Blind, But Now I See

Blind, But Now I See

Experiencing Resurrection: Part 6
March 17, 2026

Acts 9:1-22

Ananias went to the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see. He got up and was baptized. After eating, his strength returned.

~ Acts 9:17-19

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Craig J. Sefa Blind, But Now I See

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To my sisters and brothers who now share in Christ’s suffering and joy: I write to you concerning the hope of resurrection, a hope rooted in the traditions of our people and written on the pages of my own life.

I am a child of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin. A Pharisee, blameless according to the law. Like many of my people, I built my life on the conviction that God is righteous and just. Without resurrection, how can that be true? There must be hope for all who have suffered injustice.

I did not persecute the followers of Jesus for believing in resurrection. I shared in their hope. But resurrection had not yet come. Their proclamation was premature. One person cannot rise from the dead. Resurrection is a promise for all creation.

Yet on the road to Damascus, a light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus.”

I had never met him, yet he spoke with authority. I looked up but saw nothing. Darkness. They led me by the hand to Damascus. I sat as though dead. I refused food and drink. The darkness consumed me.

“All I could pray was: ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.’” Everything I thought I knew was undone.

After three days, a man named Ananias came. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord sent me so that you could see again.” It was as though scales fell from my eyes. I was baptized—buried with Christ, raised to walk in new life.

Was this resurrection?

To live anew, here and now?

I went into the wilderness. I prayed. I wrestled with theScriptures. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone… by his wounds we are healed.” I had been looking for power, but the prophets spoke of suffering.

What if the cross was not his curse, but God’s vindication? What if resurrection had already begun?

I returned and proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God. Some believed; others plotted against me. I who once came with strength now fled in weakness, lowered in a basket.

Grace broke me and grace remade me.

For years I lived in obscurity. I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God’s church. Yet my life is a testimony to grace. I died on that road to Damascus. And yet, in Christ, I live.

In Antioch I saw it: Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, one in Christ. This is new creation.

Resurrection is not merely hope for life after death. It is the power by which I now live.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

And so, I press on.

Do Good

Do Good
July 28, 2024
3 John 1:11, Acts 10:38, Luke 4:18-19

Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.

3 John 1:11 (The Message)

You know about Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and endowed with power. Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him.

Acts 10:38 (CEB)

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Craig J. Sefa Do Good

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“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

While the attribution of this well known quote to John Wesley is heavily questioned by scholars, it remains true to the Wesleyan Spirit and the second of our General Rules, “to do good.”   As our conference youth put it, we are called to “do good however, whatever, wherever, whenever, forever.”

Like our rule last week, “Do no harm,” the rule to “Do Good” seems fairly simple and straight forward, but there are a lot of  open ended questions.  How much good must we do?  How often?   To whom?  How much do we have to sacrifice for the sake of doing good to others? 

I once saw someone pose the question, “What is the least I have to do and still be a Christian?”  While we may not ask it quite so crudely, if we’re honest we often ask a lot of similar questions.  We try to be good people, but in the back of our minds we may question if we have been good enough or if we have done enough?  The truth is there is always more to be done and compassion fatigue is very real.  Our resources are limited, not only financially, but also physically and emotionally.  We don’t always have enough information or enough bandwidth to do all the good we would like to do and it is easy to feel overwhelmed and give up altogether. 

I think that’s all the more reason to reflect again on the quote so often attributed to Wesley.  Consider using it as a prayer of examen at the end of each night.

1.  Today, did I do all the good I could do?

2.  Did I use every means possible to do good?

3.  Did I do good in every way I thought of?

4.  Did I do good in every place I went?

5.  Did I do good to every person I encountered?

6.  Did I keep doing good to the end of the day without giving up?

If we’re honest with ourselves, the answers will often be “no.”  We all fall short and these questions should never make us judge or shame ourselves.  They should, however, invite us to ask in every moment, what is the most good I can do, right here, right now, in this situation… and trust that God will use it and multiply it and that it will be enough.  They also give us an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the good God empowered us to do.

In what specific ways is God calling you to do good this week?

