Reflections
Reverend Mairolet Vega Comas Delivers Sermon at Ashland Presbyterian
Written by John Walter Friday, 28 March 2008 19:52
Reverend Mairolet Vega Comas, pastor of Cabaiguan Presbyterian Church, visited Maryland for a few days in September. During her visit she delivered the sermon during both worship services at Ashland Presbyterian Church, with translation support from John Walter. Following is the English translation of the sermon she delivered...
The sermon is based on the scripture from Acts 3: 1-10:
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
And a certain man lame from his mother�s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which head happened unto him.
Dear brothers and sisters, it's a privilege to be here again with you and to bring you the love and affection from the Cuban Presbyterian Church.
We give thanks to God for this renewal, for the opportunity of again being face to face sharing powerfully our different experiences.
Today's text of meditation takes us to the book which tells the story of the works and events of Jesus' first disciples; their difficulties, vicissitudes, and dreams which accompanied the formation of the first communities of faith.
In the early days, as well as now, disciples struggled with the challenge of delivering Jesus' message of life and hope which they had learned from him directly; a message which still confronts us with the test of following in his steps. Jesus taught them that the Kingdom of God was palpably here amid the daily noise of social, economic, material, and political dishevel, and despite those situations, they were called to be the ones to realize this work.
Originally, the books of Luke and Acts were considered a single literary document. Both were written around the year 80 A.D. and possess the same literary style. Acts is thought to have been written in Rome, then a city of some 50 million people of which 26 million were slaves. The 'Good News' of book of the Acts of the Apostles was directed at the marginalized urban and excluded communities, and it is for this reason that Christianity became a popular religion, accepting and welcoming slaves, the vulnerable, and the weak.
When we look at the early formation of these Christian communities, we can perceive that they had these fundamental characteristics, which at this stage evolved into the vital precepts in their daily life: They were accustomed to sharing bread together in their houses. They gathered frequently to compare and speak about their experiences of faith. The needy and unprotected were not rejected.
But as I mentioned, things were not always that easy. The Jews found it hard to leave behind their past lives: their traditions, customs, and laws. This brought about conflicts among those who wished to retain their faith in Jesus while supporting the old beliefs. Additionally, the pagans who had converted to Christianity had no interest in the issues and traditions of their Jewish neighbors.
As ancestral Jewish tradition shows us, they were accustomed to go to the temple or synagogue each Saturday at the hour of prayer to listen to the interpretation of the law and the prophets. This is the extant social context when John and Peter arrive. It is Saturday, and they assemble at the Temple. The text of Acts permits us a glimpse or indication that they were not unique: that is, they were not the only Christian disciples to comply with the obligatory tradition of true believers who went faithfully to the synagogue to commune with God. Unfortunately, the temple served not only as a holy place, for some it was a refuge in which to physically survive. Not all were permitted cross the thresholds and to enter; the less desirable element of society, those considered impure or to be sinners, remained outside and were permitted to sit at the gates with their hands extended in hopes of receiving alms with which to buy their daily bread.
This then is the scenario, at the gates of the 'beautiful' temple, in which we find our friend, a crippled man known not only for his physical disability, but also for being condemned by God since birth for some transgression committed by his family. His pleas were ignored by all who passed, so accustomed were they to the ritual of his unchanging supplications: 'A coin, a coin for bread'.
In the midst of this scene, John and Peter appear at the hour of prayer, and in passing through the doorway meet this man with his hand extended towards them. Thanks be to God that neither John or Peter had gold or silver with them. As human beings, we are so accustomed to resolving our problems by giving money, including our habit of valuing people according to the wealth they possess or have amassed. But here, this was not the case. Peter, with a gesture of solidarity and commitment to this wretched man who was suffering and hungry said:
Peter says, 'Look at us!'
I think it was the first time that anyone considered without sin had uttered a word to that poor miserable man in public, striking up the brief conversation which would radically transform his life.
Peter continues, 'We have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus, get up and walk!'
What happened next we already know, though not everyone present was capable of perceiving what had transpired in the same way. Some witnessed what occurred with fright and were afraid; others watched with curiosity; only a few shared the joy of receiving the miracle which had transformed the life of a fellow man.
I believe we should return to the text and recreate the story in order to understand. It seems to ask, 'Who or whom are the sick people in this story?' If we had the opportunity to dialogue over this point, I'm convinced that many of you without doubt would respond saying, 'the sick one was the lame and impeded man. The sick man was the one who in order to live, begged coins from passersby. I too thought the same until I stopped to reflect a little more deeply about the situation. I believe we are mistaken because many times we do not realize that we too are infirmed, despite not being disadvantaged in the same way this man was. This man was disabled physically but not spiritually; this fact is demonstrated by his immediately grasping Peter's hand, rising and walking when called to do so by Peter. This man did not doubt but rose to the challenge, breaking with everything that had impeded him before, responded to healing, opening himself to it with all of his being. He rejected the idea of resignation to his former life of bad luck, rather chose to fight for his life in order to experience its fullness and abundance.
How positive and encouraging Luke's message seems to us, written to a community of believers reminding them time and again of the essentialities of living a full Christian life. I know that there are aspects of this message we still grapple with in our own lives.
The first aspect which Luke emphasizes, it seems to me we could say, is being attentive to the necessities of one another. At times we want to believe that life may be reduced to economic schemes and formulas, but life is much more than that, it is a divine gift that cannot be purchased. Necessities are not always related to money, there are times when they are related to the common necessities of affection and communication. These needs are not always easily confronted.
The second point which Luke makes is that we are all capable of giving, not just those above us. Everyone has something to give. Peter gave what he had, he gave the best of himself, healing and transmitting hope to a live that lacked both. He gave part of himself.
Unfortunately, in our times we are not disposed to giving of ourselves, much less so since we consider ourselves to be extremely busy; we relegate what we deem trivial for others to do. This extends itself to the approach many take as to their church life, often the church becomes little more than a social club where one feels good. We fail to notice that we are searching for God because we are the ones who need Him.
The most valuable is not in our capacity to own, but in our capacity to receive to give away. The greatest treasures are often just in front of us but we cannot accustom ourselves to see them: the family, our community, and health. We continue to be driven by desire to accumulate things not seeing that life itself is passing us by while we forget the gift God has put in our hands.
In Cuba there is a hymn that was composed at the national Presbyterian institute which says, ' The church is the church, it's mission is to preach, evangelize, prophecy, and unify' I believe this is an eternal message: We are today's church, given a message that we are not to conform to the negativity of our present world or our passing situations, rather we are charged with being agents of transformation. It is certain that we need to begin by transforming ourselves, in our own homes and communities, thereby assuring that we succeed in creating justice and equality in our own countries so that this world might become a place where we can live and construct the Kingdom of God with life full and abundant for everyone without exception.
Faith challenges us, invites us, asks us what each and every one of has to give in order that our surroundings are not filled with human misery: physical, material, or spiritual. Our faith challenges us so that in our surroundings, people do not live in need, rather that they have bread for their table and for their spirits.
How will we respond, confronted as we are by these adverse situations which extend their hands into our paths?
The church needs to be the church, and the church is you and me. We are churches when we respond to the call in which God would have us respect all life that HE has given to each of us, entrusted to each of us. We are churches when in the middle of difficulties, incomprehension, and battles for power we are capable of constructing bridges of love, hope, and of restoring human dignity. We are churches when we do not follow the ways of others in material error; but like Peter, respond by saying that, ' what we have we give you'.
Get up and walk, stand and unite with me in my voice and in my strength to fight, because the Kingdom of God is made, is brought to reality between us here today.