Don Friesen
As a boy I had a lot of unsupervised play time, especially on Sunday afternoons. My parents were almost past child-bearing age when I was born, and being elderly and tired they took long naps on Sundays. My siblings had either left home or were out socializing with others their age, and I had no friends within walking distance, so I spent a lot of time alone. I had a whole farm to explore, and when I was not taunting our flock of chickens or building a hide-out in the bush, I loved to play with fire.
I was seven or eight years old when I discovered that dry prairie grass is especially flammable. Setting it on fire was an easy task once I discovered the wonder of matches, but putting it out was quite another matter. None of my projects ever got out of control, but I recall some anxious moments when a fire threatened to spread faster than my attempts to smother it! I was a budding pyromaniac – so I won't tell you about later attempts to augment my experiments with fuel – except to say: Kids! Don't play with fire! Fires are dangerous, and once started are very difficult to put out.
Trying to Put out Post-resurrection Fires
The religious authorities in Jerusalem discovered much the same thing after Jesus' death. In fact, they had arranged his death to make sure that the flames of revolt that Jesus' presence in the capital threatened to ignite were put out! His charismatic presence undermined their authority, but they also considered his words incendiary in the ears of the wrong people.
What would I have done, if I were the high priest? I would have been nervous, that's for sure. I would have had to listen to the complaints of those bested by Jesus in verbal sparring. I would have had to contend with unruly and excitable crowds, trying to keep them calm, which became more and more difficult as pilgrims poured into the city. I would have had revolutionary elements to keep in check. I would have had Rome to consider, because any significant flare-up brought in tightened security, if not invasion. And meanwhile, I had a Temple to run! It was like trying to put out a large fire – sometimes several of them – with a garden hose!
It was the high priest's job to keep things under control, and no doubt he thought that he had succeeded when Jesus' tomb was secured and sealed. Well, it brought him a few days of calm, but little more. Oh sure, some of the disciples loitered around the tomb, and there was a rumour that Jesus' body had disappeared, but any fuss about that could be contained. Then Jesus' followers started to meet for prayer meetings (Acts 1:14), but that too was okay; as long as they remained the pious and quiet in the land they were no threat to the status quo.
When I lived in Manitoba I often heard of bog fires, fires that seemed, on the surface, to have been extinguished, but that continued to smoulder, unseen, below the surface. The crucifixion smothered all outward signs of trouble, but something was smouldering under the surface, soon flaring up in various places, and by Pentecost the fire was almost out of control! The high priest was kept very busy trying to contain it, but as soon as he put out one brush fire, it flared up in another place.
The disciples, it turned out, had emerged from their prayer meetings eager to tell others of what had happened to Jesus. People listened, and the group's numbers increased. And it wasn't just their words that caught people's imagination, the disciples' exemplary community life (Acts 2:43-47, TEV) attracted people. The disciples were going right into the Temple to address people – into the high priest's own precincts – so he had them arrested and put in prison. (4:3)
The authorities were playing "with fire," so to speak, playing a dangerous game, for the disciples were gaining a lot of public support. (Acts 4:4) One had to treat this political hot potato with some finesse, so the authorities met en masse to intimidate these yokels. After questioning the disciples, they consulted with each other. "What shall we do with these men?" they asked. Everyone in Jerusalem seemed to be aware of them, so they decided that "to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people," they would "warn these men never again to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus." (4:15-16, TEV) They called the disciples back in and told them that "they must never, for any reason, teach anything about the name of Jesus." (4:18, CEV) When the disciples didn't seem very cooperative, the Council warned them even more strongly (4:20), but then set them free, for fear of what the public reaction might be (4:21) were they kept incarcerated.
Tension increased. People "spoke highly" (Acts 5:13, TEV) of Jesus' disciples, although they were afraid to join them because of the authorities' eagerness to clamp down on the movement. The leaders became "extremely jealous" of the disciples (5:17), so they cooperated in taking action – even leaders who were normally at odds with each other – and once again they arrested the disciples and put them in jail. (5:18) And that may have been the end of it, only when the authorities asked that the prisoners be brought before them, the disciples were found, not secure in their prison cells, but back in the Temple sounding off again about this Jesus! (5:19-25) This was getting ridiculous!
The disciples were escorted back before the Council, albeit with care and discretion, because public support for the authorities was plummeting. (Acts 5:26) And that brings us to today's reading from the book of Acts. Things had come to a head, the high priest wanting to know why the disciples had defied his express order not to talk publicly about this Jesus! Actually, what the high priest said was: "We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man...." (5:28, TEV) They can't even say his name! He has become "this man," or "that man" (PHL), as if withholding his name somehow diminishes his influence.
Once again the disciples stood before the authorities. "See what you've done!" bellowed the high priest, "You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!" (Acts 5:28, TEV) The disciples explained that they lived by a higher authority: "We must obey God rather than any human authority" (5:29), but that really didn't help, and when "members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death." (5:33, TEV) The flames unleashed after Jesus' resurrection were out of control!
I Don't Recognize the Disciples in the Book of Acts!
