|
We
have a bit of a problem at our house. Someone gave us some Amish
Cinnamon Friendship Bread a couple of weeks ago and we can’t get rid
of it. We have given some of it away, but you know how that
friendship bread is – it keeps multiplying. About every ten days,
Tammy bakes some up and I look on the counter and see four more bags
growing. I have discovered that a little Friendship Bread goes a long
way.
I
wonder if Jesus would have talked about friendship bread rather than
mustard seeds when he tried to teach his followers about faith. It is
basically the same principle – faith the size of a mustard seed can
soon grow big enough to move mountains, faith the size of one bag of
friendship bread can become a mountain. Listen to the impact that a
little bit of faith had on an impossible situation. It is found in
Acts 16:25-34. Hear now the Word of the Lord:
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly
there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison
were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s
chains were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke up and saw
the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill
himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28But
Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all
here.” 29The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he
fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30Then he
brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will
be saved, you and your household.” 32They spoke the word of
the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33At the
same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he
and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34He
brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and
his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
The
word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
In this
passage, Luke recorded for his readers the story of the liberation of
prisoners through the power of faith.
This is an
amazing story. Can you imagine what it took to break chains, shatter
stocks, and transform lives? A little faith goes a long way.
A Little Faith Goes a Long Way
toward Changing One’s View of Life
It is not easy to
determine who is imprisoned and who is free by the responses in this
story. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison for disturbing the
peace, because Paul had grown weary of someone’s sick slave girl
following him and yelling at him everywhere he went. He realized her
illness was due to an evil spirit and he cast the spirit out of her.
Only problem is that evil spirit enabled the girl to do some fortune
telling. That meant profit for her master. When the spirit was gone,
the girl was made well, and when she was made well, the profits dried
up. Paul and Silas were disturbing the peace of this prominent slave
owner, and in Philippi, as in most cities, you don’t want to disturb
the peace of prominent citizens. Not only were they beaten severely,
but they were also thrown into prison with specific instructions for
the jailer to keep them securely – or else. Every jailer knew what
“or else” meant. Or else he would be a disgrace to his family, his
community, his country – and the cost of that kind of disgrace was
often death. Given these specific instructions he fastened Paul and
Silas in chains and stocks, wooden braces that often kept the
prisoners legs raised and apart, preventing any kind of leverage for
maneuvering. It was not uncommon for prisoners to cry out in pain
after just a short time in these stocks.
It seems pretty
clear so far who is imprisoned and who is free. However, around
midnight the two new prisoners started singing and praying to God,
rather than crying and groaning in agony. The other prisoners were
listening and so too was God. An earthquake shook the jail at its
foundations and doors and stocks were knocked free. The jailer was
awakened by the commotion and knew at once that the “or else” had just
happened and his worst fears had been realized. Yikes! The jailer
seemed to be a prisoner without hope – a prisoner of his own failure.
He was about to take his own life, when Paul assured him that
everything was going to be fine. Since it was around midnight and the
earthquake would have extinguished his light, he called for another
light. He rushed into the inner most part of the prison and fell at
Paul’s and Silas' feet trembling. If you look closely at this story,
you will get a strong sense that it is this jailer who is in prison,
while Paul and Silas maintain their freedom, singing in stocks.
A little faith goes a long way.
A Little Faith Goes a Long Way
toward Changing One’s View of Others
This was Paul’s first reaction. He seemed to be caring for his fellow
prisoners as he sang and prayed. They were listening and the hope was
contagious. He cared for the jailer when he caught a glimpse of the
hopeless silhouette at the entrance of the jail, shouting with a loud
voice. Then when the jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?”
Paul did not say, “Listen pal, this isn’t for you. This is for the
pure in heart. This isn’t for those who have beaten us and locked us
in stocks, this is for the compassionate.” No, he told the jailer to
believe on the Lord Jesus and all would be well for him and for his
family. He was given his portion of the faith that keeps on
multiplying as it is given away. Then look what happened to the
jailer - he began to care for the prisoners. He began washing their
wounds, which I am sure were severe since law enforcers and an angry
mob joined in beating Paul and Silas with fists and sticks. Verse 33
is a poetic picture painted by Luke - The jailer washing the wounds of
the prisoners and the prisoners baptizing the jailer and his family.
Perhaps it was even the same water. I don’t have to wonder whose
wounds were deeper; it is almost always the hidden pain that torments
us more. It is the guilt, shame, remorse, and unredeemed elements of
our lives that we carry with us looking for the miracle of grace that
can cleanse our very souls. When we receive it we are called to care
for others
That’s what seemed to happen to John Newton. Though his conversion
was not as radical as that of the jailer, eventually he turned from
being a prosperous slave trader, to being an influential 18th
century abolitionist. His faith in Jesus Christ transformed him to
such an extent that he wrote as his own epitaph, “John Newton, Clerk,
once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by
the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved,
restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long
labored to destroy.”
How powerful this faith is! It can change our very lives – the way we
look at life and the way we care for others. A little faith
goes a long way.
A Little Faith Goes a Long
Way toward Changing One’s View of Community
Luke, as was his custom, did not finish the story until he got them to
the kitchen table. The night had been long. There had been the pain
of stocks, the shock of an earthquake, the emergence of faith, the
washing of wounds (inside and out), but Luke ends this portion of the
story by saying, “He brought them up into the house and set food
before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had
become a believer in God.” Luke does this so often, telling us
about people being at table with each other. It is not hard to
understand this. The table is where community is forged, where
strangers become friends.
37 of our members are crossing into Mexico this morning. There they
will build a couple of houses and conduct a Vacation Bible School. I
hope they get to sit at the table with the families with whom they are
ministering. That was the most memorable part of my trip to Juarez
several years ago. It was the most memorable part of my trip to
Turkey a couple of years ago. It was the most memorable part of my
time in Tamazunchale last January. The green salsa of Jaurez, the
watermelon on the rooftop in Turkey, the Serrano pepper eating contest
in the village outside of Tamazunchale, all of these are building
blocks of community in my life.
That is why Maundy Thursday is such an important night for me. It is
a night when we gather around tables and in an unrushed time, we share
in the feast of grace. This year is going to be a little bit
different than the previous years. We will all gather in the Great
Hall and share in the Lord’s Supper at the same time. Here is the
need – we need thirty of you to commit to hosting a table. That means
thirty of you will invite others to join you around the table. I will
have the cups and the bread present. Each table will already be set
with a tablecloth and a candle. However, I need thirty of you to
commit to serve as hosts. Your role is to invite people who are part
of this church and persons who are not part of this church and to
welcome all who attend. This is the night where guests are
essential. If you are willing to serve as a table host on this night
of nights, please fill out the card that is coming to you now. Each
person at the meal will have his or her own glass and will receive a
little piece of bread, but don’t worry about that – a little
faith goes a long way.
Of course, I do still have this problem with all this friendship
bread. It keeps growing and growing. Do you want some? There is
only one condition – you have to tend to it everyday and feed it once
a week. It is a lot like our faith. A little faith goes a long
way.
It goes a long way toward changing one’s view of life
It goes along way to changing one’s view of others
It goes a long way to changing one’s view of community
A little faith goes
a long way. Amen.
|
