The problem is that her son wants the money to go into
business. He’s a young man who’s never
had a break and now he’s got one. All he
needs is the money to go into partnership with a friend, and he’ll be making
all kinds of money, he says. So he begs
his mother for the money. She refuses at
first, then later acquiesces. She puts
half the money in his hands and you can guess what happens.
The family is gathered together when another victim comes in
to announce that he, too, has been swindled.
With his head down and his shoulders slumped, the son confesses the
whole story. Instantly, his sister,
Beneatha, rips into him. She pours out
contempt. She screams at him for being so stupid and destroying their only
escape route from the squalor they’ve lived in all their lives.
When she finishes her tirade her mother says, “I thought I
taught you to love him.” Beneatha shouts
back, “Love him? There’s nothing left to
love!” Then her mother says, “There’s
always something left to love. And if
you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing. Have you cried for that boy today? I don’t mean for yourself and the family
‘cause we lost all that money. I mean
for him; what he’s been through and what it’s done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love
somebody the most? When they’ve done
good and made things easy for everybody?
Well then, you ain’t through learning, ‘cause that ain’t the time. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t
believe in hisself ‘cause the world’s done whupped him so. When you starts measuring somebody, measure
him right child, measure him right. Make
so you done take into account what hills and valleys he’s come through before he
got to wherever he is.”
That’s what Jesus always did. That was His signature. And, it’s His signature that we see so
vividly displayed not in the days following the Pentecost, but throughout the
Book of Acts.
This Sunday we are in Acts 3 where we read the account of
the healing of a man born lame. It is
the first recorded encounter of the disciples outside the Upper Room. Luke tells us that Peter and John are heading
into the temple for afternoon prayers when a lame beggar calls out to them for
many (alms). This is interesting on many
counts. First, they are headed to the
temple. This is the first place these
spirit-filled believers go after Pentecost.
Second, the lame man is carried to the temple gate every day for
years. Third, the gate offers a picture
of his condition. Fourth, there’s a
mirror image of this man in II Samuel 9.
Fifth, Peter and John redirect the man’s eyes from the milling masses to
them. Sixth, Peter offers the man a
curious command. Seventh, Peter declares
that neither he nor John have any money. (Or is that what he really says?) Eighth, Peter exercises his faith on behalf
of this man. Ninth, the man joins Peter
and John in the temple. And tenth, the
man’s healing offers Peter a platform for lifting up Jesus.
There’s so much in this passage that informs us as to what
doing justice and loving kindness means.
It’s not by accident that Luke places this miracle as the first miracle
after Pentecost. It is a perfect model of what the Holy Spirit can do through
you and me as we are moving along this poor, lame world.
In preparation for Sunday’s message, “Making the Lame Walk”,
you may wish to consider the following:
1. Read
II Samuel 9 and explore the correlation between Mephibosheth and this lame man
in Acts 3:1-16.
2. How
is the God of Jacob described in Psalm 146:5-7 different from the gods of other
ancient cultures?
3. How
does the description of Jesus in Matthew 12:18-21 mirror the God of Psalm 146?
4. How
is Peter’s description of Christians in II Peter 1:4 an apt description of what
happens after Pentecost?
5. What
is the background on giving alms? Was it
required?
6. Where
was the “Beautiful Gate” in the temple in Jerusalem? Why was it called that?
7. What
contrast is Luke pointing out in stating that the lame man was positioned by
that gate every day?
8. Why
does Peter tell the man to look at him and John? (vs. 4)
9. Acts
3:15 is the first recorded time Peter uses the word “faith”. What does he mean by it?
10. How
do this miracle and this message signal God’s purpose for Pentecost?
This Sunday, October 5, 1024, is World Communion Sunday. It’s the day in which Christians around the
world gather at the Lord’s Table to remember.
May the Holy Spirit be quite active this Sunday helping us to remember
all Jesus has done to enable us to do justice and love kindness.
See you Sunday!