The Call of the Wild Goose

The Wild Goose
The Way of the Wild Goose - Part 3
June 2, 2024
Acts 16:6- 15. Philemon 1:15-16, Galatians 4:6-7, Exodus 20:2

Craig J. Sefa The Call of the Wild Goose

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Paul and his companions traveled throughout the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia.  When they approached the province of Mysia, they tried to enter the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them.  Passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas instead.  A vision of a man from Macedonia came to Paul during the night. He stood urging Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 

 Acts 16:6-9 (CEB)

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Too often we act like believing in Jesus and following Jesus are entirely different things.  Following or answering God’s call is for church leaders or ministers.  That’s not for me.  I’m just a regular person, not some “super-Christian.”  The sheer number of people in churches, even among the leadership, who say, for example, that “Bible study is just not their thing,” speaks to this artificial distinction between “believer” and “follower”. 

If belief is about trust, then there is no difference between believing and following.  When Jesus says, “Believe in me,” it is the same as saying, “Come, follow me.”  Belief requires trust.  Trust requires action.  Action requires stepping out in faith.  I once heard faith defined as “risk with direction.”  Faith always requires risk, and it always requires us to move in a particular direction.  Remaining content with the status quo is not an act of faith.  Being comfortable with our “beliefs” and unwilling to be challenged or grow beyond our present stage of faith does not demonstrate genuine trust in the God who says, “Go to the land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1).

While God’s call in Genesis 12 was specifically to Abram, it is also the call of the Wild Goose to every person who puts their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  It was the call Jesus gave to his disciples when he said, “Come, follow me” (Matt. 4:19).  It was the call Saul received when he was blinded on the road to Damascus that set his life on a radically different path (Acts 9:1-19) and the call he later followed over and over again on his missionary journeys as the Spirit continually redirects his path the places where God was already at work (i.e. Acts 16:6-9).  It was the call of St. Patrick who saw a man from Ireland bearing letters that summoned him to return and proclaim the love of Christ to the very people who had enslaved him as a boy.

These calls, along with many others in scripture and throughout history, are not calls to comfort and ease.  They do not lull us to sleep or to a false sense of peace and security like the sound of a dove.  On the contrary, these calls startle us, awaken us from sleep in a cold sweat, blind us along the road, and tell us to leave our nets behind and take nothing with us for the journey. 

The Spirit calls us to wake up and stay alert to God’s work in the world.  The Spirit calls us together as one body with one hope, one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism (Ephesians 4:5).  The Spirit calls to give us clear direction and to help us know which way to go.  The Spirit calls to protect us and keep us from danger.  And the Spirit calls to attract or draw others into the flock where they can find love, peace, and rest.  The Wild Goose calls when we least expect it for all sorts of reasons.  Remember, geese tend to bite those who try to put them in cages. 

How is the Wild Goose calling you this week?

~ excerpts from The Wild Goose: Embracing the Untambed Beauty of the Holy Spirit

The Presence of the Wild Goose

The Wild Goose
The Way of the Wild Goose - Part 2
May 26, 2024
Acts 11:1-18, 15:1-21

God, who knows people’s deepest thoughts and desires, confirmed this by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, but purified their deepest thoughts and desires through faith. Why then are you now challenging God by placing a burden on the shoulders of these disciples that neither we nor our ancestors could bear?  On the contrary, we believe that we and they are saved in the same way, by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”

 Acts 15:8-11 

Craig J. Sefa The Presence of the Wild Goose

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For many today, the idea of finding God in creation is especially appealing.  It breaks God out of the box of our thick-walled sanctuaries and bloated institutional religious structures.  It invites us in some ways to encounter God on God’s own terms, rather than requiring God to meet us within the prescribed times and structures of our religious tradition or community. 

For others, the ability to experience God’s presence outside the church is a dangerous and fearful prospect.  There’s a concern that without religious boundaries, we may very well delude ourselves into making God whatever we want.  There is no accountability or required set of beliefs to determine who can be counted God’s beloved community. 

