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"Sleeping in the Sanctuary"
April 14, 1991 - Ron Francey
Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; Luke 24:35-48
Maybe some of you are wondering, after noticing this
week's sermon title, when it would be that someone - one of the
ushers - would come down one of the isles with a long stick with
a clump of feathers on the end of it, reach out and lightly
feather one of the lightly sleeping women or bomp on the head one
of the loudly snoring men - or would it be vice-versa? Maybe
you'll be distracted from the sermon because you'll be looking
around the church to see who it is that is bobbing his or her
head. Maybe you anticipate a judgmental sermon about the
requirement to pay attention, to absorb every word, every
syllable emanating from the wisdom of one who speaks with
authority from behind the pulpit, scholar that he is! Maybe some
of you know me better and know that none of these things would be
likely - and you would be right.
In pre-Christian days, it was common for people to come
from long distances to the temple to worship, to gather in
community, to learn, to pray. It was also common for those who
were suffering from ill treatment, suffering from the woes of
battle, anticipating the challenges of life to come to the place
where God was known to exist, where God was known to be found.
The temple was more than a place to find God; it was also a place
to seek God's favor.
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In the days of the judges, people would also gather at
the temple when they felt they had been wrongly accused of some
deed. Our responsive reading this morning may well have been in
tune with such an occasion. Recall the words of Psalm 4:
[read the Psalm]
And so it was that litigants would gather at the temple,
each one knowing that he was in the right, knowing that God would
find favor with him. In preparation for a hearing before God in
the temple, the litigants would spend the evening in the
precincts of the sanctuary. Verses 4,5 may relate directly to
this: "When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your
beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust
in the Lord." And so they would sleep in the sanctuary - in
order to receive dreams, revelations, or priestly interpretations
about one's condition - the easier one slept and the priest's
observance of such could only mean innocence for the sleeper.
Is life so different today? Let us search our inner
selves for the reasons we come to the temple today. Many of us
are hurt in many ways and come to God's home for nourishment;
many of us feel wronged; we feel falsely accused of so many
things - we feel that we are not known by who we really are. We
seek - and expect - God's favor.
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In ancient of days, people came to the church to be
observed by the priests, to be vindicated based on how they
appeared before the magistrate. Those who appeared more
righteous, those were the ones expected to be set free from the
false charges. What do we expect of the church today?
We are entering the throes of the search for a new
pastor. What are the qualities of the pastor that are right for
us, for the good of the church, for the good of the community?
Do we seek a pastor that will benefit us personally, who will
come to know us for whom we really are? Do we even know who we
are? Do we want a pastor who will find out how righteous we are
or who will help us - change - just a little?
And what of the new pastor? Are we willing to seek out
the hopes and aspirations of the new pastor? Are we willing to
extend love, to care for, to hold a pastor - who, like us, maybe
is just a little less than perfect, who might be just a little
less of a scholar than he or she thinks they really are?
Are we willing to be tested, to be challenged, to walk
the search for meaning in our lives, to explore the possibilities
of who it is that God might want us to be, to become? Will we
only accept from a pastor, from this church only that which we
want to hear or will we dare to take God's hand in ours and walk
the journey of life together?
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This morning's selection of scripture is concerned with
more than coming to the temple to seek God for it is witness to
the first "sign and wonder" done through the apostles that Luke
chose to record. It is witness to action, to the acts of the
apostles - to people near the temple but not in it. This is
witness to our resurrection theology. It is Christianity in its
formative days, in its formative ways.
And so the people, the congregants, were astonished to
see the lame man, lame from birth, gather strength, be healed
before their very eyes and walk. Peter, the rock, immediately
challenges the observers: "Why do you stare at us, as though by
our own power or piety we had made him walk?" It was God who had
been at work in what had happened. The apostles were instruments
of God's grace.
In the ancient of days, the presence of God, the
Shekinah, dwelt in the temple. Now it was focused in the name of
Jesus. God no longer was seen to exercise divine power
exclusively in the precincts of the temple, but now where
prophetic deeds were done in the name of Jesus.
And so too are we called out of the temple and into the
world to be instruments of God's grace. It is not we who are to
perform the miracles, it is not we who are the God of our people
- but we have been touched by the Holy Spirit so that we might be
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able to touch others, to work together toward peace and justice
in this, God's created world.
In Luke's scripture, Jesus presents himself before the
gathering of the disciples as they were busily discussing the
meeting on the road to Emmaus and how they had come to know him
through the breaking of the bread. The disciples were startled
and terrified believing they had seen a ghost. Jesus asked them
to touch him and see that he was real; he asked for food -
something no ghost would need.
Jesus - God - was present in their midst. He was
physically present amongst them; he was real; he was beyond the
temple walls commissioning the disciples to go forth. Jesus
opened their minds to understand the scripture and commissioned
them that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed
in his name to all nations". They were clothed with power from
on high. They were touched so they, in turn, could touch.
What meaning does this have for us today? As we search
for a pastor, are we only to be concerned about the pastor's
strengths within the walls of this temple? Do we seek one who
will help us dance the dance of life, to do-se-do with strangers,
to engage in life with those of different customs, beliefs,
desires and needs? Jesus calls us to repentance and to
forgiveness of sins made against God.
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Jesus' resurrection is real. Do we continue in life
where we left off before we knew and believed in the
resurrection? Do we begin anew? How are we to approach the
temple, this church, today, tomorrow, in the years to come? We
can choose to come to this church, to come to this sanctuary, to
sleep in the sanctuary - to receive dreams, revelations or
priestly interpretations of one's sleeping behaviors, to be found
innocent of acts of aggression and malice against us.
We can also come to this sanctuary, this church, to
worship God, to sing praises to God's most Holy Name, to
encourage others to join in the celebration of this world and the
people in it, to celebrate the diversity each of us offers to the
other. And we can leave this church as renewed persons, touched
by the Holy Spirit.
We carry the candle of light, let us carry it so that
others can see by the light. We carry the candle of truth, let
us extend that truth in word and in deed that God loves all of us
and that we are called to love each other. We carry the candle
of hope, hope springing from our resurrection joy; let us carry
the flame of hope that illumines a world of Shalom, a world of
peace and joy.
As we leave this sanctuary today, let us carry these
candles into the world. Let them shine, let them shine, let them
shine! Amen.
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