February 22: Peter’s Second Sermon
♫ Music:
Day 9 - Thursday, February 22
Title: Peter’s Second Sermon
Scripture: Acts 3:11-26
While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Poetry: St. Peter
By Malcolm Guite
Impulsive master of misunderstanding
You comfort me with all your big mistakes;
Jumping the ship before you make the landing,
Placing the bet before you know the stakes.
I love the way you step out without knowing,
The way you sometimes speak before you think,
The way your broken faith is always growing,
The way he holds you even when you sink.
Born to a world that always tried to shame you,
Your shaky ego vulnerable to shame,
I love the way that Jesus chose to name you,
Before you knew how to deserve that name.
And in the end your Saviour let you prove
That each denial is undone by love.
OF BIG THINGS AND SMALL THINGS
“Why are you amazed?”
This is a strange question for Peter to ask a crowd that has just seen a man born lame go by jumping and leaping and praising God. It would be more amazing if they weren’t amazed!!
But Peter sees it differently. He finds the crowd guilty of a very common problem: thinking small thoughts of God. Healing a man who had been lame since birth--surely sounds like a big thing. Clearly most of Jerusalem thought it was a big thing. At some level, I suppose even Peter realized it was a big thing. However, things are big or small by the context in which they are placed. I’m 6’5”--for me, a twin bed is small, but it looks big in a nursery. A twin bed looks bigger still if I’m trying to put it in my carry on luggage. Big or small depends a lot upon context.
Peter makes healing a lame man small by putting it in context of the resurrection. Compared to resurrection from the dead, healing a lame person really does seem rather small. But Peter does not stop there. He reminds the crowd that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were a fulfillment of God’s plan for the restoration of all things, making the resurrection an event of cosmic significance. A big thing indeed.
But Peter makes it bigger still. The resurrection is amazing because it crosses the boundary between life and death, but there are places in the Old Testament where people apparently dead come back to life. There was some sort of precedent for resurrection. Peter presses into uncharted territory when he suggests that Jesus’ resurrection shows that he is actually God. The resurrection crosses the boundary between life and death. The incarnation crosses the much bigger boundary between God and man.
Moses and Elijah and Elisha had all done miracles, but it would have been bizarre indeed for Moses to stand before the Red Sea, raise his staff and part the waters in the name of Moses. But Peter states that it is the name of Jesus that has made the lame man strong, and “the faith that is through Jesus has given this man perfect health.” And then in Acts 4, when he is called to give an account of this healing to the rulers, he says, “let it be known to all of you that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth...this man is standing before you well.” In so doing, Peter is suggesting that the divine power clearly shown in this miracle is the power of Jesus’ name. This is big to the point of blasphemy for most of his audience.
Peter is making a sustained argument from the greater to the lesser. If God can accomplish a resurrection from the dead, restoration of all things, and incarnation into human form, surely he can also make a lame man walk. Why are you amazed?
This is all well and good for Peter and the lame man, but what about us? Strangely enough, it seems our problem is that we can trust him for the greater, but we doubt him for the lesser. We believe he will save our souls, resurrect our bodies, come again and restore all things. But we doubt that he will get us a job, reconcile our relationships, or heal our lame legs. Why? Let’s be honest—because we have prayed for these things and they haven’t happened. God doesn’t always do what we ask or expect.
At this point, it is good to remember Peter’s own disappointments. He didn’t want Jesus to go to the cross, and he rebuked Jesus when he suggested this would happen (Matt 16:22). Peter didn’t want Jesus to be arrested, and fought with a sword to prevent it (Jn 18:10). Peter refused to believe he would ever deny Jesus, but deny him he did (Matt 26:33-35). And after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter didn’t want Jesus to tell him where his calling would lead him-he preferred to hear about what would happen to John. And when Jesus told him about calling anyhow, it didn’t sound so good (Jn 21:18-21). Peter had his share of surprises and disappointments from Jesus.
But Peter learned through the years. Writing words that tremble with depth of experience, he asks us to “humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God” (1 Pet 5:6). Peter is reminding us of how big God’s plans are. He is putting us in divine context. We like to make God part of our plans, it is a little tougher when God makes us part of his plans. We want God to answer when we call; it is tougher when God asks us to answer to his call.
But Peter also assures us that we can “cast all our cares upon Him because he cares for us” (1 Pet 5:7). Though His plans are often too large for us, our cares are never too small for Him. He doesn’t always do what we ask, but what he does is always born of his care. Peter’s argument is right. Because his mighty hand can do the greater, we really can trust him for the lesser.
Prayer:
Lord, I see your hand so clearly in the mighty deeds you do, help me to see it more clearly in the thousand acts of care you extend to me every day. Help me to be amazed at all you do for me and help me to join the lame man in jumping and leaping and praising you!
