Legacy

 Legacy

Acts 10:34-43

Jesus' ministry after his baptism 

 

10:34 Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality,

 

10:35 but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him. 

 

10:36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all.

 

10:37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:

 

10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

 

10:39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

 

10:40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,

 

10:41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

 

10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.

 

10:43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

 

 

Legacies are interesting things. Most all of us would want to leave a legacy, of some sort, after we’re gone from this earth. Some might want external peripherals like statues or buildings named after us, while others would be happy to just be remembered by their loved ones for loving them back, and earnestly. For me, I hope my career in ministry has touched more lives positively than negatively, and that maybe someone is closer to God because of what I preached and did my best to model. On that note, I would say that the legacy I already know I’m leaving behind is the lives and witness of our two children, both of whom are wonderful people, responsible citizens, and people of rich, curious, and abiding faith. Again, I hope I had some hand in modeling this for them, but I’m darn sure their mother did! She is my other legacy! That she chose to live her life out walking beside me is maybe the greatest honor I could ever have. 

 

What about you? Have you thought much about the kind of legacy you will leave behind? Don’t wait until it’s too late to look into this, my friends. If there are some unresolved “rough spots” in key relationships, resolve them. If you have procrastinated in something you set as a goal for yourself, it’s never too late to do it, or at least give it a try. 

 

I believe I told you in an earlier sermon about the chair I have named after me in a university? No, I LITERALLY have a chair named after me, or in my honor, as they say. I served on the campus ministry board at Robert Morris University, while serving the United Methodist Church in Coraopolis. During that time, I led that board through a re-visioning process, and helped them define better what their mission was, at that time. Together, we also worked with the college leadership to build a new chapel on campus, a place where students of all religions could gather for meditation, worship, conversation, or counseling. I volunteered one morning per week to “staff” the office at the new chapel, in case students wanted to stop by or email questions or concerns. When we moved from Coraopolis to Sharon, PA, the campus ministry board purchased one of the “fancy” new chairs being procured for that chapel, and affixed a plate to it, saying it was in my honor as a leader in campus ministry from 1997-2003. So I DO have that going for me! 

 

Today’s message is about legacies, but most especially that of Jesus Christ, his life and ministry, and of the church which he hoped would be not just his “body” in the world, but also his continuing legacy. Peter is recounting what he understands to be this legacy, as part of his testimony here in the tenth chapter of Acts. It has several parts:

 

God shows no partiality: God will be God to all who wish to acknowledge Yahweh as their deity and redeemer. In Jesus Christ, there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, as Paul says in Galatians, the point being that God shows no partiality in either God’s work of redemption or in the body of Christ, the church. Where there are lines drawn separating those who are “acceptable” and those who are not, they are drawn by US, not God! In John 3:16, Jesus himself makes it very clear who his “target audience” is: “the world.” In Romans 8, Paul says that NOTHING shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I confess that I get so tired of those who judge, grade, or otherwise “sort out” who is worthy of God’s blessings or favor. Is it a “values” thing that causes them to do this? Does it make them feel in some way “special” by making sure that their worthiness of redemption is better than someone else’s? Is it a type of queuing, whereby the redeemed “get ahead” by believing that there are those lower “down the ladder” because they are “less obedient,” “less righteous,” or less deserving than they? This juvenile behavior keeps bringing me back to Rodney King, who said—just before he got his brains beat in by the cops—“Why can’t we just all get along?” Yes, why CAN’T we?

 

