Rev. Cari Pattison
Woodstock Reformed Church
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Spring sermon series in the book of Acts
“A Laboratory of Love: to Witness and Repent”
Acts 3:12-19
12When Peter saw it, he addressed the people,
“You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
13The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 15and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
17“And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19Repent therefore and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.”
***
Fit bit
Started out great! I’m crushing it with steps and love the little badges and high-fives it gives you.
The other night I came home with 9637 steps and you better believe…
You measure what you care about
Thankfully it also gives suggestions for what can improve my sleep
***
So last week we looked at some measurements of people leaving church
In the book by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, called The Great De-churching, a book released last year about who’s leaving the church and why they’re going… the authors unpack some staggering statistics on the state of American Christianity.
Today we’ll look at why
And what witness and repentance – two very churchy words – have to do with strengthening the church we have, and serving the ones who have no church.
Re-introduce this spring sermon series…
Last week we looked at 4 traits that characterized the early church in Acts 4:
Awe
Connection
Table
Shared
This week:
Attuned to the needs around them
Confession
Testimony
Signs and wonders
***
But first, a word to those who were discouraged by the stats in last week’s sermon- was I suggesting that despite our current vitality, that the Woodstock Church is simply destined for decline?
Explain the analogy of extended family…
Share the signs of life among us… attendance in worship, new members, confirmation, two bell choirs, new consistory members, ever more groups requesting to use our building for positive community programs, etc.
When I talk to other pastors and church members across the northeast… especially of historic mainline churches like ours… the news is not always so good.
So hear this, friends:
There are great signs of growth and flourishing among us! And believe me when I say the spirit of God is at work here!
But I think it’s also incumbent upon us to look at who’s not here- what are their needs? Why have they left church or never engaged with it in the first place, and what might we do to meet them where they are?
***
Why people are leaving- share stats.
Mainliners biggest reason (25%) – they moved away, other priorities, don’t fit in, and disagree with the church’s politics
23% no longer believed what the congregation did
22% said they didn’t feel like they fit in
19% doubted God’s existence
18% had other priorities
18% cited incidents of misogyny in the church
18% disagreed with the politics of their congregation
17% said faith wasn’t working for them
16% said the messages were not relevant
16% disagreed with the politics of the clergy
15% moved away and just never plugged into a church in their new town
14% said they didn’t experience much love from the congregation
12% said that suffering changed their view of God
Everything else was 11% or less (inconvenient, doubted God’s goodness, divorce or family change, disagreed with actions of their denomination, clergy scandals, covid, racism)
You may know someone these apply to, or maybe at some point, you had these reasons yourself, and took a break from church.
Let’s go back to the early church in the book of Acts.
***
Get into the basics of the text
Discuss what came before
Peter connects Jesus to their Jewish ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so they would see that this is not some new God or outlier spiritual teacher.
“You handed him over and rejected him.”
“You rejected the Holy and Righteous one.”
“You freed a murderer (Barabbas) instead.”
“You killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead.”
“You acted in ignorance, as did your rulers.”
But: through all that, God fulfilled what he’d foretold through the prophets- that the Messiah had to suffer.
Talk about what’s problematic with Peter here, and how this text has sometimes been used as a “text of terror.” A term Phyllis Trible came up with, to describe the ways certain scripture passages have been used to abuse or exclude.
And hello! Peter wasn’t exactly a paragon of loyalty to Christ, here. Look at his behavior, just weeks before! Is Peter spouting off some revisionist history here in Acts chapter 3?
When regarding this text we have to 1. Distinguish between the Jewish people and the Jewish leaders. After all, Peter is a Jew, talking to a group of Jewish people, describing Jesus who’s a Jew. 2. We have to take a troubling passage, in light of the entire witness of scripture- a Bible that includes book after book of God’s covenant with the Jewish people, and two lengthy chapters of the book of Romans, 9-11, in which Paul specifically outlines God’s continued commitment to the Jewish people.
But if we can hold in context Peter’s words here, knowing that he too was guilty of rejecting Christ, but had since turned around, we can recognize this passage not as an accusation against the Israelites of his day, but an invitation from Peter to his peers: “I want you to know who Jesus is!”
Peter wasn’t trying to start a religion- he was simply sharing what he’d experienced of Christ.
***
The first thing the apostles do here, as they leave the Upper Room and head out into the world, is witness to the resurrection. They share what they’ve seen and heard of Jesus and how he rose again.
But notice this witnessing is not just words!
It’s profoundly and inextricably linked to action- in this case, the action of healing.
