Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
What It Means to Be a Sheep
[This was shared during worship with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio on Sunday, May 3.]
John 10:11-18
The first time I prepared to preach on this Gospel lesson back when I was a young pastor, I felt pretty confident about what Jesus meant in calling Himself "the good shepherd." In ancient Near Eastern culture, the image of the shepherd was often used of kings. The tradition in that region had long been that kings would make covenants with their own people, as well as those peoples they may have conquered, in which they pledged to be the protector of their subjects. In calling Himself "the good shepherd," Jesus was claiming kingship and promising to lovingly lead and guide those who follow Him.
I thought that I had a good handle on Jesus as our shepherd, then. But I realized that I was clueless when it came to understanding what it meant for us to be Jesus' sheep. I was a city slicker and I knew nothing about sheep.
So, I called a man in our congregation who, I knew, once kept sheep. "Vic," I asked, "tell me about sheep." "The first thing you have to know about sheep," he told me, "is that sheep are dumb...I mean really, really dumb." He went on to tell me about how completely helpless and dependent sheep are, how much they need shepherds to care for them.
I wondered: Is that how Jesus sees us? Are we so helpless that we need Jesus as our good shepherd?
Last night, as you know, we had a middle-of-the-night breakfast for Logan High School students who attended the Prom. As I watched them--these sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen year old young people--walk into our fellowship hall, they all seemed to feel the way I did when I was their age, like they had the world on a string. Only a few of them may have realized how vulnerable we all are, how much we need a shepherd to guide us through life and death, how clueless they are about what may be ahead of them in life.
Ann and I have a friend who we'll call Nick. Nick is a year younger than I am. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force and went to Vietnam, where he served two tours of duty. Before he shipped out, his grandmother asked for him to stop by her place. "I know you don't have anything to do with God or the Church, Nick. But I want you to know that I'm praying that God will help you through and that no matter what happens, you'll know that God loves you." Several years after Nick returned home, he--like me--met his wife-to-be and she was a Lutheran. I'll never forget the day that Nick was baptized. This strapping man of 25, a jet mechanic who had gone through service in Vietnam, cried like a baby because he knew just what it meant to have Jesus, the good shepherd, leading him through life. He knew that he needed the good shepherd.
Of course, our good shepherd doesn't promise that the horrors of this life will go away. Like him, we will endure crosses. We will go through what our psalm calls "the valley of the shadow of death." But even then Jesus will lead us.
Years ago, I heard Dr. James Dobson* tell the story of a six year old terminal patient at the UCLA Medical Center where he then worked. The child was on morphine. But occasionally, he would cry out, "The bells! The bells!" Someone asked the duty nurse whether she could explain that. It seems that the day before, with his death clearly impending, a relative had told the child to keep looking for Jesus and when he got to heaven's gates to listen for the bells. "He's been talking about the bells all day long," the nurse said. That child was being led by the good shepherd.
Jesus says we are sheep in need of a shepherd.
Thankfully, Jesus is the good shepherd who wants all who dare to follow Him to know that He will lead them through this life and into eternity with Him.
May we all follow our good shepherd every day! Amen
*Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been critical of Dr. Dobson's forays into the political arena. But I think that in earlier years, he provided sound psychological and spiritual advice on family relationships. Even in that, I don't agree with him on every subject. But I still harbor a deep respect for his early work. ALSO: I may have some details of this anecdote wrong. But the basic story is true and is remembered from a video made in the 1970s, which I haven't seen in about twenty years.
John 10:11-18
The first time I prepared to preach on this Gospel lesson back when I was a young pastor, I felt pretty confident about what Jesus meant in calling Himself "the good shepherd." In ancient Near Eastern culture, the image of the shepherd was often used of kings. The tradition in that region had long been that kings would make covenants with their own people, as well as those peoples they may have conquered, in which they pledged to be the protector of their subjects. In calling Himself "the good shepherd," Jesus was claiming kingship and promising to lovingly lead and guide those who follow Him.
I thought that I had a good handle on Jesus as our shepherd, then. But I realized that I was clueless when it came to understanding what it meant for us to be Jesus' sheep. I was a city slicker and I knew nothing about sheep.
