peace... you can
slip out before anyone is the wiser...."
But
Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned,(meaning they did it
without even a trial) men who are Roman
citizens,
Now
we have to stop here a second and talk about what Paul meant- because we all
know he was a Jew.... he says it over and over. However, in Rome, there were several
ways to become a citizen, from buying it, to earning it- like a slave could
eventually work his way to freedom and earn citizenship- but in Pauls case, his
parents were both Roman citizens, so he was born into it. Being a citizen in
Rome was a big deal- and it came with lots of perks- one of them being that you
have to have a fair trial.
The
jailer most likely had no idea that they were citizens, and notice Paul never
said anything about it up to this point.
But it doesn't take him long to realize that Paul could have his job for
what he had done- along with the rest of the police and magistrates all the way
up the line that have mistreated him and broken the law. They could lose all
power in Rome and be tried themselves.
And
Paul continues: “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men
who are Roman citizens, and they have thrown us into prison; and now are
they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us
out themselves.”
And
here is where I hand it to Paul.
He knows the law, and is now using it to further his cause and send a
message. The corruption in Rome, the system that is in place that kept this
slave girl a slave, systems that went all the way up the hierarchy of Rome, is
now brought to its knees by one person who knew the law and was using it to his
advantage- to take a swat at a corrupt system.
The
Jailer goes back and relays the message to the police- and in an hour, the
magistrates are at their door, publically apologizing to Paul and Silas. ANd
then they ask Paul and Silas to please leave the city. Of course- the
quicker they are out of the city, the less chance any of this has of going
viral.
But
Paul says to them, in essence- we'll leave when we are ready to leave, and not
before. The authorities have no choice but to let him do what he wants at this
point. And he goes back in to help Mrs Jailer with the breakfast dishes, and
then they head over to Lydias to continue church building. And when they had
done everything that they needed to do, and according to the text that included
encouraging the brothers and sisters- they finally left the
city.
What
a story! ANd what a message it sends to Rome, and what a message it sends to
us. I think that one of the
reasons this one is left out of the lectionary is because in this portion of the
story, we get a different view of what it means to be a Christian.
We get a side of Christianity that people are sometimes uncomfortable
with. We can deal with the healing,
and we can deal with the suffering for doing the right thing, and we like the
conversion fo the jailer, and even though we balk at it, we can live with the
call to reconcile, even with those who hurt us... but
when
it comes down to this part- and we see the tough law-savvy side of the
Christian- the one who not only knows the law, but knows how to use it to his
advantage... we get a glimpse of the radical side of our call.
ANd I believe that was part
of Pauls encouragment to the church before he left the city- "We've sent a
message to Rome today- "We know the Roman law as well as you. And we will use that law
to its fullest extent to protect ourselves and to serve the cause of Christ. So
be careful when you deal with Christians. Be very careful!”[i]
So when I look at this story, and I reflect on people in history
who have acted in this same manner- some Christian and some not- in fact last
night we were watching the story of Harvey Milk- and again noticed how,
working within the law and using it to the advantage and to advance the gay
rights movement... (can you name others? Pride
weekend)
I thought, as a pastor, and as a church, is this something that
we are teaching? Are we, in first century terms, equipping the saints to do
ministry. our congregation, and how we equip the saints. SO lets go back to
those four points:
The church is great (in theory) at number 1.
We know we are supposed to heal the broken... we think we know how to fix
every broken bone and we have the cure all to set people straight (no put
intended)
But looking at numbers 2-3, where are we? When we talk about
equipping as far as packing for what's needed- how equip do you feel personally,
what is in your boat. ANd then as
a church- What are we as First Baptist of Moorestown, offering people to put in
their boat? Discipleship? Bible training? Training in sharing the gospel?
Talking about their own faith journey with ease? Do they have a faith journey?
(relationship or transformation by god?)Retreat, etc... sharing our
story.
