January 10, 2010

Acts 11:19-30

We are returning today to our sermon series from the book of Acts that we started in the fall. We took a short break for Advent and Christmas but now we are resuming our study of Acts.

Our overall theme in Acts is “The church: Living under the influence of the Holy Spirit”.

One of the reasons we are doing this sermon series from Acts now is because we are in a period of transition as a church. Being in a new building and living in a new community we are trying to discern again what God is calling us to be involved in now.

The book of Acts helps us refocus our mission because it tells the story of the early church in transition as it struggled to carry on the ministry of Jesus in the world.

Acts begins with Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit to birth the church. It then tells the story of the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem all the way to Rome.

So far in Acts we have seen how the –

• Holy Spirit so transformed peoples lives that they started sharing their money and possessions with each other so that everyone had enough.

• We also saw how the Holy Spirit took these ordinary disciples and gave them strength and courage to resist human authorities and to obey God even when it meant imprisonment.
• Then in Acts 6 we saw how the church struggled with diversity and growth in the church and they had to deal with the charge of discrimination against the Hellenist widows.
• In Acts 7 we learned of the first Christian martyr as Stephen was stoned to death for giving his full allegiance to Jesus.
• And then right before Advent we looked at Acts chapter10 and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles. And we saw how Peter needed to be converted again so he could accept Gentiles as his brothers and sisters in Christ.

The rest of the book of Acts is really about the inclusion of Gentiles in the church and how God had to change people’s perspectives in order for this to happen.

Now, today I want to focus primarily on two verses from this story in Acts 11.  I want us to look at verses 25-26.

Luke writes – “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.”

There are two things in this passage that get my attention.

• First, Saul is called out of hiding to help Barnabas teach these new Christians in Antioch.
• And secondly, the followers of Jesus are called “Christians” for the first time in Antioch.

The story of the church at Antioch really begins with Stephen’s awful murder in Jerusalem.

When Stephen was killed for his faith in Jesus, many of the new believers in Jerusalem scattered and some traveled as far as Antioch.

Now, Antioch was about 300 miles north of Jerusalem and 15 miles in land from the Mediterranean Sea.

Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire with a population of over 500,000 people.

Luke tells us here that at first – the persecuted followers of Jesus only spoke to other Jews about Jesus. Up until this time, the followers of Jesus were seen primarily as a renewal movement within Judaism.

But gradually a few people began to share the story of Jesus with Gentiles.

In verse 21 Luke writes – “the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number of Gentiles became believers and turned to the Lord.”

So the city of Antioch becomes known as the first large ingathering of Gentiles to follow Jesus. And in time, Antioch became the capital of Gentile Christianity.

Well, you can only imagine the impact of this on the church in Jerusalem.

When the mother church in Jerusalem finds out about these Gentile believers in Jesus they immediately decide to send Barnabas to check them out.

Fortunately, when Barnabas meets them he is able to give the mother church’s blessing on their ministry.

But while there, Barnabas also sees a tremendous need for these new believers to be taught in the ways of Jesus.

And this is where Barnabas remembers Saul – who later becomes known as Paul.

Paul, after his dramatic conversion experience on the Damascus Road, started telling the story of Jesus to anyone who would listen.

But Paul’s message was too hot to handle in Jerusalem and it angered some folks so much that they wanted to kill him. So Paul’s friends, fearing for his life, secretly sent him to his home city of Tarsus. (9:30).

From accounts of his life in the book of Galatians we learn that Paul was probably in Tarsus for about 10 years.

That means Paul spent at least 10 years in preparation for his ministry.

Now, we don’t really know what Paul was doing or thinking during those 10 years, but I believe God was getting him ready for his work among the Gentiles.

This morning, I am calling this 10 year period of Paul’s life – “A Tarsus Experience”.

I like to think of a “tarsus experience” as a time of wondering and searching.

• It is wondering – what is God up to?
• It is wondering – what is the purpose of my life?
• A tarsus experience is seemingly a time of little activity and a whole lot of waiting.

Have you ever had a “tarsus experience”? Maybe you are in one now. Maybe you are wondering what God is up to in your life?

From time to time, I think all of us have our “tarsus experience.”

They may not be as long or as dramatic as Paul’s, but we can each have these times of waiting and searching and questioning.

And we can either “grow through them” or become “bitter and resentful”.

Given Paul’s strong “A-type personality” I am sure this was not an easy time for him, but Paul grew through this experience of studying, praying, and waiting.

Paul’s intellect, emotions, and will were being refashioned around the person of Jesus. He was being refined to do God’s work.

Paul emerges from his Tarsus experience with convictions about Jesus that had become a part of his character.

• In Philippians 1:21 he writes – “For me to live is Christ.”
• Or in I Corinthians 2:2 he says – “I am determined to know nothing save Jesus and him crucified.”

During that long decade of waiting I think Christ’s life was being formed in Paul. Paul was becoming conformed to Christ.

Now, Paul didn’t necessarily choose his “tarsus experience” – he was forced into it because of persecution. Yet Paul chose to grow through it.

This morning, I want to suggest that all of us need to build into our lives on a regular basis – “Tarsus times”.

A “Tarsus time” is when our only purpose is to pray and to dwell in God’s presence.

This past summer I took a 3 month sabbatical. I needed that time away because my tendency is to just keep on working.  Work is a good thing but if I don’t keep my relationship with God alive I have nothing to offer anyone.

I take a regular time each day to pray – but all of us can benefit from longer times of prayer and reflection.

Whether it is one day a month, a weekend retreat, or a longer period of study and preparation – these Tarsus experiences are important if we are to have anything to offer others.

