“A DIFFERENT STANCE ON TOLERANCE”
ACTS 4:5-22
5 The next day their rulers, elders,
and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas,
John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.
7 When they had made the prisoners
stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are questioned today because
of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed,
10 let it be known to all of you,
and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in
good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
11 This Jesus is 'the stone that was
rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.'
12 There is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."
13 Now when they saw the boldness
of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions
of Jesus.
14 When they saw the man who had been
cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
15 So they ordered them to leave the
council while they discussed the matter with one another.
16 They said, "What will we do with
them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that
a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it.
17 But to keep it from spreading further
among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name."
18 So they called them and ordered
them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them,
"Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge;
20 for we cannot keep from speaking
about what we have seen and heard."
21 After threatening them again, they
let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened.
22 For the man on whom this sign of
healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
Many years ago Frank Lloyd
Wright, the famous architect, said something that some people felt was a little presumptuous. It happened when he was called
to testify in a trial. After he took the witness stand a lawyer asked him to state his name and occupation. Without any hesitation at all he replied, “My name is Frank Lloyd Wright and I’m the world’s
greatest living architect.” That comment shocked one of Wright’s
friends who later asked him, “How could you possibly say something like that?” Unfazed Wright replied, “I
had to. I was under oath.”
Peter was like that too.
He didn’t pull any punches when he and John were questioned by the high priest and other religious leaders. Instead of choosing his words carefully Peter said exactly what was on his mind. When asked by what authority
they had healed the man who couldn’t walk Peter gave all the credit to the healing power of Jesus Christ. Then he boldly proclaimed that there “is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
You know, Peter would get
into a lot of trouble if he said something like that today. That’s because
you’re not supposed to say things like that in our politically correct pluralistic society. You’re supposed to keep opinions like that to yourself. Maybe
so, but you know what? I think Peter was right. I think he was right because
I really do believe that Christianity is unique. I really do believe that there is something about Jesus that sets Christianity
apart from all the other religions on the world!
The difference is simply
this:
With all the other religions
the burden is on you to find your way to God. With Hinduism and Buddhism you find your way to God through reincarnation. You
keep coming back until you get it right. By the way, I like the comment that director and actor Woody Allen made when it came
to reincarnation. He once said that he didn’t want to be a part of any religion where you had to go through puberty
more than once.
With Hinduism and Buddhism
the burden is on you to find your way to God. The same thing is true when it
comes to Islam and Judaism. If you’re a Muslim you find your way to God by following the teachings of Mohammed in the
Koran. If you’re a Jew you find your way to God by following the commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount
Sinai.
With Christianity though,
it’s different. That’s because Christianity is the only religion where God comes to us. It happened on that holy,
silent night in Bethlehem when Jesus was born in that dark
and dingy stable. The early Christians quickly understood that Jesus was the
incarnation of the living God. That’s why you have those very powerful and poignant words in the prologue to John’s
Gospel. John wrote that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full
of grace and truth.”
That’s why the UCC’s
Statement of Faith says that “In Jesus Christ the man of Nazareth our crucified and risen Lord You (O God) have come
to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to yourself.” In Jesus Christ, God came to us. Why? Because it’s impossible for us to be perfect and find our way
to God.
If you want a simple and
down-to-earth way of understanding this profound theological difference you can find it in one of the old Dennis the Menace
cartoons. In this particular cartoon Dennis and his little friend Joey are leaving
Mrs. Wilson’s house with their hands full of cookies. All of a sudden Joey starts to reflect on their good fortune.
He turns to Dennis and asks, “I wonder what we did to deserve this?” Dennis
takes a bite out of one of the cookies and replies, “Look Joey. Mrs. Wilson doesn’t give us the cookies because
we’re nice. She gives us the cookies because she’s nice.”
That’s the love of
God that Peter saw at work in Jesus and that’s why he boldly made that statement to Annas and Caiaphas and all the other
religious leaders. Peter believed it with all of his heart.
People today though are afraid
to say what Peter said that day. That’s because we live in a society where the mantra is tolerance and the motto is
live and let live. Now tolerance is important. Don’t get me wrong, but it is possible to be too tolerant. When you’re too tolerant people do whatever they please. One
of the other things that happens when you’re too tolerant is you begin to water down your faith so you don’t offend
anyone. You water down your beliefs and your convictions and in doing that you
end up with a wishy washy faith that doesn’t do you or anyone else any good.
That’s
the situation that a woman found herself in one day when she received an unexpected visit from her minister. The woman was having some problems and at one point the minister said her situation reminded him of a story
in the Bible. Immediately the woman turned to her four year old son and suggested,
“Why don’t you bring mommy the book that she’s always reading?” Well, the little boy dutifully nodded
his head and went off to fetch the book. The woman didn’t know what to say though when he came back a few minutes later
carrying the latest LL Bean catalogue.
Too much tolerance can lead
to a weak and wishy washy, faith. Because you don’t want to offend anyone you water down the claim that Jesus was and
is the Son of God. Instead of being the incarnation of the living God who came to take away the sins of the world and lead
us to the gates of everlasting life, he ends up being nothing more than a nice guy who came to offer a few suggestions on
how to live your life.
Peter knew that Jesus wasn’t
just a nice guy. Peter knew that Jesus wasn’t just a talented teacher. That’s why Peter boldly proclaimed that
there “is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be
saved."
By the way that conviction
doesn’t mean you have to go out and bad mouth people who don’t believe in Jesus.
It doesn’t mean you have to go out and throw stones at people who don’t have any faith at all. You see, it is possible to believe what Peter said that day and still be humble. It is possible to believe what Peter said that day and still respect people of different faiths. It is
possible to believe what Peter said that day and not be self-righteous.
All you have to do is have
the same heart that led Samuel Sewall to write an amazing letter back in January 1697. Samuel Sewell was one of the judges
who presided at the Salem witch trials. In the years after the hysteria died down Sewell came to regret his role in the whole affair. So, he wrote that letter. He then gave it to his pastor and asked him to read it while the two of them
stood in front of the entire congregation. That letter was read in Boston’s Old South Church.
It was a simple and straight-forward letter. “Samuel Sewall, sensible of the reiterated strokes of God upon himself
and family…desires to take the blame and shame of it, asking pardon of men and especially desiring prayers that God,
who has an unlimited authority, would pardon that sin and (all) his other sins…”
When you come right down
to it tolerance is like medicine. Just the right amount is good for you. Too much and it will only make things worse.
The right amount of tolerance means you respect others and their beliefs, but you’re also true to your own. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
May 7, 2006
