Christ Alone - Third Sunday of Easter
Author: Pastor Scott Schul
April 14, 2024
There are lots of ways to get an
education. High School. College. Trade Schools. Graduate programs. But it seems like the most effective and
lasting lessons we learn come from experience. Now, I hope that last Monday, in the midst of
all the eclipse hype, none of you learned a hard experiential lesson about the
dangers of staring at the sun!
Linda recently reminded me of a
lesson she learned from experience. We were living in Maine and trying to
housebreak our very active Border Collie puppy. When the puppy needed to go, we had to get her out of the house ASAP. One winter day, nature called for our puppy,
and Linda rushed to get her outside. Daughter Annika, then a preschooler, insisted on helping, but wasn’t
dressed for the cold. The puppy wasn’t
going to wait, and so Linda dashed outside into the wintry weather with the
dog. Annika was not pleased at being left behind, and so she registered her
displeasure by locking the door behind Linda. It took major diplomatic negotiations and a few threats before she let
Linda back inside. And so from that time
forward, every time Linda took the dog outside, she took her house key with
her. Experience is the great teacher of
life.
Experience is at the root of what’s
happening in today’s first lesson, from the Book of Acts. These verses are taken out of context, so let
me fill in the backstory. Peter and his
colleague John were at the Temple in Jerusalem when, at the temple gate, they encountered
a man who was lame from birth. The man
placed himself there to beg for money. When he asked the disciples for a few coins, Peter said, “I have no
silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Then Peter
took the man by the hand and helped him stand up. Newfound strength surged through the
now-healed man, who like a young fawn began to leap and walk and praise God at
his miraculous healing.
The people who saw the healing began
to give Peter all the credit. They stared at him as if he was the Messiah, and Peter would not tolerate it. Why? Experience. Peter knew better than anyone else that when
he relied upon himself rather than
Jesus, disaster inevitably ensued.
And so, informed by his experience, Peter lit into the crowd for
putting their faith and their trust in him rather than in Jesus, the true author of all blessings, and the true healer of the man at the gate. Peter spoke with the conviction of a man who
had made that very mistake himself, and never wanted to repeat it again. Peter implored the people to learn from his
experience and place their hope, trust, and faith in Christ alone.
Friends, reflect upon your experience. When you’ve placed your hope, trust, and faith in people, places, or causes other than
Christ, how has that gone for you? I know it hasn’t gone well for me, and I suspect you’ve experienced
very similar results when you’ve tried to go it alone.
So let’s take Peter’s experience
and counsel to heart and place our hope, our trust, and our faith, in Christ alone. Doing so is a
daily challenge. Sometimes the false
Christ comes from people who hide behind a veneer of religion and pious
talk. Self-appointed gurus and prophets with
slick marketing plans clamor for our attention, our devotion, and ultimately
our cash by manipulating God’s Word and playing upon our fears and
insecurities. Reject them. Hope,
trust, and have faith in Christ alone.
Even more common is the seductive
and much subtler siren call of the secular world which encourages us to pour
our hope, trust, and faith into worldly accomplishments, recreation, the size
of our investment portfolio, or the extravagance of our lifestyle. Such things in isolation are not sins; they
are good things, at least until they become idols that replace Jesus in our
hearts. We are to hope, trust, and have faith in Christ alone.
Sometimes the culprit who causes us
to turn from Christ isn’t some charismatic personality or worldly temptation
but the person you see in the mirror. Surely it’s good to be resourceful and self-sufficient, but our pride can
cause us to rely far too much on ourselves and not enough on Jesus. That was Peter’s problem, and his experience
taught him hard lessons. Today, he
reminds us to hope, trust, and have faith
in Christ alone.
We also get off-track when we think
Jesus is too busy or too important to care about our problems. So we isolate ourselves. Or maybe we think Jesus might help us, but only if we’ve prayed with just the right words
or prove our worthiness. We just end up
worn out from unnecessary guilt, or exhausted from the impossible pursuit of
perfectionism.
Instead, consider the man at the
Temple gate. What did he do or say to prove his worthiness to be healed? What perfect prayer did he offer? Nothing. Yet Jesus heard him and healed him, purely out of love and grace. Now I cannot promise you that Jesus will
solve your problems just as you wish. Sometimes instead of “yes,” Jesus’s answer is
“no” or “maybe later.” Speaking from my experience, I know how hard that can
be. But I also know that whenever Jesus
has answered my prayer in another manner or another time than what I had
requested, his way and time have
always proven to be better. Hope, trust, and have faith in Christ alone.
Here on Sunday morning, I’m sure
this all sounds so easy, so neat, and so tidy. Of course life is much more complicated than that. So what can we do when we find our hope, trust,
and faith wavering?
Remember
your baptism. Today is a perfect
opportunity to do so, because we have three baptisms today. These three babies are
undeniably beautiful and wonderful, but they have no worldly accomplishments or
spiritual achievements that have earned them Christ’s magnificent gifts of
forgiveness and salvation. It’s pure
grace. Pure gift. As you remember your baptism, let it humble
you and remind you that your powers, talents, and works don’t entitle you to anything from Jesus. Everything he gives you is pure grace. Pure gift. Your baptism stands as a cautionary reminder to hope, trust, and have faith in Christ alone.
But as you remember your baptism,
you can also rejoice in the Good News that in this sacrament Jesus has
proclaimed to you and to all the world that no matter what labels
the world tries to affix to you, you are beloved. In Jesus’s eyes you are priceless. He embraces you
and never tires of hearing from you. So
never fall for the lie that he’s too busy or important to care about you. Hope,
trust, and have faith in Christ alone.
Of course our baptism doesn’t
prevent us from making mistakes. We are
human after all, and like Peter, we all will have moments when we sin, lose our
way, and fall. Friends, when that
happens (and it will!), don’t despair that all is lost. And don’t run away from God in shame. We aren’t defined by those stumbles, but by
our willingness to get back up again. We
can do so because our Lord is always ready to extend a hand of grace, forgiveness, encouragement, and love to help
us back on our feet.
So in a world of tempting
alternatives, don’t seek your salvation in mere people, things, or causes. Remember Peter’s experience. Remember your baptism. And hope,
trust, and have faith in Christ alone. Amen.
Sermon Text: Acts 3:12-19
Gospel
Text: Luke 24:36b-48
36bJesus himself stood among [the disciples] and said to
them, “Peace be with you.” 37They were startled and terrified,
and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them,
“Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look
at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost
does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And
when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While
in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have
you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled
fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence.
44Then
he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with
you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the
psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to
understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is
written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third
day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You
are witnesses of these things.”
Copyright Rev. Scott E. Schul, 2024 All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission.
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