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A Sermon by Canon Mark Chamberlain
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Readings:
1 Kings 11:41-12:20
Acts 14:8-20
Many of you will have seen the video taken of the falling tree at the corner of Bridge and Collingwood Streets last week. It provoked me into thinking about the trees that survived. Maybe they were the ones with a little more flexibility – a little more give than the trees that fell. Certainly the one tree on our property that could have blown down but didn’t, was tall and flexible – it bent but it did not break! Tonight I want to talk about being flexible and adaptable.
Background of Paul and Barnabas’ First Missionary Journey
Our second reading tonight was from Acts chapter 14 and it describes some of the events that happened to Paul during his first missionary journey. He’d set out from Antioch, sailing to Cyprus and then north to the Pamphylian coast – what we would call the southern coast of Turkey. Then he did a kind of ‘heartland tour’ - travelling through some of the most rugged terrain on earth – the Taurus Mountains which are a coastal range running more or less east-west. So from Perga on the coast, Paul and Barnabas struck inland to Pisidian Antioch, then Iconium and finally in chapter 14 verse 8 they arrived in Lystra situated on the north eastern flanks of the Taurus Mountains. Now Lystra is a place of rugged beauty, high mountains, snow and rushing alpine rivers. It had been founded by Caesar Augustus in 26BC and settled by veterans of the Roman army. It was a rustic town and perhaps a little backward.
Now Paul’s custom, when he arrived in a city, was to go straight to the synagogue to meet with the Jews and tell them that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. But because the Jewish population was so small in Lystra, there was no synagogue. And so this account is especially important because it describes the first time the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was preached directly to those who worshipped idols and the various gods of the ancient world. This was new ground – a totally new situation. What would Paul do – how would he approach things?
In verses 8 & 9 we read that he began street preaching and a man who’d been crippled from birth was listening intently to him as he presented the good news about Jesus. And when Paul saw his interest and the look on his face he immediately said to him ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And immediately he sprang to his feet and began walking around – in absolute delight at his new found freedom. But this commotion attracted the attention of the rest of the populous. Of course the crippled man was well known to them and there was no doubt about what had happened. As a result they called out to one another in their native tongue ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’
You see there was a legend that circulated in that region that Zeus and Hermes had once come down and walked among the people and they had sought hospitality but no one gave them even a roof for the night – except an elderly peasant couple named Philimon and Baucis. Later the gods rewarded them but sent floods against the homes of all who failed to welcome them.
So when this pair of strangers arrived in town - working miracles – it’s no wonder that the locals thought that one must be Zeus the head of the pantheon and other Hermes his son. And they weren’t going to make the same mistake twice! So the local priest responded with garlands of flowers and some animals to sacrifice. Now up until this point Paul and Barnabas did not know what was happening because the locals had been speaking in their native dialect but when they tried to sacrifice it dawned on them what was going on.
Paul Preaches Good News
But what is really interesting to us is Paul’s response recorded in verse 15. He said ‘Friends why are you doing this?’ Presumably Paul spoke in Greek which the locals would have known. ‘Why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways; yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good – giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.’
Now for a Jewish audience Paul would begin by preaching Jesus the long awaited Messiah. This was a point of connection for them – they had been waiting for a king like David – so they understood what Paul was saying – even if they disagreed with him.
But don’t forget these people from Lystra are pagans – they worshiped many gods and had no understanding of a Messiah. So Paul shows great flexibility and seeks another point of connection – a point of engagement – a point where the locals can begin to understand what Paul is saying.
And he begins by urging them to leave their idols behind and recognize the living God – and the living God, as opposed to the lifeless idols made by human hands, is God of all – the heaven, earth and sea. He is the great Creator or all things. The people had their own private gods – gods to ensure safety and health and fruitfulness and good luck and a good harvest and the power over enemies. But the God that Paul preached is the great creator – the one who sends the rains and harvest – the one who graciously provides for all our needs and is the source of all our joy. The people from Lystra can understand this – they know the seasons, they know about rains and harvest and joy.
You see Paul shows flexibility in his presentation of the Christian message. He begins with the world view of the people and identifies a point of connection. It’s all about connection. Without a connection there is no communication and there is no understanding.
Application
We also, as we engage with people, need to show the same flexibility. For example talk of a savior who can forgive sins and absolve our guilt may not be a way of connecting with contemporary people. However talk of the way of human flourishing, the quest for transcendence, the hunger for love and community, the search for freedom or the longing for
personal significance
may all be ways we can begin a conversation that may lead ultimately to introducing Jesus Christ more specifically.
The first bishop of our Diocese, Edmund Hobhouse, was a very devout man, very generous, very caring and very humble. However the historic record shows that he was not very flexible and struggled to adapt his English experience to a brand new settler situation. Now we face a similar challenge to Hobhouse because we live in an age of constant change and we’re called upon to adapt our message so that people can hear and understand.
Trees that get blown down in today’s climate are rigid and unbending.
Trees that survive move in response to the wind and flex and bend.
The wind won’t change the tree – but the tree that survives will respond to the wind.
At the time of our 150th Anniversary, on September 27th, we have an opportunity to take our place in the public square, to tell our story and to bear witness to Christ. It’s not like a traditional ‘Mission to Nelson’ or a Billy Graham Crusade.
It’s an attempt to be flexible in a cultural climate that is completely new and different to what most of us are used to.
It’s an attempt to tell the story of how the Church was established in this region and how the seeds of faith were planted and that today there is a harvest.
That the contemporary Church is full of spiritual life and vigor – that we have found the way of human flourishing, we have come to know the transcendent God, we have discovered love and community and we have found freedom and personal significant.
And those who have eyes to see in this year of our 150th anniversary can discover this as well.
Canon Mark Chamberlain
This sermon was written and delivered by Canon Mark Chamberlain at Nelson Cathedral, 10 August 2008 at 6pm
Footnote
John Stott.The Message of Acts.The Bible Speaks Today,
eds J.A. Motyer and J.R.W. Stott
(Leister: Inter-Varsity Press, 1990), 232
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