3: What is our
original intent- first, as a valuable part of God's creation, working in harmony
with one another,(becoming the very best version of ourselves and all that God
designed for us to be) and then
what is the original intent of the church? Shalom building/social
justice/compassion/equity
4: Military readiness for battle- and by this I mean- do we know
what's going on in the world? Are we aware of how we can work within the present
framework of the law and how the law can work for us as well? Do we know how to
fight against corrupt systems? Do we know how to get laws changed that are
unfair? What "weapons" are at our disposal and what armor can we put on to ready
ourselves for the fight against injustice? I know I don't usually use any
militaristic terms, but there is a sense of having to fight the good fight, sint
there?
There are some Christians out there who
do this very well, (first time Christianity the
organization of conservative Christian participation in political processes.
Save our children...?
Proposition 6- take away civil rights) and our church has a history of
activism... issues and actions...a way of becoming aware in our own
congregation- Issues and actions
is part of that 4th part of equipping the saints.
Jennifer
Bradley
[i]
http://www.rclinthicum.org/fullset/RCL_Cycles_ABC_Chapter_6.pdf
16: 25- 40 About midnight Paul and
Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to
them. 26Suddenly
there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were
shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were
unfastened. 27When
the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was
about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.
28But
Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
29The
jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and
Silas. 30Then
he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31They
answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household.” 32They
spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33At
the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his
entire family were baptized without delay. 34He
brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire
household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
35When
morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.”
36And
the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to
let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37But
Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman
citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us
in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.”
38The
police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they
heard that they were Roman citizens; 39so
they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave
the city. 40After
leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and
encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they
departed.
Review
from last two weeks-
1.
Church building- Lydia, finance- call to build in that area- why do we build
churches? Equipping the saints. Ephesians 4:12 "Equipping" in first century had
four meanings
1-
medical term- meant when a bone was broken, you would set it right- fixing
broken things.... 2-nautical term- pack ships- someone going on a journey,
stocking the boat with everything they need 3- restore to original intent- so
whatever was the original purpose of something, it could be used again for that
purpose 4- military readiness for battle- training people to fight, wearing
armor and using weapons, learning strategy. Let's keep all 4 of those over here
for a moment and continue our catch up
2. Slave girl- what was wrong with
her?
3. Healing-why? reluctance possible
repercussions- devaluing property- perhaps timing
4.
Prison- beaten, stocks (built a case against them)
5.
Earthquake- freedom- jailer- don't do it!
6.
Jailers house, spreading gospel, reconciliation, washing
wounds
7.
The end of a very long day, they finally sleep. But across town, no one is sleeping.
Morning comes, and just as Mrs Jailer is putting breakfast on the table, there
is a knock at the door of the jailers house- it is the police-
Maybe
the jailer was afraid when he saw them, maybe not, but they aren't here about
the prison break. Instead they tell
the jailer to let Paul and Silas go free. The jailer goes to the kitchen and
tells Paul- "the police are here- you can go, so go on... go in peace... you can
slip out before anyone is the wiser...."
But
Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned,(meaning they did it
without even a trial) men who are Roman
citizens,
Now
we have to stop here a second and talk about what Paul meant- because we all
know he was a Jew.... he says it over and over. However, in Rome, there were several
ways to become a citizen, from buying it, to earning it- like a slave could
eventually work his way to freedom and earn citizenship- but in Pauls case, his
parents were both Roman citizens, so he was born into it. Being a citizen in
Rome was a big deal- and it came with lots of perks- one of them being that you
have to have a fair trial.
The
jailer most likely had no idea that they were citizens, and notice Paul never
said anything about it up to this point.
But it doesn't take him long to realize that Paul could have his job for
what he had done- along with the rest of the police and magistrates all the way
up the line that have mistreated him and broken the law. They could lose all
power in Rome and be tried themselves.
And
Paul continues: “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men
who are Roman citizens, and they have thrown us into prison; and now are
they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us
out themselves.”
And
here is where I hand it to Paul.
