Sermon on Acts 3:11-26

Sermon on Acts 3:11-26
Given 11 July 2021 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

When I first read today’s passage, I noticed two obvious themes. The first is the power in the name of Jesus, and the second is recognising who we are as descendants of God’s family. I must say, I was quite pleased that my first sermon with you would be seemingly straightforward. But then I watched Barney’s sermon from last week and discovered that he had already touched on those themes.

So, I had to decide whether to take the easy path and simply repeat the things that had already been explored, or to go down a different avenue all together.

Obviously, even if I did the same topics, I would say things a bit differently, if for no other reason than because of my accent. But those who know me well will tell you that I rarely take the easy route. So that left me to ponder what else we could gain from this passage.

To recap last week’s reading leading into this week, Peter and John had come across a beggar on the street who was unable to walk, and instead of giving him money as was expected, they healed him through the power of the name of Jesus. They were surrounded by people who saw this healing miracle, so Peter took advantage of the situation and began speaking to the crowd around them. This brings us to this week’s passage where Peter accuses the people of rejecting and even killing Jesus. Now, at this point, I feel compelled to remind you of who exactly this Peter guy is.

This is the same Peter who Jesus refers to at one point in the gospel  of Matthew as ‘Satan’ and a ‘stumbling block’. This is also the Peter who denied Christ not once, not twice, but three times before his trial and crucifixion. In short, here is a very flawed man, an imperfect follower of Christ who goes on to criticise a crowd of people for not recognising Christ. Some might suggest he is a hypocrite for these actions. And yet, despite all his flaws and imperfections, Jesus not only calls Peter to be a disciple, he also said to Peter, ‘on this rock I will build my church.’ So though we who claim to follow Christ may easily criticise and condemn Peter, we worship a perfect and forgiving God who embraces us even with our flaws.

And I am sure we can all relate to the imperfect humanity of Peter. I am sure we have all, at some point in our lives, denied Christ. Speaking for myself, in my days of searching for faith, I insisted I was spiritual, not religious. This was a denial of Christ. I have also been known to walk straight by beggars on the street without so much as a sideways glance. This, too, is a denial of Christ. I have many times kept silent in the face of racism, sexism, homophobia, and all other forms of prejudice. This is undoubtedly a denial of Christ who taught us, ‘whatever you did to the least of these, you also did to me.’

But I believe in the redemptive grace of Christ who allows for second and third and seventy-seventh chances. So I did return to Christ like the prodigal Son and was welcomed with the loving embrace of a perfect Father. I have prayed with a homeless man on the street and donated to homeless charities. I have called out racism, sexism, homophobia and all the other ‘isms’ and ‘phobias’ that are a scourge on this earth and I have dedicated myself to rooting out the structural sin in my thoughts, words, and deeds. Because when Peter accuses the crowd of rejecting and killing Jesus, we must recognise that we too are part of that crowd. When we do not love our neighbour as ourselves, we re-crucify Christ. When we are complicit in institutional injustices, we re-crucify Christ.

This can all seem very overwhelming. Because as humans, we are bound to get things wrong and make mistakes. But that’s okay, because as followers of Christ, we have hope. Peter says in today’s passage that Jesus Christ will ‘bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.’ It is not always easy to own up to our flaws but at least recognising when we get things wrong is a step closer to Jesus Christ.

At the beginning of today’s passage, Peter saw the crowd gathering, he took notice and took advantage of the situation to proclaim the Gospel. With this being my first sermon here at St. Alban’s, I would also like to take advantage of the situation to proclaim my manifesto of sorts, and I hope you will indulge me on this tangent. Jesus taught us that, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,’ and ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ These are the greatest commandments and the core of the Gospel message. In other words, the Good News of Christ Jesus is love. In my ministry and my life I will endeavour to show the love of Christ in all that I say and do. And I pray that each of you hold me accountable to this promise. Not only will I seek to model the love of Christ, I will also take every possible opportunity to remind each and every one of you, my sisters and brothers, that you are a beloved child of God and there is nothing that can separate you from the love of our awesome Mothering Father. 

I end my tangent with a challenge to you, inspired from today’s reading. Peter saw the crowd and took advantage of the opportunity to bring the message of God’s love to others. So as you go out in your daily life, I challenge you to pray for eyes that notice opportunities, and lips that proclaim the love of God, and the courage to model Christ’s love for the world.

In closing, we can take heart in the imperfections of Peter, knowing that Christ used him to establish the Church and spread the message of the Gospel. And if God can work such wonders with such a human as Peter, imagine what God can do with each of us.