So, I called a man in our congregation who, I knew, once kept sheep. "Vic," I asked, "tell me about sheep." "The first thing you have to know about sheep," he told me, "is that sheep are dumb...I mean really, really dumb." He went on to tell me about how completely helpless and dependent sheep are, how much they need shepherds to care for them.
I wondered: Is that how Jesus sees us? Are we so helpless that we need Jesus as our good shepherd?
Last night, as you know, we had a middle-of-the-night breakfast for Logan High School students who attended the Prom. As I watched them--these sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen year old young people--walk into our fellowship hall, they all seemed to feel the way I did when I was their age, like they had the world on a string. Only a few of them may have realized how vulnerable we all are, how much we need a shepherd to guide us through life and death, how clueless they are about what may be ahead of them in life.
Ann and I have a friend who we'll call Nick. Nick is a year younger than I am. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force and went to Vietnam, where he served two tours of duty. Before he shipped out, his grandmother asked for him to stop by her place. "I know you don't have anything to do with God or the Church, Nick. But I want you to know that I'm praying that God will help you through and that no matter what happens, you'll know that God loves you." Several years after Nick returned home, he--like me--met his wife-to-be and she was a Lutheran. I'll never forget the day that Nick was baptized. This strapping man of 25, a jet mechanic who had gone through service in Vietnam, cried like a baby because he knew just what it meant to have Jesus, the good shepherd, leading him through life. He knew that he needed the good shepherd.
Of course, our good shepherd doesn't promise that the horrors of this life will go away. Like him, we will endure crosses. We will go through what our psalm calls "the valley of the shadow of death." But even then Jesus will lead us.
Years ago, I heard Dr. James Dobson* tell the story of a six year old terminal patient at the UCLA Medical Center where he then worked. The child was on morphine. But occasionally, he would cry out, "The bells! The bells!" Someone asked the duty nurse whether she could explain that. It seems that the day before, with his death clearly impending, a relative had told the child to keep looking for Jesus and when he got to heaven's gates to listen for the bells. "He's been talking about the bells all day long," the nurse said. That child was being led by the good shepherd.
Jesus says we are sheep in need of a shepherd.
Thankfully, Jesus is the good shepherd who wants all who dare to follow Him to know that He will lead them through this life and into eternity with Him.
May we all follow our good shepherd every day! Amen
*Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been critical of Dr. Dobson's forays into the political arena. But I think that in earlier years, he provided sound psychological and spiritual advice on family relationships. Even in that, I don't agree with him on every subject. But I still harbor a deep respect for his early work. ALSO: I may have some details of this anecdote wrong. But the basic story is true and is remembered from a video made in the 1970s, which I haven't seen in about twenty years.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Do Your Part to Save Ohio History
The work of the Ohio Historical Society is so important. A knowledge of the state's past is intrinsically important, of course. People who live in a place ought to have an awareness of the journey traveled so far.
But, as the country learns every four years, Ohio has played a pivotal role in the history of the country and of the world.
People, particularly young people, learn about this not only from the Ohio Historical Museum and the nearby Ohio Village, a representation of a typical Ohio town in the early-1800s, but in sites and museums maintained by the Society throughout the state.
Just a few weeks ago, my son and I visited Adena near Chillicothe, the home of the father of Ohio's statehood. As we drove a winding around the modest, but impressive mansion, I told my son, "Look over there." His eyes lit up as he recognized that this was the spot that, more than two centuries ago, gave inspiration to the design of the seal of the state. A small, but not unimportant thing.
The Ohio Historical Society, which depends in part on state funding, is facing tough times. The governor's next biennial budget cuts state appropriations dramatically, for understandable reasons. Among the sites facing possible closure is the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, the hometown of the first person to walk on the Moon. This modest, but informative, museum is a perfect introduction to the history of space flight for young people. After July 20, the 40th. anniversary of Armstrong's walk, the place may be shut down.