He knows the law, and is now using it to further his cause and send a
message. The corruption in Rome, the system that is in place that kept this
slave girl a slave, systems that went all the way up the hierarchy of Rome, is
now brought to its knees by one person who knew the law and was using it to his
advantage- to take a swat at a corrupt system.
The
Jailer goes back and relays the message to the police- and in an hour, the
magistrates are at their door, publically apologizing to Paul and Silas. ANd
then they ask Paul and Silas to please leave the city. Of course- the
quicker they are out of the city, the less chance any of this has of going
viral.
But
Paul says to them, in essence- we'll leave when we are ready to leave, and not
before. The authorities have no choice but to let him do what he wants at this
point. And he goes back in to help Mrs Jailer with the breakfast dishes, and
then they head over to Lydias to continue church building. And when they had
done everything that they needed to do, and according to the text that included
encouraging the brothers and sisters- they finally left the
city.
What
a story! ANd what a message it sends to Rome, and what a message it sends to
us. I think that one of the
reasons this one is left out of the lectionary is because in this portion of the
story, we get a different view of what it means to be a Christian.
We get a side of Christianity that people are sometimes uncomfortable
with. We can deal with the healing,
and we can deal with the suffering for doing the right thing, and we like the
conversion fo the jailer, and even though we balk at it, we can live with the
call to reconcile, even with those who hurt us... but
when
it comes down to this part- and we see the tough law-savvy side of the
Christian- the one who not only knows the law, but knows how to use it to his
advantage... we get a glimpse of the radical side of our call.
ANd I believe that was part
of Pauls encouragment to the church before he left the city- "We've sent a
message to Rome today- "We know the Roman law as well as you. And we will use that law
to its fullest extent to protect ourselves and to serve the cause of Christ. So
be careful when you deal with Christians. Be very careful!”[i]
So when I look at this story, and I reflect on people in history
who have acted in this same manner- some Christian and some not- in fact last
night we were watching the story of Harvey Milk- and again noticed how,
working within the law and using it to the advantage and to advance the gay
rights movement... (can you name others? Pride
weekend)
I thought, as a pastor, and as a church, is this something that
we are teaching? Are we, in first century terms, equipping the saints to do
ministry. our congregation, and how we equip the saints. SO lets go back to
those four points:
The church is great (in theory) at number 1.
We know we are supposed to heal the broken... we think we know how to fix
every broken bone and we have the cure all to set people straight (no put
intended)
But looking at numbers 2-3, where are we? When we talk about
equipping as far as packing for what's needed- how equip do you feel personally,
what is in your boat. ANd then as
a church- What are we as First Baptist of Moorestown, offering people to put in
their boat? Discipleship? Bible training? Training in sharing the gospel?
Talking about their own faith journey with ease? Do they have a faith journey?
(relationship or transformation by god?)Retreat, etc... sharing our
story.
3: What is our
original intent- first, as a valuable part of God's creation, working in harmony
with one another,(becoming the very best version of ourselves and all that God
designed for us to be) and then
what is the original intent of the church? Shalom building/social
justice/compassion/equity
4: Military readiness for battle- and by this I mean- do we know
what's going on in the world? Are we aware of how we can work within the present
framework of the law and how the law can work for us as well? Do we know how to
fight against corrupt systems? Do we know how to get laws changed that are
unfair? What "weapons" are at our disposal and what armor can we put on to ready
ourselves for the fight against injustice? I know I don't usually use any
militaristic terms, but there is a sense of having to fight the good fight, sint
there?
There are some Christians out there who
do this very well, (first time Christianity the
organization of conservative Christian participation in political processes.
Save our children...?
Proposition 6- take away civil rights) and our church has a history of
activism... issues and actions...a way of becoming aware in our own
congregation- Issues and actions
is part of that 4th part of equipping the saints.
Jennifer
Bradley
[i]
http://www.rclinthicum.org/fullset/RCL_Cycles_ABC_Chapter_6.pdf