The twentieth century saw the rise of a new kind of preacher, a person whose outrageous behavior attracted the attention of both those seeking the divine and those seeking a show. So-called men of God, along with a growing number of women, took to the stage in traveling tent meetings and drew huge crowds with their claims of spirituality and the ability to perform miracles. With the advent of television, many of these religious entertainers took to the airwaves, where they were able to corral even larger audiences and collect more and more donations to their "ministries." Soon many of them were living lives of luxury, living in mansions, while owning other homes as well, and driving outrageously expensive cars, all the while parading their faces on TV and claiming that their wealth was the result of God's blessing on them for their faithfulness. What a contrast we find in the third chapter of Acts, where Peter and John, after healing a lame man, deflect any suggestion that they deserve any of the credit for the miracle that happened in the man's life. "Why do you wonder at this," Peter asked the crowd, "or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus. . . ." The apostle understood that when we are followers of Christ, anything we accomplish in his name can only be attributed to the power of God, separate and apart from any merit, talent, ability, or piety that we might possess. It is true that some Christians who do not seek the limelight have it thrust upon them against their will, and it is also true that those in leadership positions may sometimes become known for their good works and faith in God. Nevertheless, those who are faithful to God will never seek fame, and if they happen to get it, they will turn it to the advantage of God's work in the world. Mother Theresa, Albert Schweitzer, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, and others were known in their own day as people who did God's work, but they turned their fame, which they didn't seek, into a means of furthering their own work rather than advancing their careers. Many other people of faith do the work of God in almost total obscurity, known to perhaps only a few around them. Their motivation is to serve other people in the name of God, to bring healing of body and soul, and to love those around them. It is not the self-promoters, who love to see their names in print and in lights, who are doing the most for God's kingdom today, but those who work in the shadows, sharing a cup of water with the thirsty, who are the latter-day followers of the apostles.
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The movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off follow the shenanigans of three high school students from Chicago who skip school for a day to enjoy life, take a few risks, and ride on the wild side. After a number of adventures, the three find themselves next to a parade winding through downtown Chicago. Ferris's friend Cameron complains to him that he has seen nothing good all day. "What do mean nothing good?" Ferris asks. "We've seen everything good, we've seen the whole city! We went to a museum and saw priceless works of art." In fact, Cameron had seen many things that day that were amazing. He just didn't have the insight to recognize it. The psalmist says, "There are many who say, 'O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!'" What many people don't realize is that God is already all around us doing amazing things. God sends the rain to water the earth. God sends birds and butterflies and flowers to brighten our world. God sends a coworker or a child our way to smile at us when we feel down. And if we are willing, God sends us to meet the need of another person who wonders where God is. It's time for us to stop wondering where God is and act in faith that God is already with us to minister to others and love them in God's name.
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A few years ago my wife got into a rather heated discussion with some coworkers over the question, "Who are the children of God?" She held that everyone on earth is God's child, since God loves them and created them, but her coworkers thought that only "true" Christians were God's children. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are," says our reading from 1 John. For too many years people of different religious backgrounds have claimed exclusive right to the appellation "children of God." Many Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others have claimed that they and they alone are God's children. Within Christianity, Catholics have claimed a filial relationship with God while denying it to Protestants, and Protestants have returned the favor. Christians who have had a certain type of religious experience often believe only they are God's authentic children. In the light of these claims of exclusivity, it is interesting to note the exact wording of 1 John 3:1, the verse in question. The author says, "See what love the Father has given us," not, "See with what love the Father has loved us," or, "See what love the Father has shown us." God has given us love, so it is something we have, and if we have it, it is something that we can in turn share with other people. God doesn't give love to people so that they can horde it, but rather so that they can in turn give it to others. In the movie Pay It Forward, people in a community learn that when they receive an act of love or a blessing from someone, rather than pay it back, they should pay it forward. In other words, they should give the love that they have received to someone else who is in need of it. Rather than argue over which people are and which people are not God's children, we would be better off recognizing that all are God's children, since all are created in God's image. Because of that, we can feel free to share the love of God that we have received with anyone we meet who is in need of a portion of God's love.
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The first-century followers of Jesus lived in exciting times. They had heard Jesus' teachings, they had seen his mighty works among the people, and now they had experienced the power of his resurrection. What were they to do with all these experiences? The answer was straightforward: "You are my witnesses." The word "witness" in Greek is marturos, the word from which we derive the word martyr. The Greek word can mean either, and it was not uncommon in the early days of the church for those who bore testimony to Jesus to suffer martyrdom because of their beliefs. In fact, it is actually more correct to say that early Christian witnesses sometimes suffered for their actions rather than their beliefs. Few people, if any, are killed because of their beliefs if no actions are associated with those beliefs. Beliefs are just not that influential when those who hold them don't act on them. The early Christian martyrs were those who not only believed in Jesus but also acted out their belief in word and deed. A lot of people today claim to believe in Jesus, but their deeds reflect little of the life of Jesus. They stress the Pauline emphasis on faith without following it up with a Jacobian emphasis on works to accompany that faith. A look at the life of Jesus as revealed in the gospels shows that Jesus was not put to death because of his system of beliefs. He was put to death for his teaching and his ministry among the people--in other words, his works. God is looking for people today who are willing to put their faith into practice. It is worse than useless to argue with people over the finer points of faith if we are unwilling to act out our faith in the world. Many fundamentalists love to claim that their system of beliefs is superior to that of other believers, and many progressive Christians in turn feel a sense of moral and intellectual superiority to these fundamentalists, but it is those Christians, fundamentalist or progressive, who show God's love to all those around them who are on the road to being God's witnesses in the world, as Jesus commanded.
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