Acts 9:36-43 Commentary

Last week we heard the story of Saul’s conversion.  Then, in the next part of the story (which the Lectionary omits) Saul travels to Jerusalem, with a stop in Damascus where, according to verse 20, “At once he began to preach…” Before moving on to Peter in this morning’s text, let’s spare a thought for those disciples in Damascus.

• Was it thrilling to experience his conversion and his immediate enthusiasm for ministry?
• Was it concerning that, being so new to the fold, he might get the message wrong?
• Was it intimidating or jealousy-producing that he was so quickly able to apply his extensive Jewish education to an even fuller, more robust depiction of Jesus.

Now, in this morning’s text, we pivot focus to Peter, busy traveling to encourage the church and preach the good news. He is growing into his future role as the Patriarch of Rome, a leader even among the apostles. And why not. His CV is impressive, not least because of the two vignettes in this text. He heals in the name of Jesus. And then, as if that isn’t impressive enough, he commands a woman to rise from the dead. And she does!

We might all enjoy the stories of great men, heroes of the faith like Peter and Saul (soon to be Paul). But, honestly, that’s not where we live. That is not (or at least not often) the level of faith we experience. Perhaps we look with longing at verse 31, which says: “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria, enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”

But you want to know something funny about that verse? It fits in between Saul’s exit stage right and Peter’s entrance stage left. Which means the church’s growth, peace, strength, Holy Spirit encouragement and holy living are not dependent on the great acts of super heroes. In fact, this text introduces us — for the first time — with a new way of referring to the early Christians. Verse 32 tells us that Peter visited “the saints” or “the holy ones” spread around the country.

So who are the saints in this text? N.T. Wright encourages us to look past the obvious answer. “While the apostles and evangelists go about making important decisions, getting locked up, stoned or shipwrecked, preaching great sermons, writing great letters, and generally being great and good all over the place … (look past all that and you will find) the beating heart of the people of God.”

Last week Ananias risked his life to obey God, meeting Saul and healing him.

The disciples in Damascus baptized Saul, taught him, set him loose to preach and then, when it didn’t go well, they kept him safe. Someone rigged up a whole pulley system just to get Saul out the window, in a basket, lowered safely to the ground. This feat of engineering participates in the work of the beating heart of the people of God.

In Jerusalem, the disciples are tasked with guarding the church, keeping it holy, keeping it safe from those who would persecute God’s people. And yet, Barnabas speaks up for one who would be excluded. And when the new guy starts getting death threats, someone escorts him safely to Caesarea, books passage, and sends him on his way to be safe, strengthened and prepared for the missionary work to come.

Aeneas doesn’t even have to do anything except stand there being healed and God’s purpose is fulfilled in his life.  Someone brings a message to Peter to travel to Joppa. Simon the Tanner offers him hospitality. Tabitha knits and sews for the widows of Joppa and, when she dies, the woman prepare her body for burial, and praise her ordinary holiness. NT Wright says that Tabitha “stands as it were for all those unsung heroines who have got on with what they can do best and have done it to the glory of God. Had it not been for Peter, she might never have made it into the pages of the New Testament, and we have to assume that there were dozens in the early years, and thousands in later years, who, like (Tabitha and the others), lived their lives in faith and hope, bearing the sorrows of life no doubt as well as celebrating its joys, and finding in the small acts of service to others a fulfillment of the gospel … (such as these are) the beating heart of the people of God.”

Such as these are saints. God’s holy people.

Most of us aren’t comfortable with this language. Sainthood seems a bit above our pay grade and (one hopes) we are too aware of our faults to claim perfect holiness. But our holiness is, like all the rest of our salvation, a gift of grace in and through Jesus Christ.

Theologian Willie Jennings reminds us that, in Christ, “God draws the everyday into holiness, into God’s own life. Everyday people are made holy in Christ. Everyday people are made holy by Christ, and this is a holiness that will last, not be episodic, and constitute a new space for living life and knowing ourselves. ‘Saints’ are those marked by new gestures of belief in Jesus. They worship a crucified Lord in the Spirit, and in the Spirit they live the everyday, knowing that each moment has been made sacred by God’s faithful presence.”

God draws the everyday into holiness.

And, just like that, with every little person playing their little role, the hungry are fed.

Just like that, our neighbors are loved.

Just like that, God draws the everyday into holiness.

Just like that, God is glorified.

Just like that, the heart of God faithfully, unobtrusively, gently, quietly, beautifully beats on.

Illustration:

The problem of crafting an illustration of everyday, ordinary holiness is that, by virtue of the fact that it is a universal illustration, it is no longer everyday and ordinary. What preacher among us doesn’t love a shout-out to Bonhoeffer or MLK? But could it be the case that our reliance on exemplars is exactly what inhibits God’s ordinary beloveds in the pew from seeing themselves as saints, as God’s holy people?

This week, spend an hour in prayer with a church directory or walking through the sanctuary, using your memory to place church members in their “assigned seats” in the pews.  Prayerfully ask God to help you see the everyday, ordinary holiness on display in your context, in your pews. Use these as your examples this week.