Called by no other name

The pastor says: “As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins....”

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep...of my own accord. I know my own, and my own know me.”

Who says so?”

We can hear the official's voice fairly dripping with sarcasm as he demands to know who gives Peter and John the right and authority to speak and do as they have.

And their answer is honest but astounding.

The source of their authority is the one who was crucified by the authorities, the one who had been utterly rejected by everyone in positions of power, and had been discarded with the city garbage.

Peter makes the claim that this one who had been rejected has been resurrected and thus is shown to be vested with all power and authority.

“There is salvation in no one else,” Peter says.

This is true, for no one else has been raised from the dead in this way.

And then the additional ideas begin to flow.

We make promises, but they all are limited by at least the one condition of death.

Jesus made promises, but if the condition of death is now overcome for him, then the promises he makes can be good forever!

Salvation is the playing out of Jesus' promises to us.

If Jesus is the only one for whom this has happened in the fullest possible way, then Peter is right when he says that “there is salvation in no one else.”

It is not that we don't appreciate the potential goodness of other persons or other religions, it is just that we do not use the word “salvation” when talking about them, no matter how nice they are.

Faith in Jesus Christ is the goal to which God has been leading persons, no matter what their prior background, all along.

The light of God's kingdom, which shines no in Christ Jesus, flashes out upon all, as the end to which God has been directing them, even though they were not aware of it.

God says so!

The consternation this caused is those first hearers of Peter and John!

And the consternation those statements still make today.

There are those among us who would say that the statements are too strong, they're not “nice”, that everybody's saved anyway, that there are many paths to God, that God has many names, etc. etc.

Sorry. None of this squares with the death of the martyrs across the generations.

Why did they give their lives if nothing matters, if everything is of equal value?

Why are martyrs dying today if nothing matters?

And most of all, the “nothing matters” attitude does not square with the witness of scripture.

“I preach only Christ and him crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” [1Cor.1:23-25]

Nobody is born a Christian.

Every one of us is brought to faith in Christ Jesus through the gentle leading of another person.... a parent or grandparent, a mentor or friend.

The bath of Holy Baptism establishes the relationship, and the meal of Holy Communion feeds it.

The stories of the Gospel are told and work upon our heart and mind.

The prayers both individual and corporate are fashioned for the Spirit to move between the will of the Father and our limited capacity to move.

The actions of daily life are the testing ground where we are to practice the heavenly fellowship of which we are already a part in promise, and also to be the places where we bump into someone and find the opportunities to invite that person to see and hear Jesus with us in worship, in study, in service, in prayer, in companionship.

All of this will sound familiar to the number of members of the congregation who over the years have been involved in the adult catechumenate process we call The Way, including the four whom we recognize and send out today with the encouragement of the Council in the Third Use of the Law.

We have reviewed all those elements basic to the faith,

we have thought about what is important,

we have practiced detective work in the scriptures week after week,

we have received the needed tools,

and now it is time for everyone,

and not just members of the Way

to make use of all of these things much more fully than we have in the past.

It is not just a job for Peter and John.

Each of us has been commissioned by the Lord Jesus in Holy Baptism to be “making disciples of all nations”.

Impossible! Utterly ridiculous!

-11 mostly illiterate men and a few women,

-a fickle crowd, here today, gone tomorrow,

-an enemy Sanhedrin,

-the whole might of the Roman empire nearing the zenith of its power,

-charismatic leader crucified,

-no organization,

-no money

-no business plan

Peter and John are dragged in as prisoners, with nothing, …

but with everything,

with the authority that matters...

and they start talking.

And amazingly, a little bit of heaven begins to be anticipated.

And it can be for us as well.

We cannot forever be teetering at the edge of the nest like a fledgling afraid to spread its wings and take flight.

We have access to every electronic gadget and printed resource anyone could want.

We can train and prepare. Not a problem.

It is the living and the doing that is hard.

What kind of a place is this in which we gather?

Is it a country club, or a field hospital?

Both are honorable structures that serve distinct functions in society, but they are very different.

If required to choose, we need to be clear that this church is to be much more like a field hospital than the playground of a country club.

We are to be about the serious business of rescuing people at the point of death in life's battles with sin and Satan and offering them new life with us in Christ.

For here we have heard the authority of the one true shepherd's voice, and invite everyone to join us in proclaiming:

Christ is risen. HE IS RISEN INDEED. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.