Jesus, who was constantly bombarded by very important ministry needs – some even life and death needs – would often spend hours alone with God in prayer. He would even hide from the crowds so he could be alone with God.

Jesus only had something to give others – because he took time to nourish his relationship with God.

Henri Nouwen writes – “God dwells only where human beings step back to give God room.”

Often times in scripture – waiting on God and having strength are connected. Isaiah writes in Isaiah 40:31 – “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not tire.”

Waiting on God builds strength in us by moving us away from deceptive self-reliance – toward more dependence on God.

Paul, in his decade of waiting clearly becomes deeply grounded in Christ’s love.

Even times that we don’t choose as a “Tarsus Experience” can be growing experiences if we allow God to work in us.

Times of sickness, changing of jobs, loss of a family member or a spouse, or even spiritually dry periods – all can be used by God to prepare us to help others.

I am sure that when Paul went to Tarsus he had no idea how God would use him in the future. But in that time of waiting – Paul was being prepared to lead the church in the acceptance of Gentiles into the Body of Christ.

Paul’s razor sharp intellect and his rabbinic training are now all brought together to nurture these new followers of Jesus at Antioch.

And it is during this time of teaching in Antioch that the followers of Jesus are first called “Christians”.

The followers of Jesus at Antioch were thinking and acting in such a way that they were thought of as “little Jesus’”.

Or as Ken Medema likes to say they were “Christ –ians”. They embodied the life of Christ so much that folks started calling them Christians.

Now, the question is – what was it about the church at Antioch that made people start calling them “Christian”.

I want to suggest a few marks of this church that are often associated with being a follower of Jesus.

1. One of the key marks of the Antioch church is that they were an international and an interracial church.

Not only did they cross the Jew and Gentile barrier – but they also had Blacks and Whites and Asians in the church.

I find it very interesting that the first place the followers of Jesus are called Christians is in the context of an interracial body of believers.

And the earliest instruction manuals for new believers taught that – “there is no longer Jew or Greek, no longer slave or free, no longer male or female – for we are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:29).

Jesus isn’t interested only in “integration” or “being inclusive”. Jesus is interested in forming a “new humanity” or a “new creation” where there is interdependence and mutual transformation.

The church at Antioch was not perfect in any way – but a key mark of the church is being a place where the Holy Spirit is breaking down the barriers that divide us.

Being Christian is being formed into a new community based on self-giving love, respect, and service one to another.

So one mark of the Holy Spirit’s work is breaking down barriers and forming a new humanity centered in Jesus.

1. I think another key mark of the church in Antioch is that they are eager to learn.

Paul and Barnabas spent a whole year teaching them. Like the Jerusalem Church – who gave themselves to the Apostles teaching – the church in Antioch is also a “learning community.”

The Christian life so goes against the grain of our natural inclination – that careful instruction and long-term nurture is needed for all of us to stay centered in Jesus Christ.

The church was eager to search the scriptures together to find out what was true and what God’s will was. This has long been a trait of the Mennonite church but increasingly we are becoming less knowledgeable about the biblical stories.

I know that today we are often suspicious of the past and our past interpretation of scripture. And we have gotten it wrong some times, but the truth is – it is always easier to see the biases of the past than it is to see our own culturally determined biases in the present.

So, if we want to be freed from our current cultural biases to follow Jesus in our day, then it will be important for us to continue to search the scriptures together and to be taught by the Holy Spirit.

A second characteristic of being Christian then – is having a teachable spirit – being open to learn and being shaped by Christ’s teachings.

1. And then the last mark I want to mention this morning about the church is that the church in Antioch was a very “caring and generous church”.

In response to the famine in Judea – this young church takes up donations and sends relief to the Jerusalem church.

They continue the practice of the Jerusalem Church of sharing their resources and money with those in need.

A key mark of being Christian is seeing all that one has as belonging to God and being willing to share it with anyone in need.

In Galatians two, when Paul talks about his experience in Antioch, he mentions that the Apostles in Jerusalem only asked one thing of him – and that was to “remember the poor”.

Genuine repentance is always accompanied by a change in one’s relationship to one’s possessions, as well as generosity to the poor.

An important part of the Mennonite church has always been what we call “mutual aid”. If there are needs among us we help each other out. It also has meant sending help to people due to famine, natural disasters, or from war.

A significant witness of the Mennonite church, and other peace churches, has been to send aid to “people and nations” considered our enemies.

This is in response to Jesus’ teaching to “love our enemies and to do good to them and to feed them.”

Many times our “giving and presence” in those places of war has been instrumental in healing the wounds of war and in opening ways to reconciliation.

So generosity is a mark of what it means to be Christian.

Wouldn’t it be great if the first thing people thought of today when they heard the word Christian was – interracial, interdependent, generous, caring for the poor, teachable spirit, always learning – people who look and act like Jesus.

That is what it meant to be Christian in Antioch!

I see many of these things in our life together here at PMC. We aren’t perfect either but we do have a teachable spirit. We want to learn and we want to be faithful to Jesus.

We are also growing in our generosity. This has not been an easy year for us or for many churches and yet we have once again met or almost met our budget. We can be very grateful to God for providing for our needs.

And we are also learning what it means to be Christ’s “new humanity” that crosses racial and economic barriers. We haven’t arrived in this area either, but God is at work among us tearing down barriers and restoring relationships.

So I want to encourage us this morning to keep praying. Keep searching the scriptures. Keep waiting on God because God is creating a new humanity.

And my prayer is that when outsiders see our life together they will notice how we love one another and they will proclaim – those folks are Christ-ians!

Let’s pray.