While there is a beautiful freedom in all of this, we who are more open to meeting God in nature or in other contexts outside the church would do well to take the concerns of the religious community seriously.  That is not to say that we must limit our relationship with the Divine to a particular segment of the church. It is, however, to remind us that God is still God, and we are not.   

Just as God cannot be confined to a church building, a liturgy, or a set of doctrinal standards, neither can God be limited to our favorite hiking spot, mountain, stream, or park bench.  Might we also dare to seek God’s presence in the urban jungle, in a hospital, in a refugee camp; in schools and offices and coffee shops and grocery stores; or even among the rich and powerful on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley or on Capitol Hill.  Yes, despite so much evidence to the contrary, the Wild Goose is present even there.  Perhaps on occasion, we might even still find God in church.

~ excerpt from The Wild Goose: Embracing the Untambed Beauty of the Holy Spirit, 24-25

In Acts we see the Holy Spirit showing up in all sorts of unexpected places with people who nobody would expect (a lot like Jesus did).  Every time we think we understand, she shows up somewhere else and  surprises us again.  Perhaps our best bet is to pray like Thomas Merton below, confessing that we have no idea where the Spirit is leading us.  Nonetheless, we will  follow, trusting that we never walk alone.

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My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your  will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore, I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Amen.

The Wild Goose

The Wild Goose
The Way of the Wild Goose - Part 1
May 19, 2024
Acts 2:1-4, John 3:4-8

Craig J. Sefa The Wild Goose

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Nicodemus asked, “How is it possible for an adult to be born? It’s impossible to enter the mother’s womb for a second time and be born, isn’t it?”

Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom.  Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’  God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It’s the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

John 3:4-8

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Enemy of Apathy

 by John Bell

She sits like a bird, brooding on the waters,
Hovering on the chaos of the world’s first day;

She sighs and she sings, mothering creation,
Waiting to give birth to all the Word will say.

She wings over earth, resting where she wishes,
Lighting close at hand or soaring through the skies;

She nests in the womb, welcoming each wonder,
Nourishing potential hidden to our eyes.

She dances in fire, startling her spectators,
Waking tongues of ecstasy where dumbness reigned;

 She weans and inspires all whose hearts are open,
Nor can she be captured, silenced or restrained.

For she is the Spirit, one with God in essence,
Gifted by the Saviour in eternal love;

She is the key opening the scriptures,
Enemy of apathy and heavenly dove.

From the Iona Community, Wild Goose Publications

The images, symbols, or metaphors for the Holy Spirit are many, (fire, wind, water, breath, dove, etc.) but none can fully capture the mystery that is God’s very presence in us and among us.  For Celtic Christians, the Wild Goose became the dominant image for the wild and untamable wind that blows wherever it wishes.  “You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8). 

Over the next several weeks we will journey with the Celtic Saints of ancient Ireland and explore what the Wild Goose image has to teach us about the nature of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  In  particular we will look at the presence, the call, the bond and the persistence of the Holy Spirit.  In the end, my prayer is that each of us will deepen our  relationship the Holy Spirit and become more aware of the Spirit’s work and presence in our lives. 

Take a few moments with the poem above and reflect on what images of the Holy Spirit resonate most with you and why? 

Spiritual Language

SPIRITUAL - PART 7

Spiritual Language
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Acts 1:1-11, 2:1-21

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages.  They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them?  How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language?

Acts 2:4-8

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Language

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I’ve always been highly academic and I love learning just about every subject, but the one thing I cannot seem to learn is how to speak a foreign language. I took several years of French in high school and barely remember a word. I tried learning Spanish later in life and nothing seems to stick. I aced Greek and Hebrew in seminary, but without a lexicon in front of me, I don’t even remember the alphabets. Perhaps it comes down to a lack of practice or opportunities to be immersed in speaking the language regularly, but for whatever reason, languages are just not my gift.

I discovered in South Africa they have 11 official languages and I thoroughly enjoyed preaching a revival service last year with a translator who spoke Ndbele. Even though he was simply translating my words, somehow his sermon sounded a lot better than mine. The children’s Sunday School teacher in the church there mentioned that some of the kids in her class did not speak any of the same languages and could not always understand each other, and yet somehow the Holy Spirit kept drawing them back together as one family.

