Sermon: Resurrected Power – Discipleship with Power

Resurrection Power: Discipleship with Power

Acts 5:17-42

GSLC – Easter 2C 2010

An audio version of this sermon can be found at www.eflock.org

Christ is Risen!  Christ is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!

“What’s in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  Juliet recites these words as she contemplates the forbidden family name of her lover, Romeo.  That name, Montegue,  means something as it keeps their love secret and (spoiler alert) leads to their death.  Throughout the Bible, names are powerful and important. Names are often given and changed in response to important changes in life and to share a truth about who that person is and what they will do.   Adam named the animals of the earth at creation, Abram and Sarai’s names were changed as they heard God’s promise to be a blessing to the nations.  Jacob was called Israel (which means wrestles with God) after wrestling with God, the disciple Simon was called Peter (which means rock), Saul became Paul after his conversion, and the name Jesus means “God saves.”  And while names in our culture may not carry the weight they did in the Scriptures, they still are tied to identity, it’s why we say of a newborn “he looks like an Cletus” or why some women choose not to change their name at marriage, and why Rachel and I will probably not name any of our children Poly Esther.  Names means something

The gospel writer, Luke, who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, has these as the last words Jesus speaks to his disciples before his ascension “The messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  you are witnesses of these things.  And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:47)  And so the apostles, who were uneducated and ordinary men, received the power of the Holy Spirit and started proclaiming forgiveness.  Life. Resurrection in the temple courts day after day.

And it scared the chief priests – the men of power, the men who run things for Rome on a daily basis are jealous and filled with the desire to kill these ordinary and uneducated men.  They say at one point, “It is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it.  But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in his name” (4:16-17). Seeing the work of God in the world.  Seeing the signs of the power of the name they ignored it.  Caring more about the status quo, their power, their names being known.   So the chief priests told the apostles not to proclaim in the name of Jesus any more.  They couldn’t kill them because they were afraid of the crowds. But the apostles are witnesses, they have seen the risen Lord and their lives have been changed.  They have seen “God Saves.” How could they stop?  Nothing will stop the power of God.  Every time they are imprisoned for speaking the name, God delivers them so that the message might be continued.  There is Power in speaking truth to power.  And despite the religious leaders’ best efforts, the movement of the Way of Jesus continued to grow daily. Sometimes by thousands. Not through their own efforts or work, but through the power of the name. And they  devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, breaking bread together, prayer, and holding all things in common.

Speaking a name has power to it, as any child whose heard their entire name used by their parent knows all too well.  When we name the name of Jesus – when we speak, when we serve, when we live in the strong, powerful, life-giving, resurrected name of Jesus we are doing more than naming a historical figure who died 2000 years ago.  We are speaking more than magic words in hopes that our wishes and desires will come true.  When we witness to the name of Jesus it means that all our trust, all our confidence, all our faith is in the one who was crucified, died, risen, exalted to give us yet today his Holy Spirit.  It is to trust that God, whose transformative power we have seen in the resurrection of Jesus, is transforming our world now.  Jesus says, “You will be my witnesses in the world.”

Our witness in the world is not because we are good people or because it is the right thing to do.  Like Peter, our trust crumbles in the face of crucifixion and we deny the Lord.  Can death really lead to life? I don’t want to die to any aspect of my life. Everything is just fine.  We like Peter and John are ordinary and uneducated people. How can I witness to what I’m not sure I’ve even seen? I’m not a person of deep faith, I’m just a person trying to get by in the world. I’m not trained, I’m not eloquent, I’m not absolutely certain.  We, like the chief priests may see the signs of God’s reign all around us, signs of resurrection, signs of forgiveness, signs of new life but choose to ignore them. The status quo is easier and safer to maintain. It’s easier to buy than give.  It’s easier to stay quiet than speak up.  It’s easier to walk on by rather than stop and engage.  It’s easier to cut someone off than it is to forgive.  New life may happen in certain places of my life, but resurrection can’t be everywhere.  Can it?

If it were left to us, there would be no witness of resurrection, of God’s presence, of forgiveness in the world.  But it’s not up to us.  We have been chosen, called, baptized, forgiven, fed, and empowered by Christ.  Not a dead man walking, but a man full of grace and truth.  Who calls us by name, just as he called out Mary’s on Easter morning.  Who calls us by name just as tenderly and lovingly as we call our children, our loved ones.  Who in baptism says your name. Child of God, you have been sealed with the holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.  Jesus says, “You will be my witnesses in the world.”

Our witness in the world is because the power of Jesus is working through our being called by name, we are witnesses to the power of the Holy Spirit sealed forever in our lives since our baptism.  Discipleship with power from God.  This is life in light of the resurrection.  And being called by name, we can call on the name of Jesus.  Claiming and proclaiming that all things are in God’s control.  That God’s power and presence cannot and will not be stopped or hindered by the so-called powers of violence, hate, oppression, poverty, discrimination, and abuse.  For in the death and resurrection of Christ all these things have been claimed by God.  They will be transformed.  They will be overcome.  They are death and death no longer is the final word.  The final word that we proclaim.  The final word that we hold to be true.  The final word that has the power of God to bring about forgiveness of sins and new life to the dead is that Name above all names.  The one name by which we must be saved.  The name that transforms us and transforms this world.  The name that we are called to call upon.  Jesus.  God saves.  Yesterday, Today, and tomorrow.  What’s in a name?  The power of God.

Grace and peace to you in the strong, powerful, saving name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.