“And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk;
and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God”
(Acts 3:8)
The man in today’s Scripture had been “lame from his
mother’s womb” (Acts 3:2). At the time of these words in the Book
of Acts, he had spent almost all his life working a “job” that most know
very little about: He was a beggar of “alms from those who
entered the temple” in Jerusalem. The temple had a number of gates
through which the religious of the time could enter, and each day he was left on
the ground outside the gate called “Beautiful,”
which would have seemed ironic when he thought about it, for neither he nor his
circumstances were “beautiful” at all (Acts 3:2).
Someone, some relative, who was likely tired of doing it, must have
half-carried, half-dragged him to the spot, day-after-endless-day.
When I was young, as mentioned in other studies and sermons, I spent five
years in wheelchairs and hospital beds, essentially missing kindergarten through
part of the fifth grade in school. Occasionally, rarely, I could see other
children outside, walking, running, laughing and playing in groups. Yes, I could
play, but it was always by myself in my room, and socially, emotionally, I did
not develop sufficiently to interact successfully with other kids or do well in
school in the years that followed. I was out of the “chair” later, but in my
soul I was still in it, stunted in emotional development.
And being immature, I did immature things. In high school, I did not know the
difference between an adverb and an adjective because of those missed five
years, but pretended that I did, hoping others would not notice. It didn’t
work. Certainly my teachers noticed and they graded me according to my poor
performance. I remember Mrs. Green, my high school counselor who called me to
her office often, challenging me to do more, be more. What she did not
understand and I did not either, was that I was working up to the limited peak
of my capacity at the time. I was an immature person who acted in an immature
manner. Not fully alive, I just drifted from one moment to the next.
The man outside the Temple gate felt miserable about life, but he had grown
used to the routine of it all. Things were much worse for him than for many
other people and he knew it, but with no hope for any change, he simply –
endured. The man named Jesus Christ had come upon the scene in Jerusalem, and it
is very likely Jesus passed through the very “Beautiful”
gate this man sat next to. “Will He heal me?” the man may have wondered. But
Jesus died, and the “lame” man had no hope. He was “over
forty years old” at the time (Acts 4:22) and expected life to never
change.
Do you receive a lot of emails? For a long time, I received over a thousand
emails a day, but now that has doubled – I receive two thousand emails a day.
Most of them are what is called “spam;” so many in fact that it’s difficult to
tell the real from the junk. We must look closely at each sender’s name and
“subject” line without actually opening them because so many contain viruses
sent by stunted people who don’t know how else to be. If I have deleted your
email at
some time in the past, please try again for I meant you no harm.
“Ebanking security services… Dozens of people killed…
Fw: Urgent message… Attention: be tested on safety… Government funding
available… Home based job opportunity… No fee required… Size does matter…
Strengthen your self-esteem… Ask us how to achieve… Your family… Your order…
Yatchmaster (sic)… Re your pharmacy receipt… 71% off… Be a hero… Exclusive
watches… Delivery Status Notification… Canadian pharmacy… Undeliverable mail…”
and more. These represent thousands of emails, all with a lot in common –
they’re pretending to be one thing, but are really something else. They want
to infect the recipient’s computer with a virus or sell a sub-standard product.
Some are “phishing;” attempting to get personal
information to commit identity theft.
Those who do such things may seem normal, but they’re stunted inside. Life
can seem like we are defective, grudgingly tolerated by others and the irony of
it all is that there are “gates” so near that we can almost touch them; “beautiful” gates that are accessible for others, but we
cannot walk through them. And unfortunately, many who have been hurt develop
numbness about life and are lost as a resource for good. Many disabled people
are wonderful people who help others in ways that we all should, but the point
of this sermon is not about the physically disabled. It’s about those who have
lost something inside and hope to find a little in life by taking it from
others.
Many have no expectation that life will ever be different. They have
discovered how to scratch income from some source and see no other way. The “lame” man of 2000 years ago focused on money as two of
Jesus’ disciples walked by. The man, “seeing Peter and
John about to go into the temple, asked (them) for
alms” (Acts 3:3). The man “fixed his eyes”
on them and it is clear that he had absolutely no thought of being healed from
his present situation. Instead he expected “to receive
something from them” (Acts 3:5). But God had a better purpose for him,
just as He has something better for you.
A miracle now happened. Peter said to him, “Silver and
gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). The man was shocked by Peter’s
response. His hand was still extended for the money, but inside himself he drew
back, wondering about this man who spoke strangely. Then Peter grabbed the man
by his extended “right hand and lifted him up, and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength” (Acts 3:7). And
now we are at today’s verse – “with a leap, he stood
upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and
leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:8). The man became – thankful.
Are You thankful for who and what you are? It’s understandable if you are
not. Most are like the man at the “Beautiful” gate,
with lives shaped by limitations, expecting nothing more, discouraged by it all,
hoping to squeeze money out of life; going on for one more day. But he now RAN
into the Temple, and all were astonished by this formerly lame man who leaped,
walked and praised God. When Peter spoke to others in the Temple about the man,
he said, “Repent (change your ways)…
and be converted… that times
of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Give
yourself to the Lord. Your life will be changed for the good. There is a time of
“refreshing” and thanksgiving – for you.
Lord, I repent of my sins and trust in You now. I thank You. In Jesus
Name. Amen.