The coming of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts demonstrates the truth that Paul speaks of in Ephesians when he writes:

You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope.  There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6

In many nations around the world fluency in two or more languages is nearly a necessity. I fully recognize the privilege of having English readily available almost anywhere I go. Even when we are all speaking English, however, we are not always speaking the same language. I’m not just talking about southern vs. northern accents or British vs. Australian vs. American dialects. Language is more than the words we say or even the accents with which we say them. Words have meaning based on cultural context and often take on further nuance based on individual experience. Most arguments involve people talking past each other using the same language and the same words with very different layers of meaning and interpretation.

The same is true in our churches.

Every time a congregation gathers for worship, many different people, from different points in life, with different needs and perspectives come together; each refracting messages through their own lenses. Each person processes communication in ways that are influenced by age, gender, race, personality type, ethnicity, education, and social and economic backgrounds.

Joseph R. Jeter Jr. and Ronald J. Allen, “One Gospel, Many Ears”

It is easy to rail against people who don’t speak “English” in America, but perhaps we would be better off recognizing that we have a much more serious language problem. We all struggle to say what we mean and often to mean what we say. We all talk past each other on a regular basis. We all misinterpret or misunderstand what people are saying to us, even our closest loved ones.

This is why the unifying language of the Holy Spirit is so crucial. Too often the church sounds just like our political rallies and our news media, fighting and arguing and talking past each other as if shouting in a thousand different languages, when in truth, we all desire the same thing. We just have different perspectives and approaches.

What would it look like for your church to look less like the people fleeing from the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) and more like the church at Pentecost, who truly speaks “One Gospel to Many Ears.”

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If you are interested, here is the sermon I preached with the translator in South Africa. It was my first time trying to communicate to an entirely different culture who spoke multiple languages which I did not understand. Truly a blessed experience.

Spiritual Discernment

SPIRITUAL - PART 6

Spiritual Discernment
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Acts 17:22-31, John 16:12-15

“I have much more to say to you, but you can’t handle it now. However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. He won’t speak on his own, but will say whatever he hears and will proclaim to you what is to come.

John 16:12-13

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Discernment

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The Spirit may guide us in all truth, but that does not mean we have “all of the truth” about everything.

Sometimes truth may take generations to uncover or discern. How many centuries did astronomers study the skies before they realized the truth that the earth was round and revolved around the sun? Even when Copernicus first released this fundamental scientific truth, the church rallied against him declaring the scriptures such as Psalm 93 which declares that “God has fixed the earth as immovable and firm.” So was Copernicus listening to the Spirit of Truth or was the Church? It took generations to accept, but eventually the Church came to accept that they were wrong. This does not mean that nobody in the church was trying to listen to the voice of the Spirit, or that the Spirit was even directly involved in the natural discovery of scientific realities.

Throughout history, Christians across the globe have disagreed on countless “truth claims”. Early Christians argued over the divine nature of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Were they eternally begotten, co-equal with God, or where they created by God? Was Jesus fully Divine or fully human? Could he be both?

Century after century, groups of Christians separate over any number of “truth claims” ranging from the authority of the Pope to the method and meaning of Baptism. The Methodist Episcopal Church South and other Christians in the 1800’s stood firm on their “truth” that even slavery was an institution ordained and approved by God. Christians fought on both sides of the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and virtually every other social and political conflict throughout history. Churches still split over almost anything and both sides of every split claim that their side stands on the “Absolute Truth” of Scripture.

Rev. James Howell notes that this “spirit of truth” is perilous, as too many Christians treat “truth” as some sledgehammer to judge or belittle others. St. Ephrem the Syrian (4th century) writes, “Truth and love are wings that cannot be separated, for Truth without Love is unable to fly, so too Love without Truth is unable to soar up; their yoke is one of harmony.” Denominations are lousy about truth; both “sides” blithely presume to have cornered it.

