"Getting Stoned"

Acts 7:55-60; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14

There is a story about how John Wesley was riding along a road, one day, when it dawned on him that three whole days had passed in which he had suffered no persecution. Not a brick or an egg had been thrown at him for three days.

Alarmed by this thought, he stopped his horse, and exclaimed, "Can it be that I have sinned and am backslidden?" For, you see, it was John Wesley's opinion that if he was preaching the true gospel then certainly he should expect some kind of persecution along the way.

Slipping from his horse, Wesley went down on his knees and began to pray to god to show him where, if any, there had been a fault in his ministry.

Now, it so happened, that as Wesley was down on his knees praying along side the road, a rough fellow, one of the better known sinners of the neighborhood, was on the other side of a hedge running along the road. Hearing Wesley praying, and knowing Wesley for who he was, he said to himself, "I'll fix that Methodist preacher." And he bent down, picked up a brick and threw it at Wesley.

The brick missed its target and fell harmlessly beside Wesley. At this, Wesley leaped to his feet joyfully exclaiming, "Thank God, it's all right. I still have His presence with me!"

As Christians living today we may think that John Wesley's thoughts about persecution are a little strange. After all, in today's churches most people figure that if a preacher is truly blessed by God than it is that preacher who will be successful with congregations and will be accepted by all. Look at Robert Schuller, for example. Everyone loves Robert Schuller. Therefore, people conclude, Robert Schuller must be blessed by God. And, yet, we have seen where other famous T.V. preachers who were very successful in their public life and, yet, in their private and spiritual life were totally spiritually and morally bankrupt. Certainly, with these preachers, one of whom is now in prison, we cannot say that they were successful simply because God was blessing them or was on their side. No. Rather, we might conclude that these preachers were successful because either they were good business men, or perhaps they were good con men, or maybe a little bit of both.

No, indeed, the lesson we should learn from Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart is this: Success is no measurement of a preacher's closeness to God. In fact, public acclaim, overwhelming success, in the midst of the absence of any measurable persecution or opposition may be a sign that something is wrong. For to be a sincere Christian in ministry in this world and not to offend anyone may be nigh impossible. This is something that John Wesley knew 200 years ago. And this is something which the church has been aware of throughout the centuries. And, yes, this is something that even the deacon, Stephen, became aware of as he served the Church almost 2,000 years ago.

In our lesson from the book of Acts, we are told about the stoning of Stephen. Stephen, a worker within the church at Jerusalem, was so enthusiastic about his faith that he often shared it with others around the city. One day as he was sharing it, some Jewish zealots from Greece heard him and decided to debate with him. And these were some of the best debaters around. Nevertheless, Stephen was able to counter their arguments, point by point. And this made these religious leaders angry. But what made them the most angry was when Stephen claimed to have seen a vision of Christ standing at the right hand of God. Interpreting this as an act of blasphemy, these Jewish religious leaders took Stephen to the outskirts of the city and stoned him to death. But, as he was being stoned, Stephen remained calm and accepted his fate bravely. For he knew that there was nothing that death could take away from him.

And, yet, how many of us are reluctant to share our faith with a neighbor, simply because it may be inconvenient for us, or because it may be uncomfortable, or only because it may not be worth the bother to us?

I am reminded of the Pliny, the Roman governor of Asia Minor in the early Second Century, who was so puzzled about the Christians who were brought before him for trial that he wrote his famous letter to the Emperor Trajan asking for his advice. This was the kind of thing he found himself up against whenever a Christian was brought before him to be sentenced:

One day a certain unknown Christian was brought before Pliny to be judged for being a follower of Jesus Christ. In pronouncing judgment, Pliny said, "I will banish you."

But the Christian looked back at him and said, "You cannot banish me, for all the world is my Father's house."

"Then I will kill you," retorted Pliny.

"You cannot kill me," answered the Christian, "because my life is hid with Christ in God."

"Then I will take away all your possessions," cried Pliny.

"You cannot take away all my possession," responded the Christian, "for my treasure in is heaven."

"Then I will put you into solitary confinement and you will have no friend left."

And the calm reply once more was, "You cannot take away all my friends, for I have an unseen Friend from Whom you are not able to separate me."

The question is: "What was a poor, harassed Roman governor, with all the powers of life and death, torture and even the cross at his disposal, to do with people like that?" For people like that have a power that is beyond understanding.

Certainly, that power is available to us, today, as well. For there is nothing in this life that can separate us from the love of God. And how important it is for us to begin to use that power as we share that love with others around us. For it is in the sharing of Christ's message that we may begin to feel the assurance of God's protection. It is in using the gifts that God has given us to make his church grow that more gifts are given to us. Indeed, it is in the giving of ourselves for the work of the Lord that we begin to understand how richly God can give to us.

In our gospel lesson for today we are given the assurance that if we are Christ's faithful disciples then there is a place in heaven that Christ has prepared for us. And, yet, to be faithful means to follow in the way of Christ. For Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As Jesus said, "no one can come to the Father, but by me."

And what is the Way of Christ? It is our willingness to take up our cross, daily, and follow him. It is our willingness to endure whatever it may take to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

I am reminded of a most unusual liturgical dance I saw a number of years ago, wherein a very moving true story was portrayed: During the Boxer Rebellion in China one of the goals of the rebellion was to rid China of all foreign influences, including Christianity. The story is told of how one of the armies of the revolution captured a Christian mission school and blocked all the exits, but one. Before this exit they placed a cross flat on the ground. Then the word was passed to those inside that any who trampled on the cross as they passed through the door would be permitted their freedom and life, but that any refusing to do so would be shot to death.

Terribly frightened, the first seven students trampled the cross under their feet and were allowed to go free. But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to commit the sacrilegious act. Kneeling beside the cross in prayer for strength, she arose, and moved carefully around the cross and went out to face the firing squad. Strengthened by her example, every one of the remaining ninety-two students followed her to their death.

To the world this seems like such a terrible waste. It has been called "folly." It has been called foolishness. But what is foolishness to this world may actually be the wisdom of God. For as Paul said, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. . . Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God." Amen.