I'll be frank with you: I don't recognize the disciples in the book of Acts. In the Gospel of Luke, written by the same author as Acts, the disciples are timid men who drop off, one by one, as the heat of confrontation increases – one by betrayal (Luke 22:3-6), another by denial, until, starting at the point of Jesus' arrest we hear nothing – absolutely nothing – from, or about, the disciples – for several pages! The last we hear, at the time of Jesus' arrest, is that Peter followed "at a distance". (22:54)
There are no disciples around when Jesus is mocked and beaten. (Luke 22:63-65) No disciples around when Jesus is brought before the authorities. (22:66-71) No disciples around when Jesus is brought before Pilate. (23:1-5) No disciples around when Jesus is sent to Herod. (23:6-12) No disciples around when Jesus is sentenced to death. (23:13-25) No disciples around, in the Gospel of Luke, at least, when Jesus is crucified. (23:26-43) And no disciples around at the time of Jesus' death. (23:54) or at his burial. (23:50-56)
Even after the tomb was found empty the disciples are found behind locked doors! (John 20:19) Even on the evening of Easter Sunday the disciples were behind locked doors for fear of their own safety! They were in a confused, dispirited, and fearful state. Jesus had promised them, "I will not leave you desolate..." (14:18, RSV), but that's exactly how they felt: desolate and abandoned! One of the other Gospels tells us that the disciples "fled from the tomb; for terror ...had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." (Mark 16:8)
Now, these disciples – anxious, fearful, timid – I recognize – and I recognize myself in their anxiety and fear. It's not so surprising to see the disciples crumble under the pressure of that week in Jerusalem. They appear – all through the Gospel – not to be the sharpest knives in the drawer. The authorities considered them ignorant buffoons, men with "no training ... or formal education. (Acts 4:13, MSG)
It's interesting – a century later, when Celsus, a Greek philosopher wrote a polemic against Christianity, he didn't attack what have been favourite targets in the past century or so – the virgin birth, or the divinity of Christ – what was incredible to Celsus was that either of those things might be true of a member of the lower classes, of a peasant nobody like Jesus! What could he have possibly done to deserve such a birth? Class snobbery was at the root of his objection to Christianity. (John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, 1994, page 27)
We can't have uneducated people – from Galilee, no less – running loose, taking things into their own hands, and proclaiming a message that we did not authorize! Or going around healing people with no medical training! But there they were! Giddy with the good news of Christ's resurrection, and not even an official gag order could shut them down. No amount of shushing was going to silence them.
If you set the disciples in Luke alongside the disciples in the book of Acts, you would never think them the same men! In the Gospel the disciples are cowardly, huddling together in a locked room, hoping no one will find them. They were incapacitated with fear. The women, at least, went to the tomb, but they too were fearful, afraid, perhaps, that they wouldn't be able to move the stone, or afraid of the soldiers guarding the tomb, or afraid of what they might find. At one point even the soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear. (Matthew 28:4) It was contagious!
In the book of Acts, however, you see these same men blossoming! No longer locked away, they are out in the streets and in the Temple proclaiming – proclaiming something they were warned not even to whisper! The presence of God's Spirit was so powerful in them that people carried their sick relatives out in the street, hoping the disciples would pass that way, and that that alone would heal them! (Acts 5:15) And not only were the disciples convinced of their message, they convinced many others! They were "highly regarded" by others. (5:13, NIV) In today's terms, their message had gone viral!
What happened? What effected this change? This change from fearfulness to fearlessness? The authorities asked themselves the same question. Where is this coming from? Yes, their leader was fearless, not afraid to take on demons, be they spiritual or of the human variety – but he's dead! Well, not really, and his resurrection changed everything! Acts tells us that the disciples "gave powerful witness to the resurrection of ...Jesus...." (Acts 4:33)
An Amazing Personal Transformation!
It's an amazing transformation – the disciples before the resurrection, and the disciples after the resurrection – including a personal transformation even more amazing! Peter's! We all know Peter's foibles, as regaled in the Gospels. One minute he was making a profound confession of faith in Christ, the next minute he went way over the top and earned Jesus' rebuke! (Mark 8:27-33) One minute Peter jumped out in faith, wanting to do some messianic water-walking, and the next moment he was gasping for air! (Matthew 14:22-31) One minute he stubbornly refused to let Jesus wash his feet, the next moment he wanted a complete bath! One minute he was denying Jesus – not once but three times – and the next he was crying, weeping bitterly. (26:75) And so when Jesus makes a pun, calling Peter by name – the name, Peter, meaning "rock" – and Jesus says, "I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (16:18), we're quite sure he's joking! Peter had neither Paul's brilliant mind and training nor the gifted imagination of John. Those two were scholars and visionaries. Peter was but an ordinary, fearful man for whom Jesus had a lot of affection, but who showed time and time again that he was not very promising leadership material.
However, as the book of Acts recounts one crisis or confrontation after another, who pops up in a leadership capacity but Peter! When in Acts, chapter 1, the disciples – 120 of them – met to choose the successor to Judas, who pops up to preside over the proceedings? Peter! (Acts 1:15) He addressed the crowd, not in some anxiety-produced need to take control, but in measured tones and with a self-assurance we've never seen before! He reviews the situation, gives some historical perspective to the task at hand, and focuses the group's attention on what must be accomplished.