The Ohio Historical Society is working on getting a local organization and volunteers to keep the museum open. That may be necessary and may work out well, as I've seen local groups doing fantastic work, as with the boyhood home of General William Tecumseh Sherman and brother, Congressman John Sherman, in Lancaster, Ohio.
But there are things that you and I can do to fill the gap precipitated, in part, by the economic downturn: Join the Ohio Historical Society. You can learn more about the Society here and you can join here. Please consider doing it. Preserving history is one of the ways we find our ways to better futures.
[Pictured from top to bottom: Adena, the home of Thomas Worthington, near Chillicothe; the Great Seal of the State of Ohio, inspired by a sunrise seen by Worthington and other early Ohio leaders, over the Ross County hills; and the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta.]
But, as the country learns every four years, Ohio has played a pivotal role in the history of the country and of the world.
People, particularly young people, learn about this not only from the Ohio Historical Museum and the nearby Ohio Village, a representation of a typical Ohio town in the early-1800s, but in sites and museums maintained by the Society throughout the state.
Just a few weeks ago, my son and I visited Adena near Chillicothe, the home of the father of Ohio's statehood. As we drove a winding around the modest, but impressive mansion, I told my son, "Look over there." His eyes lit up as he recognized that this was the spot that, more than two centuries ago, gave inspiration to the design of the seal of the state. A small, but not unimportant thing.
The Ohio Historical Society, which depends in part on state funding, is facing tough times. The governor's next biennial budget cuts state appropriations dramatically, for understandable reasons. Among the sites facing possible closure is the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, the hometown of the first person to walk on the Moon. This modest, but informative, museum is a perfect introduction to the history of space flight for young people. After July 20, the 40th. anniversary of Armstrong's walk, the place may be shut down.
The Ohio Historical Society is working on getting a local organization and volunteers to keep the museum open. That may be necessary and may work out well, as I've seen local groups doing fantastic work, as with the boyhood home of General William Tecumseh Sherman and brother, Congressman John Sherman, in Lancaster, Ohio.
But there are things that you and I can do to fill the gap precipitated, in part, by the economic downturn: Join the Ohio Historical Society. You can learn more about the Society here and you can join here. Please consider doing it. Preserving history is one of the ways we find our ways to better futures.
[Pictured from top to bottom: Adena, the home of Thomas Worthington, near Chillicothe; the Great Seal of the State of Ohio, inspired by a sunrise seen by Worthington and other early Ohio leaders, over the Ross County hills; and the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta.]
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Marvin Berry's Band Isn't Scheduled to Play Tonight
So we won't be hearing Marty McFly's guitar solo on Johnny B. Goode. But it would be great if we did!
Tonight, in our church fellowship hall, we'll be offering a Middle-of-the-Night Breakfast to the kids who attend the evening's Logan High School Prom.
It'll be fun. But if Biff shows up, I may need some help.
Tonight, in our church fellowship hall, we'll be offering a Middle-of-the-Night Breakfast to the kids who attend the evening's Logan High School Prom.
It'll be fun. But if Biff shows up, I may need some help.
Novelist and Short Story Writer Richard L. Cohen...
not to be confused with the WaPo columnist, is blogging again. Read his wonderful post on ubiquity and openness to the promise of each new day. I'm so glad to be reading Richard's honest, insightful prose again.
Now, I'm off to see some shut-ins.
Now, I'm off to see some shut-ins.
Friday, May 01, 2009
One Reason So Many Churchgoers May Accept Torture
I'm a Christian and I'm an American.
Therefore, I oppose the use of torture. Ever. No exceptions.
Because ours is an imperfect world, I accept the fact that nations must sometimes go to war, just as I accept that when lives are threatened--be it one's own life or the lives of others--defensive action that may result in an attacker's death is justified.
As a Christian, I accept the notion of just war.
But torture is never just.
I also reject torture as an American. As I've pointed out here many times, the United States was the first country to decide itself into being around certain core principles. Among them was an unwillingness to engage in the kinds of depraved behaviors evidenced in tyrants, be they kings, emperors, Nazis, Soviet Communists, or radical Islamic fundamentalist terrorists.