Good Bible believing Christians hold opposing views on countless political, ethical and even moral issues. Some may indeed be misinterpreting scripture. Some may be intentionally twisting scripture to fit their own agenda. But not all. Many people are sincerely trying to align themselves with God’s truth to the best of their ability and yet still come out on different sides of the aisle.

In Acts 15, we read the story of a conflict between Paul and Barnabas which ends in each of them parting ways. Who was right? Which one of them listened to the truth of the Spirit? Scripture doesn’t say, and perhaps it does not matter. In the end, the Spirit guided both of them in successful missionary journeys. Neither one was outcast by the church or by God and yet clearly they could not both have been “right”.

So where is this “Spirit of Truth”?

Why don’t we all hear the same truth when this Spirit speaks?

Perhaps we do. At least on the things that matter most. Holy Spirit reveals to us the nature of God. Holy Spirit teaches us the way of salvation. Holy Spirit convicts us of the truth of sin in our lives and leads us in the way of repentance. Holy Spirit resonates with our spirits to assure us that we are beloved children of the Most High.

Jesus told his disciples there were many things they were not ready to hear. In truth, there are still many things we are not ready to hear. There are many things good Christians have thought were true that are not so black and white. Just like Jesus, Holy Spirit knows the places in our lives where we are ready to see a bit more gray, to hear a more nuanced approach that isn’t always either/or, in/out, right/wrong. But Holy Spirit also knows the places in our lives we need a bit more certainty and assurance and the Spirit teaches us all that is spoken clearly by the Father and the Son. Holy Spirit is the Wisdom of God personified. Wisdom doesn’t simply teach us right and wrong. Wisdom also guides us in how to appropriately apply the truths we have learned.

We may know the truth, for example, that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom reminds us not to put one in a fruit salad or smoothie.

Likewise, Holy Spirit guides us in all truth, but she also grants us the wisdom not to use that truth as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. She grants us the wisdom to be patient with one another, bearing all things in love rather than quarreling with those who hold to a different truth. She even gives us a discerning ear and heart to learn from one another, perhaps even to be corrected in our own misunderstandings of what we thought was true. She gives us humility to admit when we are wrong and the humility to reign in our arrogance and pride in being right.

First and foremost, Jesus says that Holy Spirit will remind them of everything he taught them. This third person of the Trinity, fully divine as Christ and the Father are Divine, will consistently point believers to the Father. The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father”. Perhaps our primary question pray should not be, “Spirit show me the truth so I can be right,” but instead simply pray, “Holy Spirit, show us the Father.”

Spiritual Connection

SPIRITUAL - PART 5

Spiritual Connection
Sunday, May 14, 2023
Acts 16:9-15

A vision of a man from Macedonia came to Paul during the night. He stood urging Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”…

…On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the riverbank, where we thought there might be a place for prayer. We sat down and began to talk with the women who had gathered. One of those women was Lydia, a Gentile God-worshipper from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth. As she listened, the Lord enabled her to embrace Paul’s message.

Acts 16:9, 13-14

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Connection

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Lydia is one of the few named women we have in the early church, and it is generally believed that she became one of the leaders and hosts of the church at Philippi. We know plenty about this church from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, but here in Acts we find the beginning of her story. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, we meet her at a significant transition in her life of faith and perhaps at the moment of her call to ministry.

To understand the beginnings of this new church movement in Philippi, we have to step back a few verses to see how the Holy Spirit was at work in Paul’s missionary journey.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia. When they approached the province of Mysia, they tried to enter the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them.  Passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas instead.

Acts 16:6-8

Don’t you just hate it when travel plans get messed up? Clearly Paul’s mission trip was not going as planned. He and his companions tried to proclaim the Good News of Christ in Asia, Mysia, Bithynia, Troas, and no doubt many other places along their route. But in each case it says the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them.

At first glance this seems absurd. Why would the Holy Spirit not allow them to proclaim the Good News?

Personally, I don’t believe God wanted to withhold the message of salvation from these places. It may be that they were either not yet ready to receive the message or that Paul was not the one God wanted to use to bring this message to these particular groups. Instead, God was calling Paul to answer the prayer of this man from Macedonia.

