May 16, 2010

The foundational document of our faith is a series of interactions between designated individuals and a living God.  Christian scripture is one encounter after another between the powerful creating force and his most precious work-human beings.  Page by page, chapter by chapter, the history of a relationship is revealed.  Within the covers there are no stories, epics or tales where either God or man acts without connection to the other.  In the beginning of the beginning, God brought forth life culminating quickly (at least in God’s notion of time) with the advent of human beings.  God called us into being, made us with bone and sinew, nerves and muscles, reason and emotions.  He constructed us intricate and complex.  He made us to be interesting, stimulating and unpredictable.  To the rest of his creation he gave instinct, to us he gave free will.  He made us purposefully, intentionally, to be engaging partners- not equals but nonetheless beloved.  

God formed us to be eager for connection, but he did not wire us with compelled, slavish devotion.  The choice to choose God, to recognize God, to love and adore God is one freely made by every human being and cannot be induced by any other human, nor will it be forced by God.  Saying yes to God is a personal, stand-alone decision.  Mamas can’t make you, friends can’t prod you, bosses or teachers can’t order you to believe and follow the Almighty’s direction.  We come to that determination on our own.  God calls us to the point of decision and waits for our answer.  God, ever patient, ever loving, calls us again and again.  He uses both mundane and extraordinary circumstances to grab our attention, to say I am here for you. I plan good for you.  Choose me.  We know this is God’s way by the many accounts recorded in our scripture.  This morning we hear another example of God’s dramatic life-changing, life-saving call. 

From the lesson in Acts, we learn that Timothy, Paul and Silas have arrived in Philippi, a Roman colony located in Macedonia . They are doing the work of evangelists, telling their story of faith and inviting others into the experience of belief with the resulting benefits.  Their mission is interrupted by an odd encounter.  A slave girl with either the gift of exceptional insight or remarkable acting skills is earning her masters a nice income working as a psychic.  She changes her focus from the people in the market place and begins stalking Paul and his companions.  She makes a scene, shouting out loud pronouncements.  Paul, much annoyed, confronts the girl and she is changed.  She will no longer make predictions, tell fortunes or read the future.  Her owners are irritated.  They realize an immediate loss of income and so they file a complaint against Paul, Silas, Timothy and company.  They make a case of impediment to free trade, restriction of commerce.  The Christian missionaries are convicted and thrown in jail.  Because this is 1^st century justice, the men are beaten first and their feet are locked in stocks to impede movement.  For good measure, they are put away in the innermost cell of the jail. 

Now firmly, securely incarcerated, Paul and Silas make peace with their surroundings and continue their work.  This is an amazing reaction.  Wrongfully imprisoned, bruised, beaten, chained, put away, living in abysmal conditions, the men are unruffled.  They are not enraged.  They are not despondent.  They aren’t crying woefully, or cursing God for bringing them so low.  Instead, they are resolute in their prayers, constant in proclamation and in tune with their singing.  From the stocks in the subterranean cell, the Christians sing hymns: A Mighty Fortress is our God, Onward Christian Soldiers, Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus.  Well, maybe not those exact lyrics, but something religious and encouraging.  How is that possible?  In such a place, in such miserable conditions, how can these human beings be so calm, so resigned, so peace-filled? 

Before we can posit an answer, chaos erupts.  “Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken.”  Imagine the scene.  The earth begins to shake and shift.  Doors fall off hinges.  Bars fall out of windows, shelves crash to the floor, throughout the city people are knocked out of beds.  Roofs collapse, doorways fall in.  People are trapped, panic takes over.  The jailer crawls to the window and sees chaos in the streets below.  He sees looting in shops and people running in dazed frenzy.  He sees the broken prison doors and his heart sinks.  The Roman officials won’t consider the excuse of “natural disaster.”  They won’t factor in “acts of God.”  He will be found “remiss.”  He will be judged incompetent.  Under his watch, prisoners escaped.  The public safety was compromised by his lack of foresight and action.

