Geneva Presbyterian Church

Weekly Sermon

January 27, 2002 - "Dancing with Dinosaurs"

The Reverend Anne Benefield

Geneva Presbyterian Church

I Corinthians 1:10-18 Acts 1:12-18, 21-26

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus-for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. "So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles. Prayer: Lord God, through this passage, help us to learn from the early church. Open us to the lessons they can teach so that through their experience we can grow. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen A few years ago, I read an interesting book called Dancing with Dinosaurs: Ministry in a Hostile and Hurting World by William Easum. Bill Easum believes that: "Before long, many of our Christian congregations will be perceived as cuddly, sentimental creatures who are studied primarily as skeletons in the halls of a museum. "The church is in danger of becoming a dinosaur…We live in a secular or unchurched world, but the church continues to develop ministries as if the church were in charge of a churched society." [William Easum, Dancing with Dinosaurs: Ministry in a Hostile and Hurting World, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), jacket cover] The good news is that we have a source for understanding and even thriving in today's secular world. The information we need is the history of the first century church-the stories found in The Acts of the Apostles and the letters written to the early churches. The earliest Christians lived in a hostile and hurting world, just as we do today. Today's passage is about the first few days after Jesus had ascended into heaven. The day of Pentecost hasn't come yet. The disciples and believers are waiting in Jerusalem as instructed by Jesus. They realize, though, that even as they wait and pray there is work and preparation that needs to take place. The first thing they must do is replace Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. Peter tells the believers that Judas was responsible for his portion of the ministry. The believers must choose from their number another person to carry on the ministry betrayed and unfulfilled by Judas. The group needed a leader who along side the other disciples would now serve as an apostle, risking his life to minister in the name of Jesus Christ. We need leaders, too. The first lesson we can learn from the early church is that there is a need for new leadership to come along side mature leaders. In a few minutes, we will hold our annual congregational meeting. At that meeting we take one of the single most important steps of each year: we elect officers to lead the ministry of the church. We are all ministers and we are all leaders within this community, but some are called to be officers. Our officers are called to take another step in Christian faith. Kierkegaard was an incredible Danish theologian. He used stories to express his ideas. One of his stories was about a fire chief. "Once there was a town with a congenial man who led the fire brigade. Everyone thought of the fire chief as a gentleman of the highest order. Children loved to visit the firehouse and look over his equipment. He always tipped his hat to women when he passed them on the street, and he could be counted on for good conversation when men gathered on street corners. "But one day there was a fire! The fire chief rounded up his brigade, and they rushed to the building that had flames pouring from its windows. Much to his surprise, the fire chief couldn't get to the fire because interposed between him and the burning building were several hundred townspeople. Each of them was holding a water pistol, and from time to time, the people would smile at one another and squirt their pistols at the raging inferno. "The fire chief yelled, 'What are you doing here? Why do you have water pistols? What are you trying to accomplish?' "The spokesman for the group answered, 'We've all gathered here to support your efforts, sir! We all believe in the good work you do in this community, and each of us has come to make a humble contribution.' With that the people in the crowd smiled at each other, aimed their water pistols at the fire, squeezed the triggers, and squirted some water at the flames. "'We all could be doing more,' said the spokesman. 'Couldn't we, folks? But, the little that each of us can contribute we gladly give, just to show that we are with you.' "The fire chief said, 'Get out of here! Fires like this are not for well-meaning people who want to make limited contributions! Such situations demand firemen who are ready to risk their lives in putting out the flames." [Tony Campolo, Let Me Tell You a Story: Life Lessons from Unexpected Places and Unlikely People, (Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000), p. 82-83] Like the early church and like the townspeople in Kierkegaard's tale, we know that we need leaders who are willing to take risks for their faith in a hostile and hurting world. That is the first lesson from Acts. The second lesson is about the kind of leaders and Christians we are called to be. We are called to be committed. In our passage, Peter tells the believers that the person who will replace Judas must be a believer who has been with Jesus since Jesus was baptized. That means the new apostle would have been following Jesus for about three years. And at this time, following Jesus meant walking with him across the countryside as he taught for three years. Commitment means following even when you must leave safety and comfort behind. "One of the most amazing stories to come out of World War II concerns a church leader in Bulgaria named Metropolitan Kyril. When the Nazis rounded up the Jews in his city and herded them into a barbed-wire enclosure, he decided to act. "The train that was supposed to take the Jews to Auschwitz pulled up at the station. The SS guards were just about ready to load the Jews into the boxcars that would take them to the gas chambers when suddenly, out of the darkness, Metropolitan Kyril appeared. He was a tall man to start with, but as an Orthodox priest, he wore a miter on his head, which must have made him appear like a giant as he emerged out of the darkness. He was wearing his black robes and his white beard hung over them. Marching behind him were many of the townspeople. "Kyril went to the entrance of the barbed-wire enclosure, which was then surrounded by his supporters. When the Nazi guards tried to stop him, he laughed at them and pushed aside their guns. He went in among the Jews and as they surrounded him, crying hysterically, he raised his hands. He quoted one verse of Scripture, and with that verse he contributed significantly to the changing of the destiny of a nation. Quoting from the book of Ruth he declared to his Jewish friends, 'Whither thou goest, I will go. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God!' "The Jews cheered and the Christians joined in cheering. They were no longer separate peoples. They had become one in the declaration of the Word of God. "Because of such heroics, not a single Bulgarian Jew ever died in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, in spite of the fact that Bulgaria was one of the Nazi powers. When a man is willing to lay down his life to oppose oppression and injustice, amazing things can happen." [Ibid., p. 133-135] There is another lesson to be learned from the early church. They knew the ministry had to be shared and they knew their leaders had to be committed. They also knew their leaders needed to be enthusiastic witnesses. As Peter puts it the Christian leader is a "witness to the resurrection." William Barclay wrote, "The real witness is not of words but of deeds." Saint Francis of Assisi once said, "We should preach the gospel all day long-and if necessary, use words!" When Stanley found Dr. Livingston in Central Africa, he spent time with him. He said, "If I had been with him any longer I would have been compelled to be a Christian and he never spoke to me about it at all." The witness of Livingstone's life was irresistible. [William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles: Revised Edition, (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p.12-13] Acts shows us that the work of ministry must be shared, that we must be committed to Christ, and that we must be enthusiastic witnesses who testify with our lives as well as our words. I want you to note one more thing. It's verse 15. There we read that there were about 120 people in the first Christian church, the church of Jerusalem. Think about that a minute. One hundred and twenty believers, who were mostly uneducated peasants, displayed a faith so powerful, so vibrant, so dynamic that they evangelized the whole world. One hundred and twenty isn't many people. In fact, last year on an average Sunday, we had 124 people. Think about what that means. A group about our size changed the world with their faith. As we become increasingly faithful, we will do some incredible things, too. Just think about it…dream about it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.