During World War 2, when German soldiers had the opportunity to choose between being taken prisoner either by US or Soviet forces, they always chose the Yanks. They knew the chance of being treated humanely was exponentially higher if they were in the custody of the United States than of the Soviet Union.*
Besides being profoundly un-Christian and un-American, torture, as any solid military person will tell you, doesn't yield good intelligence. People who are tortured will tell you what you want to hear, factual or not, just to get you to stop.
All of this is why I am appalled by Pew Forum research showing that regular churchgoers are more likely to support the use of torture than the rest of the US population.
Appalled, but not very surprised.
And my lack of surprise has little to do with suspicions about the content of what's being preached and taught in our nation's pulpits, Catechism classes, or Sunday Schools.
While there are more than a few preachers whose "theology" contains jingoistic nationalism and spiritual arrogance, many churchgoers, I'll bet, adopt such ideas, including the acceptance of torture, in spite of what they're being told at their local church.
Several years ago, I ran across an article about Lutheran Christians' understanding of "justification by grace through faith." This is the fundamental doctrine of Biblical Christianity, traceable to the Old Testament story of Abraham, who was acceptable to God not because of any achievements, but solely because God wanted to make him the father of nations and Abraham believed God's promises. The justification doctrine is well-summarized in the most famous passage of the New Testament, John 3:16. They're words of Jesus, spoken to a prominent Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus:
The grace--literally charity, charitas, in the original New Testament Greek--of God that accepts sinners, faults and all, should make Christians personally humble as well as loving toward their neighbors. As the New Testament writer Paul puts it:
The inescapable conclusion is that many churchgoers aren't especially engaged in their faith. They're like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, people with whom Jesus often tangled. The Pharisees were, in many ways, laudable people. They were regular in worship, scrupulous about keeping religious law.
But Jesus called them whitewashed tombs. In spite of the insistence of the Old Testament that God loved his people as a matter of divine choice (grace) that should evoke faith, they turned faith into a legal transaction. God was whittled down to the size of the local peddler. "If I perform these religious duties, God must accept me," was the implicit notion of the Pharisees. When a person starts to think that they can deal on an equal footing with God, humility goes. So does a sense of humanity.
We have modern day Pharisees in our churches. They sing, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me/I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see." But for too many, those have become mere words and what they really believe is, "How good I am and how clever of me to be moral, upstanding churchperson and how right I am to condemn others and make them tow the line." The actual teaching and preaching they hear is just background noise.
The existence of boastful Phaisaism in the modern US church must be one of the poisonous springs from which "Christian" acceptance of torture emanates.
It's not the only source, I know. There are committed Christians who love others and sincerely believe that torture is OK, I'm sure. But I am equally sure that they are mistaken.
I'm also sure that Pharisaism is hurting the Church and its witness in the world. I'm sure that it's one very bad reason that so many churchgoers excuse a barbarism that my Lord abhors.
It is deeply disturbing.
*Americans haven't always lived up to those high ideals. But the wonder of the United States is how often those who have so failed have been called to account for their wrongs.
Therefore, I oppose the use of torture. Ever. No exceptions.
Because ours is an imperfect world, I accept the fact that nations must sometimes go to war, just as I accept that when lives are threatened--be it one's own life or the lives of others--defensive action that may result in an attacker's death is justified.
As a Christian, I accept the notion of just war.
But torture is never just.
I also reject torture as an American. As I've pointed out here many times, the United States was the first country to decide itself into being around certain core principles. Among them was an unwillingness to engage in the kinds of depraved behaviors evidenced in tyrants, be they kings, emperors, Nazis, Soviet Communists, or radical Islamic fundamentalist terrorists.
During World War 2, when German soldiers had the opportunity to choose between being taken prisoner either by US or Soviet forces, they always chose the Yanks. They knew the chance of being treated humanely was exponentially higher if they were in the custody of the United States than of the Soviet Union.*
Besides being profoundly un-Christian and un-American, torture, as any solid military person will tell you, doesn't yield good intelligence. People who are tortured will tell you what you want to hear, factual or not, just to get you to stop.
All of this is why I am appalled by Pew Forum research showing that regular churchgoers are more likely to support the use of torture than the rest of the US population.