Peace through Jesus Christ: Is this not what we all seek, peace? Don’t we all want to find that “happy place” where threats, fears, and even nagging doubts don’t keep us up at night? And don’t we want to believe that, if there indeed is a God over all the universe, that we are within God’s creating, loving embrace? This was the central message Jesus Christ brought to the world—we CAN be at peace with God! AND this inner peace could lead to healed relationships, genuine friendships, loving families, and supportive communities of faith, not to mention PEACE between nations! Why is it so hard to see that peace is the key to all of this, and that Christ is the Prince of Peace? Many years ago, as a college student in my freshman year, I had a jarring, yet cathartic “reckoning” with God that shook me to my very core. As I began to unpack this experience, I began to read my Bible rather voraciously, AND felt compelled to visit my school’s library for further guidance. Being that it was a secular institution, the “religious books” section was about as long as my arm, but one book almost literally jumped off the shelf at me. It was “Peace with God,” written by Billy Graham. I devoured that, too, and it provided me with an excellent foundation for what was now growing in me as an “adult” manifestation of Christian faith. (I realize that Franklin Graham has so besmirched the name of “Graham” that this may seem like an unusual endorsement, but I DO have a much higher opinion of the father than the son, regarding authentic Christianity!) In this book, Billy Graham mapped out a few simple principles of forgiveness, redemption, and “living out” the love of God which we first RECEIVE as a gift, and then PASS ON as an “ambassador for Christ,” to borrow Paul’s words. In conclusion to this section, I would say that the best measure of the authenticity of someone’s faith witness is, does it seek peace? Or is it fostering division, modeling judgementalism, and declaring the unworthiness of some other group of people? If the latter, it is best to steer clear, or at least give that person or faction time to “come to themselves” and mature. It IS important, though, to also realize that even GOD’S peace cannot be fully apprehended without also working for justice, for the injustices that leave some in the cold while rewarding others will prevent any measure of corporate peace, and might even harden the individual to the saving peace of Christ Jesus. All true justice work is peace work, essentially. 

 

Christ’s true legacy: Peter says it quite plainly in this narrative, as did John Wesley, when he told his preachers, “Offer them Christ.” All of us ARE “ambassadors for Christ,” and as such, we are called to herald the grace of God available to ALL without limits. As the old hymn says, “we’ve a story to tell to the nations,” and it begins with our person to person witness, or as one of my mentors told me, “one beggar telling another beggar how to find bread.” We DO have a story, and now have an opportunity to LIVE it and TELL it, or at the very least, invite others to join us on this journey of faith. As a pastor, I used to regularly remind folk that 85 to 90% of people who said they visited a church the first time, it was because they were personally invited by someone. So, if you are a bit sheepish about sharing your own faith story (at least at first), invite them to your church! 

 

The story we have is one of acceptance, love, forgiveness, grace, and the life-changing Spirit of God, a God who shows NO partiality, and desires that “none should perish.” Let me unpack that, for a moment. People are “perishing” all around us, and I don’t mean “going to hell,” as I believe Christ has already closed that door. They are perishing by living lives of “quiet desperation,” as one author has said, or by spending so MUCH of their waking hours LOOKING for something to give their lives meaning, or at least MORE meaning. Some are just bored, hoping for a spiritual lift to light a better pathway for them. Some are feeling rejected, unloved, or even totally disenfranchised by the society around them. (If you don’t believe this, just seek out a conversation with a transgendered individual, or a person of color who sees their possibilities being increasingly limited by leadership labeling them “DEI” and cancelling them, outright!) Believe me, a story or message about a God who “shows no partiality” will preach, my friends! Unfortunately, because this is NOT the God that is making headlines right now.

 

I started by asking you about YOUR legacy. Let us end by trying to imagine CHRIST’S legacy, which he had hoped would be the church. The church is in a sad state, Dear ones. In the case of my United Methodist Church, we have been riddled by disaffiliation, and may be in danger of collapsing under the weight of our own rules and bureaucracy. We are not alone. Not only are other denominations struggling, but I read recently where even the “independent” mega-churches are beginning to see that their message is falling on deaf ears, mostly because of the bad impressions Christianity is getting from “Christians” backing some of the hateful, harmful, and dividing actions of our national leadership. This is not the kind of peace people are needing or seeking, friends. If we don’t get this turned around and help others rediscover the TRUE love and grace of in impartial, all-embracing God, as evidenced by the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we are guilty of destroying the very legacy Jesus wanted to leave!

 

With this in mind, my final appeal is that THE CHURCH OF JESUS needs you! Get more involved with your local congregation and its ministries. Help germinate new outreach efforts. And make part of YOUR legacy your generous giving to support these ministries and mission! YOU may be the one to make all the difference to turning the church around and becoming something Christ would be proud to see as his legacy. So, there’s our choice, at least according to Peter in this text: LEGACY or LIABILITY. You choose, Dear Ones. Amen.