There’s a lot that can be said about Stephen. A member of
the early church, one of the first martyrs for the Christian faith, and he’s
killed by the same kind of authorities—the high priests and whatnot—that turned
on Jesus. The contention continues into the early church, and there at his
stoning we get our first glimpse of a young man named Saul, Saul who would
become Paul, the author of much of the New Testament.
Today I want to focus on the initial circumstances that
led to Stephen being set apart and eventually killed, circumstances that begin
with the beginning of chapter 6. I’m going to read the first four verses again:
“Now during those days, when the disciples were
increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because
their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the
twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, "It
is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among
yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom
we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to
prayer and to serving the word."
I want to focus on these verses today because they
illustrate something rather interesting about that early church that we tend to
skim over; namely, the early church had issues.
It’s easy to look at the book of Acts as an account of the perfect church,
because if it is the perfect church then our task is as simple as becoming like
the early church. If only we could become
more like that church in Acts then we would be set. However, even in
chapter six we’re seeing that this church has some profound divisions. There
are two groups—the Hellenists and the Hebrews; you could call them the Swedes
and the Norwegians; Sven and Ole are having a disagreement about how to be the
church. The Hellenists are concerned because their widows are not being fed… seems
like a legitimate complaint. I mean, if the church isn’t feeding widows then
what is it really doing?
So the disciples respond in a very holier-than-thou
manner—actually I find it a bit pathetic; they sayi, “It is not right that we
should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables…” I mean, seriously,
do you hear what they’re saying? The Hellenists came to them and said, “Guys,
we have widows who need to be fed,” and the disciples respond by saying, “OK, that’s
below us, but you can form a serving
group. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to the really important stuff: Reading
scripture.”
Now, I know people that act like this. They have a lot of
scripture to read—or a lot of praying to do or a lot of holy business to attend
to—so they are lacking in time to help people in need, and I can’t imagine for
the life of me that should Jesus return tomorrow he would be very happy with
these people. Jesus preached, no doubt, but when he came across a person who
was in need he healed first; preached second. He fed first; preached second. He
saved first; preached second. He entered into theological discussions with
lawyers and priests, it’s true, but he didn’t enter in those arguments with
sick people or people who were grieving. Jesus was about salvation; the
disciples are about righteousness. BIG DIFFERENCE.
Anyway, since the disciples don’t have time for all this
feeding widows business they elect seven men to do it. Stephen is one of these,
and apparently he’s very good at it. People respect his wisdom—they feel the
Spirit in the things he does and says—but eventually the tides turn on him.
Acts doesn’t tell us why, exactly, but it leaves the bread crumbs. Stephen
emerges from the ministry of feeding the needy as a preacher. We remember him
for his service, and rightly so, “Stephen’s Ministries” today bear his name,
serving those who are grieving or lost or in need. But the early church
disciples treated service as the lower calling. The disciples are busy studying
God’s word; Stephen is helping the needy; it’s clear to them whose calling is
higher! Far be it from Stephen to have any sort of influence over the mission
and direction of the church! The moment he gains influence is the moment they
put him in his place.
If we think this is not still a problem in the church we
are lying to ourselves. We all have callings; the trouble is that we imagine
that there are some callings that are higher callings and some that are lower. We
imagine that the “Reverend” title on my ordination certificate is more
important than the name on my and your baptismal certificate. It’s not.
It’s
easy to create a hierarchy of callings, putting pastors or council presidents or
founding members or you name it up here and janitors or service groups or
Sunday School teachers down there. Who gets to influence the church in such a
model? The elite. The ordained. The ones who’ve spent a lot of time in study.
Study is good but it is not a precondition to hearing the Spirit.
Jesus faced a hierarchy of elites in the church when he
came into Jerusalem. Maybe you remember what he did? He lost his cool, threw
tables all over the temple, and made a big fat scene. The church had become
legalistic; it functioned like a corporation. But spiritual gifts are not given
in a hierarchy. We perpetually undervalue service and humility and vocations
such as that of the parent or teacher or mentor. We imagine that some people
are serving their time in a lowly occupation until they will graduate to church
leadership when perhaps their service is their leadership toward a better
course for the church. We are not a place of nobles and commoners. The body of
Christ detests that hierarchy.
The early church killed Stephen because Stephen did not
know his place, but the early church was wrong. Stephen’s place was exactly
where he found himself; the proof is in the way this story has persevered for
the better part of two millennia. Stephen’s place was to preach. He preached
through his actions, his service, his humbling himself just like Christ humbled
himself, and then he turned around and preached using words, telling the council
the history of the faith and how leaders arose among the people and were
confronted time and again by those who feared they were after their power.
Stephen shows the council who they really are; so they kill him.
This is what happens to preachers, and not primarily preachers
like me. One of the fundamental flaws in the way we tend to imagine the church
is that we imagine that preachers are paid professionals and the rest of you do
not preach, because you—like most people—are not confident public speakers, or
you—like most people—are not able to express your faith very well in words, or
you—like most people—have a hard time telling people about Jesus. We assume far
too often that preaching is done only on Sunday morning and only in the pulpit
and only by the pastor when the truth is far more interesting. The truth is
this: Parents are preachers when they pray with their children. Grandparents
are preachers when they take the grandkids to church. Teachers are preachers when
they tell kids not only about Jesus but also when they show them how much they
care. Our youth preach when they serve; our serving groups preach when they
serve; our quilters preach with every quilt they make—even the ones that don’t
bear scripture. The act of putting a quilt around you is enough to receive
God’s word. We are, like Stephen, preachers of a different sort and just
because the disciples don’t value it correctly—and just because it gets Stephen
killed—does not mean it matters any less.
But
along with being preachers we are also the killers of the Stephens in the
church. We kill them by minimizing their work, by suggesting they are just
doing a little thing, or by trying to put them in their place. We kill people
by suggesting that the church is some unyielding, unmovable object marshaled
over by those who have ascended to power. We kill when we do not allow people
the space to find their own gifts.
Stephen was remarkable, but maybe not that remarkable. We have people here who
serve the poor, people here who look out for widows and those who grieve; we
have people here who brighten the day of others who just need a little
pick-me-up. These people often do not see themselves as preachers or even
leaders; they see themselves as the crew, faithfully rowing the ship. Yet, they
are the very ones who often give us the best direction. They can feel the
Spirit’s work because they aren’t so busy doing the important stuff.
The thing about the church is that there is no perfect
church on this side of the kingdom of God. There is no perfect church, period.
Acts wasn’t perfect. Neither is Grace/Red River. We aren’t going to find the
perfect church, but we might strive to lift up those who are preaching to us.
We might develop a more creative imagination for who is a preacher in this
church. We might even, possibly, maybe, because I believe in miracles, believe
that you are preachers, even those of you who don’t talk so good. Or, at the
very least, we might strive not to kill the preachers who do not know they are
preaching.
No comments:
Post a Comment