Appalled, but not very surprised.
And my lack of surprise has little to do with suspicions about the content of what's being preached and taught in our nation's pulpits, Catechism classes, or Sunday Schools.
While there are more than a few preachers whose "theology" contains jingoistic nationalism and spiritual arrogance, many churchgoers, I'll bet, adopt such ideas, including the acceptance of torture, in spite of what they're being told at their local church.
Several years ago, I ran across an article about Lutheran Christians' understanding of "justification by grace through faith." This is the fundamental doctrine of Biblical Christianity, traceable to the Old Testament story of Abraham, who was acceptable to God not because of any achievements, but solely because God wanted to make him the father of nations and Abraham believed God's promises. The justification doctrine is well-summarized in the most famous passage of the New Testament, John 3:16. They're words of Jesus, spoken to a prominent Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. "What this verse tells us is that there is nothing that human beings can do to make themselves good enough--no moral ladder they can climb--to make themselves acceptable to God or to earn eternity. Instead, acceptance by God, together with forgiveness and eternal life, are gifts to those who believe (or trust) in the God revealed in Jesus Christ. (Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh.)
The grace--literally charity, charitas, in the original New Testament Greek--of God that accepts sinners, faults and all, should make Christians personally humble as well as loving toward their neighbors. As the New Testament writer Paul puts it:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-10)People in my own tradition--Lutheran Christianity--hear about the doctrine of justification by grace through faith all the time. It was to defend this doctrine that the Lutheran movement began. And yet the article I mentioned earlier revealed that, year after year, survey showed that majorities of Lutheran Christians still persist in believing that people enter eternity if they're good enough, completely and totally contrary to what the Scriptures teach and what they've been taught.
The inescapable conclusion is that many churchgoers aren't especially engaged in their faith. They're like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, people with whom Jesus often tangled. The Pharisees were, in many ways, laudable people. They were regular in worship, scrupulous about keeping religious law.
But Jesus called them whitewashed tombs. In spite of the insistence of the Old Testament that God loved his people as a matter of divine choice (grace) that should evoke faith, they turned faith into a legal transaction. God was whittled down to the size of the local peddler. "If I perform these religious duties, God must accept me," was the implicit notion of the Pharisees. When a person starts to think that they can deal on an equal footing with God, humility goes. So does a sense of humanity.
We have modern day Pharisees in our churches. They sing, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me/I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see." But for too many, those have become mere words and what they really believe is, "How good I am and how clever of me to be moral, upstanding churchperson and how right I am to condemn others and make them tow the line." The actual teaching and preaching they hear is just background noise.
The existence of boastful Phaisaism in the modern US church must be one of the poisonous springs from which "Christian" acceptance of torture emanates.
It's not the only source, I know. There are committed Christians who love others and sincerely believe that torture is OK, I'm sure. But I am equally sure that they are mistaken.
I'm also sure that Pharisaism is hurting the Church and its witness in the world. I'm sure that it's one very bad reason that so many churchgoers excuse a barbarism that my Lord abhors.
It is deeply disturbing.
*Americans haven't always lived up to those high ideals. But the wonder of the United States is how often those who have so failed have been called to account for their wrongs.
A Look at the Bible Lessons for This Coming Sunday (May 3, 2009)
[These "looks" are something I write every week, mainly with the idea of helping members of the congregation I serve as pastor, Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, to get ready for worship. But since our congregation uses a lectionary (a plan of Bible lessons) rooted on the Church Year shared by most Christians throughout the world, I hope that others find these pieces helpful, too.]
The Bible Lessons:
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
The Prayer of the Day:
O Lord Christ, good shepherd of the sheep, you seek the lost and guide us into your fold. Feed us, and we shall be satisfied; heal us, and we shall be whole. Make us one with you, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
General Themes:
1. In the Gospel lesson, Jesus identifies Himself with the Lord (Yahweh) Who is Shepherd from the Old Testament. In Near-East culture, shepherd imagery was often associated both with protectors and royalty.