When in Acts, chapter 2, the phenomenon of Pentecost begs public explanation, who pops up to explain? Peter! (Acts 2:14-42) In a long speech Peter proceeds to draw wisdom from the prophet Joel and from their ancestor, David, to provide a reasoned explanation for what has just transpired. Not only that, he appeals to those listening to join the Jesus movement. It's an impressive speech.
When in Acts, chapter 3, Peter and John are stopped on their way to the Temple by a man begging for money, who takes decisive action? Peter! (Acts 3:1-10) And when that encounter attracts the attention of the crowd gathering around, who launches into another speech? Peter, of course. (3:11-26) Peter takes charge, and in another articulate public address he tells the story of Jesus, drawing, this time, on the wisdom of Moses and Samuel. He begins his address in a striking manner, boldly asking, "Why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us? Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we made this man walk?" (3:12, TEV)
When in Acts, chapter 4, Peter and John are arrested, and called before the authorities, who speaks for the group? Well, this time Peter is joined by John (Acts 4:1-22) – both of them audaciously telling the authorities that if push comes to shove the Jerusalem authorities are second in command! What's humourous is that right after that the disciples and other believers withdraw, momentarily, to pray for boldness! (4:23-31) It seems to me that God hardly needed to top up their audacity.
When in Acts, chapter 5, some fraudsters try to cash in on the disciples' public support, who pops up to sort out the mess? Peter! (Acts 5:1-11) The public regard for Peter had grown to such an extent that "sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by." (5:14, TEV) Unbelievable! And later in that chapter Peter is again the spokesperson when the disciples are called before the authorities a second time. (5:29)
A certain amount of back-room politics ensued, after which some measure of sanity prevailed. The authorities had the disciples whipped, ordered them, probably with a measure of resignation, never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and then set them free. As the disciples left the Council, Acts tells us, "they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus. And every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued to teach and preach the Good News about Jesus the Messiah. (Acts 5:41-42, TEV)
The transformation of the disciples is remarkable, the personal transformation of Peter even more remarkable! This is a very different Peter than the one we meet in the Gospels. The fearful Peter is now a courageous person of faith. The lips which once denied Jesus now proclaim his name to all who will hear and even to a few who don't want to hear.
From Fear to Fearless Joy
Fear is an insidious thing, and whether we're afraid of being alone, fear for our own safety, are afraid of death, or of anything else, fear erodes our confidence and joy in life. A poet (Robert Hale) expressed it this way:
(source unknown)
Replied Tommy, tears streaming down his cheeks, "Please don't forget to come for me when I'm sixteen."
Fear is no respecter of age, and while we may smile at a child's fear, we don't smile at our own. Fear is a powerful thing and can affect us deeply. In 1947, during the Stalinist purge in Russia, a woman named Olga Frankevich fled Soviet security police, only emerging from hiding 45 years later! (1992) Her slightly bolder sister had roamed the house during that time but had never left the house. Olga felt safer remaining in her hiding place, under a bed!
The good news of Easter is that fear need not have the last word. Jesus promised his disciples, "...you will weep and lament... but your sorrow will turn into joy...you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." (John 16:20-22, RSV) Jesus came into their circle of fear and changed it into joy. He transformed their fearfulness into fearless joy! The resurrection completely changed the perspective of his followers! They remembered, and understood, the truth of his words when he told them, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. ... Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (14:27)
We have just passed the thirtieth anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero's assassination (March 24, 1980) in El Salvador. Initially the authorities welcomed his appointment as archbishop. Here was a nice quiet lamb of God they could control. However, shortly after Romero became archbishop, the Salvadoran government began a campaign against the Catholic church's efforts to stand up for the poor in their country. Business interests were alarmed at the sight of uneducated peasants concerning themselves with social issues in the name of Christianity! Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The government campaign escalated into the torture and assassination of both priests and laity. Men and women vanished without trace or reason. Death squads roamed the countryside and soldiers attacked any protesters. Instead of retreating quietly to his library, however, the archbishop decided to stand with his people. And one morning, as Romero was about to preside over Holy Communion, he was shot! (story as told by Frank Fisher)
Like the disciples in this week's reading, Romero was not intimidated by earthly authority and he was "willing to suffer any consequence, even death, in order to be faithful." In the sermon preached just moments before his death, Romero said: "We give thanks to God that...in the context of Lent, all of this (risk) is preparation for Easter, and Easter is a shout of victory. No one can extinguish that life which Christ revived. Not even death and hatred against him and against his church will ...overcome it. He is the victor!"
In conquering death the resurrection of Jesus Christ conquers our worst fears, a realization that inspired the Apostle Paul to write:
AMEN!
"Fear creeps in like a poisonous fog,
A five-year-old boy reluctant to start school needed a lot of assurance from his mother. She tried to reassure him again at the school door: "Be brave, Tommy. Everyone has to go to school until they're sixteen."
making us pull down the shades
and double-lock the doors.
Fear erects barriers of the mind
more real than barbed wire...."
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57)
Quotations of Scripture are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.