The jailer considers his options.  He will most certainly lose his job which came with a house.  His reputation will be shot.  He won’t find another position.  With no means of support, his family will suffer terribly.  The Roman statutes may make his family pay restitution and back payments for the subsidized housing.  Running away won’t provide the necessities for living.  Unlike our culture today, in 1^st century Roman society, suicide was a viable plan.  One received honor rather than condemnation for saving the state the expense of a trial and the cost of prisoner upkeep.  Families were forgiven debts and property was left intact after a suicide. 

The jailer, filled with anxiety and dread, opts for the final solution.  Paul, spokesman for the now self-imposed prisoners, calls to the distraught man.  “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”  Paul answers the man’s overwhelming emotion.  “Be not afraid.”  “Fear not.”  “Be still and know God is here.”  “Be not afraid” is the true life line Paul throws out to the sinking man.  Fear, anxiety, worry about things we feel are beyond our control is the central cause of dismay in human experience.  Fear, anxiety, worry, fretting, unease is our pervasive, universal burden.

Dear ones, do you know that in Holy Scripture fear is addressed more times than love or prayer?  In his holy, sacred, pointed revelation to humankind, God says directly and repeatedly, Fear Not.  Do not be afraid.  Do not let your imaginations run wild.  Do not create discord in your soul thinking about possible bad outcomes.  Do not see yourselves as victims, as entities all alone without help or beyond saving.  I am God, the Lord God, your God.  I am connected and invested in your well-being.

It is not in your best interest to avoid all testing and hardship.  It is not good for you to experience no trial on earth, but you are my own possession.  I created you and care for you always.  I will never, never, ever, not even once, not even a little, I will not abandon you.  And if you are my own, what is there in heaven or earth or under the earth that can overwhelm you?  Ultimately and forever you are safe in me.

This is God’s truth.  This is the truth Christ came to tell the world clearly, overtly, empathetically.  This promise of care and connection is what kept Paul, Silas, Timothy and the newly converted prisoners in the cell when the doors fell off.  Resting in the safety and goodness of the Lord, they felt no need to flee.  Secure in God’s providence, sure of his commitment to their ultimate well-being, they were content to stay put.  They had peace of mind, peace of spirit.  And their serenity was both compelling and contagious.  “The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling.  Before Paul and Silas, he said, “What must I do to be saved?”  What he is asking is what must I do to have the peace you have?  What must I do to be transformed from this worldly anxious existence into a life of calm and confidence?  How, how can I have the rest and tranquility you have – even here, even now?  With world reeling and solid ground shifting, with people questioning your motives and integrity, with your freedoms curtailed, still you have peace of mind and spirit.  How can I be saved?  How can I be released from the chaos and panic, fear and anxiety swirling all around outside these walls?  How can I too quell the worry spiraling in my head even as I speak to you of calm? 

The question the jailer asks is the question we ask.  How can we put down fear?  How can we rest as Paul rested?  What do we do when the market flounders, when school zones are realigned not to our liking?  Where do we go when as we age memory or movement becomes impeded?  How do we wrestle peace away from anxiety when the college we want doesn’t want us or we don’t make the team or the job demands more and more and we have no time, no time to be?  Where do we find calm when our children seem unhappy or our spouse unfulfilled? 

Well, dear friends, remember the lesson today.  Beaten and bruised, feet locked in stocks, walls trembling all around, ground shifting, yet before they were free to leave, they were free.  The world imposes constraints.  God provides liberation.  The world fetters and binds with worry.  The Lord gives rest.  We can gnash teeth and give in to tyranny and dread running rampant in the streets or we can choose otherwise.  Again and again, God sends clear message – be not afraid.  Fear not.  Rest in me.  Know I am with you to the end.  We can emulate the hard-pressed jailer.  We can take on the chaos and panic erupting in the world or we can turn to the peace that prevails even in the innermost cell.  There is no peace like the peace of God and that peace is ours for the asking.  “What must I do to be saved?”  “Believe on the Lord.”  “Trust his word.  Rely on his promises.”  “Fear not.”  May it be so.