2. The God of Israel, ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ, is the Lord of all creation. Through Christ, God wants to save all people, which means coming to faith in Christ, because, as Peter puts it, "There is salvation in no one else; for there is not other name given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Acts 4:5-12
(I'm probably going to preach on this text. So, a few thoughts.)
A coalition of unlikely allies, including the religious elites which rejects the whole idea of resurrection and the religious mass movement (Pharisees) who believe in resurrection, are amassed against the early Christians, represented by Peter and John. They're introduced in Acts 4:1-4, and include Annas and Caiaphas, who are mentioned in John 18:13-14, as among those who stood in judgment over Jesus. To stand with Jesus is to incur the same rejection He endured.
This "coalition" is alarmed by a healing performed by Peter and John in Jesus' Name. In Jesus' Name, a crippled beggar now walks. The coalition has the two disciples arrested.
The question posed by the officials in v. 7 gets at the nub of what they don't want to hear. They thought that they had successfully wiped out the Jesus' movement by crucifying Jesus. It should be pointed out that there had been and would be others who claimed the mantle of messiahship, some gaining large followings. But their movements were successfully snuffed out when the would-be messiahs were executed. The Jesus movement endures.
In v. 8, Peter doesn't answer the question in his own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His followers (Luke 12:11-12) not to be concerned about what to say when powerful people challenged them to explain their faith. The Holy Spirit, Jesus said, would give them the words they needed at the moments they needed them.
I love the way Peter characterizes the action for which he and John were arrested, "a good deed." And it's true, they've been arrested because they healed a crippled beggar.
Peter makes no bones about confessing Jesus. Nor does he spare his accusers of blame for rejecting Jesus, in spite of Jesus being the Foundation of the creation.
Peter ends with a ringing affirmation of Jesus' teaching that it is only through Him that humanity is saved from sin and death.
Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 4, 2009
May 4, 2009
The Bible Lessons:
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
The Prayer of the Day:
O Lord Christ, good shepherd of the sheep, you seek the lost and guide us into your fold. Feed us, and we shall be satisfied; heal us, and we shall be whole. Make us one with you, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
General Themes:
1. In the Gospel lesson, Jesus identifies Himself with the Lord (Yahweh) Who is Shepherd from the Old Testament. In Near-East culture, shepherd imagery was often associated both with protectors and royalty.
2. The God of Israel, ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ, is the Lord of all creation. Through Christ, God wants to save all people, which means coming to faith in Christ, because, as Peter puts it, "There is salvation in no one else; for there is not other name given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Acts 4:5-12
(I'm probably going to preach on this text. So, a few thoughts.)
A coalition of unlikely allies, including the religious elites which rejects the whole idea of resurrection and the religious mass movement (Pharisees) who believe in resurrection, are amassed against the early Christians, represented by Peter and John. They're introduced in Acts 4:1-4, and include Annas and Caiaphas, who are mentioned in John 18:13-14, as among those who stood in judgment over Jesus. To stand with Jesus is to incur the same rejection He endured.
This "coalition" is alarmed by a healing performed by Peter and John in Jesus' Name. In Jesus' Name, a crippled beggar now walks. The coalition has the two disciples arrested.
The question posed by the officials in v. 7 gets at the nub of what they don't want to hear. They thought that they had successfully wiped out the Jesus' movement by crucifying Jesus. It should be pointed out that there had been and would be others who claimed the mantle of messiahship, some gaining large followings. But their movements were successfully snuffed out when the would-be messiahs were executed. The Jesus movement endures.
In v. 8, Peter doesn't answer the question in his own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His followers (Luke 12:11-12) not to be concerned about what to say when powerful people challenged them to explain their faith. The Holy Spirit, Jesus said, would give them the words they needed at the moments they needed them.
I love the way Peter characterizes the action for which he and John were arrested, "a good deed." And it's true, they've been arrested because they healed a crippled beggar.
Peter makes no bones about confessing Jesus. Nor does he spare his accusers of blame for rejecting Jesus, in spite of Jesus being the Foundation of the creation.
Peter ends with a ringing affirmation of Jesus' teaching that it is only through Him that humanity is saved from sin and death.
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