Acts
9: 1 – 20; Psalm
30; Revelation
5: 11 – 14; John
21: 1 – 19
A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon,
Illinois; Sunday, April 14, 2013.
“HEROES
WITH CLAY FEET”
Our attention this morning is focused squarely on two pillars of the early Church, St. Paul and St. Peter.
Our first reading reminds us of the
conversion experience of St. Paul, who was on his way to Damascus in Syria to
arrest early Christians. Our gospel
reading relates St. Peter’s restoration by the Lord after he had denied Christ
three times.
These two heroes of the faith are
flawed human beings. They both have, in
their past actions, events that might disqualify them from ordained ministry in
the Church today, were they to apply for ordination. (Think about that for awhile!)
And the events that took place in
their lives weren’t insignificant ones, not at all:
Consider Paul….our
reading this morning reminds us that he was on his way to arrest early
Christians, and as Luke (the author of the Book of Acts) tells us, he was given
orders by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem to bring back any he found there “both men
and women”, in chains, for trial and punishment. Most likely, that punishment would involve
death, for we know from chapter seven of Acts that Paul was an accessory to
murder, the murder of the Deacon Stephen (who is regarded as the first martyr
of the Church). Acts 7: 58 tells us that
Saul (Paul’s former name) stood by as Stephen was being stoned, holding the
coats of the stone-throwers, approving of their actions. That is Paul’s background.
Now, let’s look at
Peter….Peter had been with the Lord from the beginning of the Lord’s
ministry. He had heard the Lord’s teaching,
saw Him work miracles, witnessed the walking on the sea and the raising of the
dead. Peter was the first to acknowledge
Jesus as being the Christ, the Son of the living God (see Matthew 16:16). And yet, Peter’s walk with the Lord during
that earthly ministry was one of ups and downs, of inconsistencies which took
place amid glorious insights into Jesus’ character and identity. Then, as Jesus is arrested, Peter stands
around a charcoal fire and denies
that he knows the Lord at all, three
times.
Now this last bit of business is
critical for our understanding of what is happening in Peter’s encounter with
the risen Lord on the shores of the Sea of Galilee…notice that we remarked that
Peter stood around a charcoal fire as
he denied knowing the Lord three times. (I have deliberately highlighted these two
elements in italics so we can see them clearly.)
As Peter stands before the Lord, a charcoal fire blazes, and the Lord asks
Peter three times, “Peter, do you
love me?”
With Peter’s three affirmations, the
three denials are erased, Peter is forgiven, and Peter is restored to the
purposes the Lord has in store for him.
Now, looking at both of these heroes
of the faith, we notice that they both are told that suffering will be part of
their lot: Paul is explicitly told that
he will suffer for the sake of the Lord’s name.
Peter, as well, is told by the Lord that, when he is old “you will
stretch your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not
wish to go.” (This is a veiled reference
to the way in which Peter will die, glorifying the Lord by following Him to a
cross, where, tradition tells us, Peter was crucified upside down.)
What point is to be gleaned from the
two accounts we have before us this morning?
Perhaps simply this: Many of the heroes of the faith have
“checkered pasts”. Sometimes, that past
involves what we would, today, call a major criminal offense (accessory to
murder, as in Paul’s case). Sometimes,
it involves an inconsistency in one’s faithfulness to God, as we see in Peter.
I have often wondered if Peter or
Paul could get past a Commission on Ministry today….after all, Peter’s record
wouldn’t inspire confidence that he was capable of being a consistent and
dependable leader. And yet, after the
resurrection, and after his restoration by the Lord, Peter became a powerful,
eloquent leader of the Church. Read some
of Peter’s speeches in the early chapters of the Book of Acts, and you will see
the point, I think. And as for Paul, today
he would be a convicted felon, most likely….in the eyes of the Church these
days, that fact alone would disqualify him from ministry.
If the human beings that God calls
into ministry (and it is worth saying that absolutely every one of is called to
some sort of ministry or another) are flawed human creatures, then what do we
look for in Christian leadership?
Do we look for a perfect track
record? If so, then we have to admit
that no one is perfect. No one is worthy, from that standpoint, to take up a
ministry in God’s name.
Then do we look for a pattern of
growth which exhibits more and more of the Christ-like virtues that enable a
person to share Christ with others?
I believe we’re on the right track,
if that’s what we’re looking for.
And, it is worth being clear, that
does not mean that there will always be forward motion in a person’s trajectory
of faithful walking with God….Peter’s case demonstrates that point quite
well: Peter was back and forth, forward
and then backward, in his faith development and in his faithfulness to Christ.
Having said all that, however, it is
worth saying that there is a minimum standard of acceptability….once a person
acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord, then there must be some point in a person’s
outlook and behavior that shows that genuine conversion of life has taken
place.
After all, conversion is what it’s
all about…Paul’s conversion story is before us this morning. Peter’s final chapter in His conversion is
the substance of our gospel reading for today.
Having reached this point, each of these men never, ever, looked back,
never turned back to their former ways.
And here we reach the central
point: Their encounter with the risen
Lord completed their process of conversion, enabling them to share with others
their own experience of the risen Christ.
Your ministry and mine consists of
just this sort of stuff: We are called
to share our experience of the risen Christ, showing by our manner of life that
we have actually had just such a sort of renewing and empowering experience
ourselves.
May the Holy Spirit enable each of
us to be fully converted to God, that we may share our experience of the risen
Christ with others, in genuineness of life.
AMEN.
