'Listen'
Sermon by Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
May 15, 2011

With a Selection on Holy Communion from
THE CREEDS AND PLATFORMS OF CONGREGATIONALISM
from Browne's "Booke which Sheweth the life and manners of all true christians"
published in MIDDELBURG in 1582.

Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
Minister of Pastoral Care
First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa

THE READING - ACTS 2:14, 22-36

Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know — this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover, my flesh will live inhope.

[David then prayed:] (Lord, God) For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” [Peter continued:]‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne.

Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.” [Peter continued:] This Jesus/God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” [Peter continued:] Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

SERMON

The early Congregationalists spent a lot of time and energy on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.

They felt, by the way I totally agree with them, that the church of the 1600's had forgotten scripture, and had become, by itself, the word of God. God's Word, the Word of the Gospel, was pushed aside for many reasons. The early Congregationalists read the Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, and re-energized themselves to become the church that they believe the Apostles were given to begin in the name of Jesus.

The Apostles had faith. We might say that they had faith not only because they were witnesses to Christ's resurrection, but also because of the power of the Holy Spirit. The early Congregationalists also responded to the power of the Holy Spirit – in fact all of the reformers of that time were acting in response to the Holy Spirit of God. As to the resurrection, they were acting in faith.

In Luke's Gospel, in Chapter 17:5, the apostles asked Jesus what might be considered to be a simple request. The apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith! Yet if we spend even a short time thinking about what they requested, we realize the enormity of what they were asking; and the responsibility of what an increase of faith would mean to them!

What the apostles realized was that there was a certain want in their lives, and they were looking to Jesus for an answer. They accepted that there was an emptiness, a void in their existence. And they saw that Jesus did not seem to have that barrenness, but rather seemed to be fulfilled.

In our own life we have the same realization: that there is more – and that we are unfulfilled as to our essential nature. Therefore, when we ask the same question that the apostles asked of Jesus, 'Lord, increase our faith,' we are acknowledging that we have a desire for something more in our lives. We recognize that there is an emptiness in the who of what we are. We are somehow aspiring to being greater than who we are – or of opening ourselves up to a greater presence – the presence of God.

I do not mean this in a sense of pride, but we know that we are more than a cat, or a dog, or a porpoise. We need more from the universe. We desire more from life than what is on the surface. What Peter preached was that he saw the deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God accomplished through Jesus, and then Peter was a witness to the power of the resurrection!

What Peter and the other apostles experienced is what inspired the growth of churches! They were exposed to God's supremacy over this world! Conversely, they realized that they did not have the power of God! They fully comprehended, in true humility, that Jesus had the dominance of God over nature – including death itself!

A theologian, Peter John Cameron, wrote this: "Along with the apostles, we come to see that we do not simply have needs; we are need." "To be human is to be boundless, expectant awaiting for the Infinite to come close to our life and to claim it… The need in our life does not invent this Exceptional Presence, but rather it enables us to acknowledge it. Those who do not perceive need to this degree do not feel the urge to reach faith." You have noted that in the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter quoted David – from Psalms 15 and 109. Peter was connecting the Old Testament to the New Covenant.

An extremely famous theologian, Karl Barth, wrote that ". . . the history of Israel is the 'pre-history' of Jesus Christ and its word His 'fore-word.' That is to say, it is the prehistory in which He Himself acts and the fore-word in which He Himself speaks.

It was as such a fore-word spoken by Jesus Christ Himself that the apostles and the New Testament community generally listened to the prophecy of the history of Israel. And it was as an attestation of this fore-word of His that they understood and took seriously the Old Testament."

[From The Doctrine of Reconciliation] [For All the Saints 884]

What is important to realize

# from the passage from the Acts of the Apostles,

# from the passage from 1 Peter which was read this morning,

# from the response by the early Church,

# and the reaction by the early reforming Congregationalists, is the power of the Holy Spirit in filling the need in the lives of those who seek God.

God is here for us. God wants to be available to us. The word was made flesh for us – and not for any other reason. Jesus' Last Supper, His Holy Supper, was the gift of Holy Communion.

A Swedish lay preacher, who was a renowned spiritual leader, wrote this: "Christ has planted his Table like an oasis along our pathway, in order that when we become weary with travel, weak and hungry in our souls, discouraged and wounded because of our false steps, stumbling, and falling, we may then enter there and be refreshed with the living Bread of Life." God is not only here for us in theory; He has given us the means to become conscious of His presence -- and to grasp His presence.

Imagine Peter, whose speech was set out in this morning's passage from the Acts of the Apostles, and whose letter was read this morning, celebrating Holy Communion after Jesus' Ascension! Imagine each of the Apostles surrounding Peter at the Table of the Lord's Supper when they broke the sacred bread and remembered Jesus! And know that what they celebrated has been occurring for 2,000 years!

I would like to close with a somewhat lengthy passage from the book, THE CREEDS AND PLATFORMS OF CONGREGATIONALISM which is an extract from Browne's "Booke which Sheweth the life and manners of all true christians" which was published in MIDDELBURG in 1582. This extract is in question and answer format. It was a handbook for the early Congregational Church.

This 'Booke' was published some 48 years after King Henry VIII enacted his '1st Act of Supremacy' in which he declared himself as the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England. In this passage Robert Browne explained to the early Congregationalists how to celebrate the Lord's Supper:

"61 How is the supper rightly ministered?

The word must be duly preached. And the sign or sacrament must be rightly applied thereto.

62 How must the word be duly preached?

The death and torments of Christ, by breaking his body and shedding his blood for our sins, must be showed by the lawful preacher. Also he must show the spiritual use of the body and blood of Christ Jesus, by a spiritual feeding thereon, and growing into it, by one holy communion. Also our thankfulness, and further profiting in godliness unto life everlasting.

63 How must the sign be applied thereto?

The preacher must take bread and bless and give thanks, and then must he break it and pronounce it to be the body of Christ, which was broken, that by faith they might feed thereon spiritually and grow into one spiritual body of Christ, and so he eating thereof himself, must bid them take and eat it among them, and feed on Christ in their consciences.

Likewise also must he take the cup and bless and give thanks, and so pronounce it to be the blood of Christ in the new Testament, which was shed for remission of sins, that by faith we might drink it spiritually, and so be nourished in one spiritual body of Christ, all sin being cleansed away, and then he drinking thereof himself must bid them drink thereof likewise and divide it among them, and feed on Christ in their consciences.

Then must they all give thanks praying for their souls further profiting in godliness and vowing their obedience."

We can now close this sermon with the same question that the apostles asked of Jesus, Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The definition of faith includes the words trust, confidence, assurance, and conviction. When we ask God to increase our faith, we are praying that we understand our needs, that we know ourselves, -- who we really are -- and that we rely upon Him. We become truly humble, knowing that we don't control our birth, nor our death -- and little in between.

With an increase of faith, our trust in God grows. When that happens, we actually become happier – which is what God wants of us! Faith is really a letting go of our fictitious self, and becoming the person who God created us to be. Confidence in God allows us to be real, not to be counterfeit human beings.

When we pray for an increase in faith, we are perceptively acknowledging that God is real, and we want to share in His reality; and this is a tremendous responsibility! Let us now respond to Jesus' invitation to remember Him in Holy Communion – the Lord's Supper – at His Table. Amen.