When Paul responds, he finds Lydia, a woman of means who believed in God and already hosted a prayer-gathering in her home.

This is the key to the work of the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t expect us to simply drop into a new place or knock on a random door, pray a miraculous prayer with a perfect stranger, and expect them to be saved and change the world.

We have a bad habit of practicing what I call “Air Drop” Christianity. Whether it’s a quick in-and-out mission trip, door-to-door evangelism, or a quick handshake on Sunday morning and then we move on, we have a bad habit of sprinkling ourselves here and there as if our faith is a garnish, rather than at the heart of who we are. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I’m sure: INVEST IN PEOPLE. It’s hard work, but it’s the stuff of life when we have the proper perspective

Christian Piatt, Sojourners (https://sojo.net/articles/ten-antidotes-christian-cliches)

The Holy Spirit works primarily by making connections between people. In this case, the Spirit connected Paul and Lydia through the prayers of another unknown third party from Macedonia. When Paul saw how God was already at work in Lydia’s life and incorporated her ministry into the larger work of the Church, the Church grew and a new faith community was planted.

Who might God be calling you to connect with? We were never meant to do this work of ministry alone.

Spiritual Discomfort

SPIRITUAL - PART 4

Spiritual Discomfort
Sunday, May 7, 2023
Acts 11:1-18

I heard a voice say, “Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’” I responded, “Absolutely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.”

Acts 11:7-8

Listen to theis week’s sermon here…

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Discomfort

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We all want to live good, moral, and righteous lives, yet in truth, Paul reminds us that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Yet somehow in our “righteous minds,” we have created our own hierarchy of sins. If someone calls us out when we disobey God’s law, we quickly respond as though our infraction is relatively insignificant on the larger scale. “I’m only human,” we say. “Nobody is perfect.”

Yet when someone else commits a sin that we could never imagine committing ourselves, that sin becomes so repugnant to us that we are quick to condemn. As Jesus says, we rarely notice the “logs in our own eyes” (Matthew 7:3-5).

“Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.” 

“If you really want to change someone’s mind on a moral or political matter, you’ll need to see things from that person’s angle as well as your own. And if you do truly see it the other person’s way—deeply and intuitively—you might even find your own mind opening in response. Empathy is an antidote to righteousness, although it’s very difficult to empathize across a moral divide.” 

― Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

This description of the endless moral, ethical, ideological and political battles in our culture and our world sounds a lot like Peter’s dilemma when he was called to the home of a Gentile, and not just to his home, but to dine with him at a table full of unclean foods.

“Absolutely not, Lord,” he responds.

Notice the irony and the confusion present in Peter’s response.

On one hand, he is saying “Absolutely not” to something which he considers to be a horrible sin, that is, eating unclean foods that go against the Jewish dietary laws.” This is admirable and proves Peter’s desire to remain pure and righteous.

But in the same response, he says, “Lord”. The very Lord and King he is seeking to honor by not eating with the Gentiles is the same Lord and King he is defying by refusing to do so. How can this be? Would God call us to sin?

Of course not.

But as Jonathan Haidt says, morality binds us together but also blinds us to the stories and experiences of others who do not share our moral values.

Consider these words from the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth.

Everything is permitted, but everything isn’t beneficial. Everything is permitted, but everything doesn’t build others up. No one should look out for their own advantage, but they should look out for each other. Eat everything that is sold in the marketplace, without asking questions about it because of your conscience.  The earth and all that is in it belong to the Lord.  If an unbeliever invites you to eat with them and you want to go, eat whatever is served, without asking questions because of your conscience.  But if someone says to you, “This meat was sacrificed in a temple,” then don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.  Now when I say “conscience” I don’t mean yours but the other person’s. Why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience?  If I participate with gratitude, why should I be blamed for food I thank God for?  So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, you should do it all for God’s glory.  Don’t offend either Jews or Greeks, or God’s church.