Amen
Richard C. Langer
Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology
Director of the Office of Faith and Learning at Biola University
About the Artwork:
Christ Blessing
Hans Memling
1481
Oil on panel
35.1 x 25.1 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
The portrait-like conception of Christ in this painting was inspired by a medieval period document that detailed a physical description of Christ’s appearance. Both the sensitive modeling of the face and the gesture of the left hand casually resting on the bottom of the frame create an illusion of depth that puts Jesus in time and space as a person, not just an idea: the blessing of God announced by the prophets, fulfilled in the person of Christ. The painting is still in its original frame, which is exceptionally rare for such an artifact.
About the Artist:
Hans Meming (c. 1430-1494) was a German painter who moved to Flanders, Belgium, and became one of the major figures of early Netherlandish painting. He spent time in the Brussels workshop of Rogier van der Weyden, where he painted portraits, diptychs for personal devotion, and several large religious works. Most of his patrons were those associated with religious institutions (such as the Hospital of St. John in Bruges), as well as wealthy businessmen (including Burghers of Bruges), foreign representatives of the Florentine Medicis, and the Hanseatic League (an association of German merchants). Memling was much acclaimed in his own lifetime. Recording his death, the notary of Bruges described him as “the most skillful painter in the whole of Christendom.” Yet because Memling’s work was so strongly influenced by that of other painters, mid-20th century critics often overlooked it. Since that time, however, his reputation has continued to rise.
About the Music:
“Haydn The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross, Hob.XX.1b: Sonata VI Consumatem est (Lento)” from the album The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross
About the Composer:
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music, and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet." Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy Family at their remote estate. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely, and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart, a teacher of Beethoven, and the older brother of composer Michael Haydn.
“The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross” is an orchestral work by Joseph Haydn, commissioned in 1786 for the Good Friday service at the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva (Holy Cave Oratory) in Cádiz, Spain. Published in 1787 and performed then in Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, the composer adapted it in 1787 for string quartet and in 1796 as an oratorio. The seven main meditative sections—labeled "sonatas" are framed by a slow introduction and a fast "earthquake" conclusion. The priest who commissioned the work, Don José Sáenz de Santa María, paid Haydn in a most unusual way – sending the composer a cake that Haydn discovered was filled with gold coins.
The Seven Last Words are:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”
“Behold your son: behold your mother.”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“I thirst.”
“It is finished.”
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
About the Performers:
Callino Quartet has been impressing international audiences and critics alike with their bold, imaginative, and sensitive performances since their inception. They have cultivated a challenging and eclectic repertoire, performing and collaborating with many diverse musicians including the Belcea String Quartet, double bassist Edgar Meyer, pianist Barry Douglas, singer Patricia Rozario, rock band Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestra, and jazz musicians John Abercrombie and Sophie Dunér. They are passionately committed to contemporary music and have worked with composers including Edgar Meyer, Peteris Vasks, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Alexander Knaifel, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Ian Wilson, Raymond Deane, Ronan Guilfoyle and Ben Dwyer, on their works for string quartet. The recording of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words” with poetry written and performed by former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion was released in 2015.
About the Poet:
Malcolm Guite (b. 1957) is a poet, author, Anglican priest, teacher, and singer/songwriter based in Cambridge, England. He has published six collections of poetry: Saying the Names, The Magic Apple Tree, Sounding the Seasons: Poetry for the Christian Year, The Singing Bowl, and Waiting on the Word, and the recently released Parable and Paradox: Sonnets on the Sayings of Jesus and Other Poems. Rowan Williams and Luci Shaw have both acclaimed his writing, and his Antiphons appeared in Penguin’s Best Spiritual Writing, 2013. Malcolm’s theological works include What Do Christians Believe? and Faith, Hope, and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination. He has just released a new book, Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It is an authoritative and accessible biography of Coleridge told through his most famous poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Guite is a scholar of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the British poets, and serves as the Bye-Fellow and chaplain at Girton College at the University Cambridge, while supervising students in English and theology. He lectures widely in England and the USA, and in 2015 he was the CCCA Visionary-in-Residence at Biola University. Guite plays in the Cambridge rock band Mystery Train and his albums include The Green Man and Dancing through the Fire.
About the Devotional Writer:
Rick Langer is a Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology and the Director of the Office of Faith and Learning at Biola University. He specializes in the integration of faith and learning and has also published in the areas of bioethics, theology and philosophy. He has a passion for helping Christians of all ages understand the connection between the Gospel and the diverse facets of the created order in which we live. Prior to coming to Biola, he served for over twenty years as a pastor at Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Redlands, California. He is the author of the new book co-written with Biola Professor Tim Muehlhoff entitled, Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World published by IVP Academic.