St. John United Church of Christ, Arlington Hts., Illinois
May 16, 2010 – Ascension Sunday
Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 12:1-17
Rev. Jeffrey L. Phillips, pastor
Herod kills James and has Peter arrested. It looks like the end of the church.
But the church has two powerful weapons against him: prayer and a powerful angel.
Peter is bound with two chains between two guards.
More guards at every exit.
The night before he is to be executed, an angel taps him on the shoulder, leads him out.
Iron gate opens on its own.
Goes to Mary’s house: another gate – this one harder to get open than the prison gate.
The maid Rhoda answers.
She and the disciples don’t believe it’s Peter (had they given up on him?).
They see him, believe what God has done, and Peter leaves for “another place.”
Herod dies a horrible death (eaten by worms).
All started with the prayers of the people and an angel’s tap on the shoulder.
Peter’s great escape.
Good versus evil.
God’s power: God stronger than ruthless Herod, whom everyone feared
Prison chains fall off.
Rescue, deliverance.
The Gospel: God triumphs over death.
Another word for this: Freedom.
Does this story sound familiar?
Happens at Passover.
James dies like Jesus. Peter almost dies like Jesus.
But Peter beats death like Jesus did on Easter.
Like after the resurrection, the disciples fail to believe it is Peter, but once they see him, they believe!
Like Jesus’ ascension, Peter, too, must be off to another place.
Basic Christian message: Freedom over sin and death
The ways things seem to be is not the way they have to be.
The things are is not the way they have to be.
God does not rest until people are free. God does not tolerate slavery/evil.
Crucifixion today, but resurrection tomorrow.
Prison chains today, but liberation tomorrow – by God’s power.
Sin today, but forgiveness is possible in the future.
Poverty, war, and bigotry today, but plenty, peace, and equality are around the corner.
Freedom.
Word often used, yet seldom considered.
Does it simply mean do what you want?
That’s not freedom; that’s selfishness and chaos!
And who achieves human freedom?
Most people would say it’s all up to us – a matter of self-help
Biblical freedom is always something God achieves through us and the community.
Today’s story: Peter didn’t do a thing!
The community prays.
The angel taps him on the shoulder.
Freedom is God’s gift
Free to do what?
Biblical freedom is never just for us – for our benefit.
It’s so that we can be free to love and serve God and God’s people.
Peter’s freedom – so he could go on to preach, and so the church would continue
Israelites in Egypt
Jesus’ resurrection and ascension
Freedom from what?
Not just spiritual freedom, but spiritual and physical freedom (Jesus was divine and human, and cared for people’s inner lives as well as their physical and social lives)
Anything that holds us back from loving and serving God and God’s people!
Prison chains – children of the incarcerated
Slavery and child abuse in the world today (Afghanistan)
Ill health and mental illness, depression, and addiction
Free from worry about the future
Free from shame (define)
Free from worrying about what other people think
Free from guilt (feeling unforgiven and unreconciled to the past)
Holding grudges and unforgiveness in our hearts
Feeling distant from God and others
Being trapped in a bad marriage or bad job
Bigotry and prejudice still alive today, not only in the Civil Rights era (seeking after social justice for…., including people who live under political repression)
God wants us to be free – not only for ourselves, but so God can use us to free the world from its bondage to sin.
Peter had a community praying for his freedom.
Can we be the community praying for you and your freedom and the world’s freedom?
Peter had an angel who tapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Let’s go, Pete.”
Might there be an angel tapping on your shoulder, encouraging you to take the steps you need to take for your freedom or the freedom of others?
We are not alone in our struggle to be free of all that deters us from loving and serving God.
We have one another.
We have the God’s resurrection power, God’s ascension power, God’s angel power.
Another kind of bondage is when we get too dependent on people.
Sabbatical – an opportunity not only for me to spread my wings a bit, but for you to hear the Gospel proclaimed by others.
I’m not the only person qualified to preach and administer the sacraments!
Sabbatical is an opportunity for you to remember that the church is the people, not the pastor.
It’s a time for you to get to know one another better, support and care for one another, and not be dependent on me.
Dependency is not freedom, but another form of slavery!
Churches that are overly dependent on their pastors, or overly focused on their pastors, do not thrive. A church needs to be focused on God – and the mission God has for it.
My absence these 4 months will help you do that, I hope.
And you will be OK.
The message of the Gospel is this: in the end, God wins. Every time. No exceptions. God defeats Herod. God defeats prison chains. Peter escapes while Herod dies. Jesus, crucified, dead, and buried, now lives and reigns with God forever. God reigns. God wins. Period.
We Shall Overcome – an anthem of hope that God’s freedom will come one day for all.
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