1 Corinthians 10:23-32

Everyone has a conscience, and that conscience or moral code is determined in life by a number of factors including upbringing, culture, education, religion, etc. And because everyone’s experience is different, everyone’s conscience is slightly different. For one person a single glass of wine may be as bad a sin as drunk-driving. For another, a fully stocked wine cellar in their home tells a different story. Has either one sinned? Not necessarily.

God wasn’t calling Peter to sin, but God always puts relationships first. Our conscience should never prevent us from “building others up”. Our conscience should never allow us to “put someone else down”. God isn’t interested in our personal moral values. God is interested in how we treat those whom he loves, regardless of how their conscience may or may not differ from our own.

If we view someone else as morally repugnant and keep our distance, we may just be keeping our distance from Christ. Jesus says, “Whatever you do (or do not do) for the least of these, you have done (or not done) it for me” (Matthew 25:45).

Spiritual Authority

SPIRITUAL - PART 3

Spiritual Authority
Sunday, April 30, 2023
Acts 9:36-43

Peter sent everyone out of the room, then knelt and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 

Acts 9:40

Craig J. Sefa Spiritual Authority

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Have you ever been in the room with someone in a coma? Sometimes the family is there and we may offer a few words of comfort or a prayer, but there are times as a pastor I have visited hospital rooms where nobody is present and the patient is completely unresponsive. In some cases they are completely brain-dead and will never recover. I cannot imagine walking into a room like this, standing over the hospital bed and saying, “Jim, get up!” or “Ann, get up!”.

Could you imagine the response if the nurses overheard you, or worse yet, a family member. Everyone would think you were crazy.

When I read today’s passage, however, I wonder if I, and we, might be underestimating our spiritual authority.

Peter walked into the room of a person not only in a coma, but a woman who had already died, and he simply had the audacity to tell her to get up, as if she were a child struggling to get out of bed for school in the morning. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t offer a prayer. He didn’t whisper words of encouragement to her family. He walked in with the certainty that Tabitha would get up and walk out of that room with him.

When I was doing my CPE (clinical pastoral education) at the hospital, I loved talking to one of the ICU volunteers. She sat with families in the waiting room and offered them whatever comfort and care she could as they waited and worried about their loved ones. She told me about the time she was in a deep coma for several months. Nobody expected her to live. It was a spiritually dark place for her. She has vivid memories from that time of seeing visions and hearing voices. She describes darkness in her visions, like black smoke and even dragons reaching out to claw at her mind. But she also remembers the voices. I know she was not hallucinating because when she miraculously awoke, she recounted specific things certain people said when they were alone in the room with her. No one else could have known what was said.

Much of her darkness, however, came from what she heard the voices saying. Her own family members would stand over her hospital bed talking about funeral arrangements as if she wasn’t in the room. As the weeks passed, they moved from worry and grief to frustration and hopelessness. There was no way she would ever wake up, the doctors said, and so they treated her like she was already dead. She could not see them, but she heard every word. She tried to reach back with her own voice. “I’m right here!” she shouted over and over again through her tears, but on the outside there were no tears and no sound came from her mouth.

Somewhere deep within her, God’s Spirit breathed new life into her darkness, but part of her darkness always remained because she heard so many heartless things people said about her in their grief and anger and she could never see her loved ones the same again. That’s why she volunteers at the hospital. She wants people to know that even at the brink of death, their loved ones can still hear them and respond, even if we never see or hear a physical response on the outside. She doesn’t want patients to feel alienated by their families in these incomprehensible circumstances.

I don’t know if we will ever see a dead person raised before our eyes, but I imagine the Spirit wants us to speak and live with the kind of authority Christ gave to Peter and his disciples to raise the dead. Whether a person is fighting for their final physical breath or lost in a bottomless pit of emotional or mental death and despair, we have the authority to speak life… not death. We have the authority to encourage them to “Get Up”, no matter how long and painful the process might be. But it is indeed a process. They cannot get up on their own. With our spiritual authority comes the responsibility to walk alongside them for the long haul until they can once again stand and walk on their own.

How are you using your Spiritual Authority to speak life into someone right now?