Peter tells the astonished crowd, “Whoa, don’t make some celebrity out of me. It’s not my magic power that healed this man. It’s the name of Jesus, and the faith he has in that name.”
Now we could pause here and do a whole sermon series on this idea- the connection between faith and prayer and healing.
How many people have called on the name of Jesus for some form of healing- either for themselves or someone they love- and come up short?
Prayer and faith and healing are not some kind of quid-pro-quo equation, where if you just do it the right way and say the right things and believe the right ideas, you get healed.
But the point here, as I see it, is that the early Apostles- in this instance, Peter- always linked the witness of word and action. They didn’t tell about the power of the Risen Christ, without also demonstrating his love and healing. They couldn’t divorce the words about his life and teaching and salvation, from his mercy and generosity and kindness to those in need.
***
What does this have to do with the church today?
Witnessing is more than words.
If we want to open our doors and hearts to people around us in the community- most of whom are not churched, or not engaged with any community of religious faith-
We need to ask what their need is? Where is their longing for healing? How might Jesus work through us to touch upon that need and longing?
Examples…
Nancy tells me how many seniors in these wooded houses are living alone, barely able to get out, hungering for company, rides, hope.
Young parents tell me how hard it is to get childcare here, especially for those under 2 years old.
Parents of pre-teens and older youth tell me how much they long for there to be safe spaces where their kids can feel useful and valued and socially accepted.
Caregiving spouses and adult children tell me how all-consuming it can be, to care for their partner or parent who can no longer care for themselves. They long for times of respite and support.
New transplants to this area, especially single people, speak of their struggles to find real community and connection. The difficulty of making new friends in an area where people tend to be more isolated and introverted, and already have their established friends and families here of many years.
All of this leads me to wonder, how might our church have something to offer them? How might we as people of faith in Jesus, minister to these needs in an authentic way? What would it look like for us to pair our witness of words, with acts of real help and healing?
***
The 2nd thing here is repentance- define what this is.
And how Peter himself is a living example of this.
This applies to us collectively and individually:
Share stats on what makes people return to church…
What brings people back? (21% say they’re never going back)
33% new friends – because they recently moved, and/or are lonely
28% God tells me to go back
27% I find a church I like
22% a good pastor
22% their kid wants to go!
21% a friend invited them
20% a good community
19% feeling distance from God
17% finding a church that cares about justice and compassion
Some say they begin to miss church
How we might apply this.
Talk about Jeff Chu’s ordination last week? In a sense, the denominational body that certifies candidates for ordination- MFCA- repented. The Ministerial Formation Certification Agency.
***
But also it’s at the individual level- humbling ourselves to acknowledge when we messed up, shouldn’t have said that thing, shouldn’t have emailed those words.
Sometimes, it’s not even that we so much feel convinced we’re in the wrong- but just knowing that our words or actions or silence hurt someone else- is enough to say a sincere “sorry,” and try to make it right.
Similar to witnessing-
Repentance that’s just words, isn’t worth much.
We show it in our actions.
***
Not only can the church begin to look more outwardly and ask what the unchurched world needs and hopes for…
But we can also take an inventory of our own relationships- in church and out of it and look at where there’s a need for repair.
Sometimes prayer helps us identify this. But so does therapy. I’m of the mind that everyone needs a therapist- if not regularly, at least once in a while. For me, it’s helped with self-awareness, reflection, and navigating the relationships and roles in my life.
Good therapy is not just for people “battling mental illness,” and contrary to popular belief, it’s not a place for blaming your family or loved ones. It’s a way to practice repentance and self-reflection. To grow in maturity and to gain new skills and tools for dealing with the difficulties of life that we all face.
For me, church and family and friends can’t give the same objectiveness and expertise and confidentiality, that a good therapist or counselor can.
***
A true repentance of heart is one that doesn’t say, “I’m sorry but…”
It’s not a posture that expects the other person to apologize first.
It’s “keeping your own side of the street clean,” as Taylor Swift sings.
***
One profound example of this comes from a story in the Washington Post several years back: (sum up the article)
One person’s witness to the love of God can start a ripple effect of healing.
And one person’s sincere repentance can change the course of their lives and the lives of those around them.
Woodstock Church, how is God calling us to witness in word and in deed?
And what would it look like for us to truly repent? Not only in reconciliation with those in our own life, but as a church- to turn in a new direction- toward the disillusioned & de-churched children of God in the world around us?
Let us pray:
We need your help, O Lord. It’s not by our own power or resolve that we change- but only by the power of your name.
In the hope of Jesus we pray, Amen.