Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Acts 3:1-10

Today’s story attests to how the resurrection was not just a past event for the Early Church, but a living reality that guided their day-to-day actions. The jubilant praising and leaping of the healed man, as well as Peter’s prayer in the name of Jesus is something that would not be out of place in a contemporary evangelical church. We Anglicans might be a bit more emotionally reserved, but perhaps an even bigger stretch than to adopt the enthusiasm of some of our brethren is to imitate the way in which Peter and John actually take notice of the man begging at the Temple, and give him their time. To me, one miracle is the restoration of physical health to the man. The other miracle is the way in which Peter and John gave the man their full attention, even while busily going about their religious observance. 

This story strikes a chord with me because after most services I’ve attended at our cathedral in London -- ordinations and such -- there are usually people outside the back door asking for money. Likewise, people coming in to St. John’s asking for money is not unusual. A few years ago I, with a couple of other folks, started looking in to this, hoping to develop some practices, and perhaps consider some sort of ministry. I called a number of our neighbouring churches, and was disheartened when one person seemed to describe the issue as a huge annoyance for the congregation, while not showing any interest in being part of a solution. Thankfully, there  were other communities and social services I spoke to who were active in embracing and supporting those who came their way. 

Back at St. John’s my hopes for the development of a new ministry didn’t materialize. I’ve found, and not just at our church, that a lot of new ideas tend to get shooed away almost instantaneously with lots of concerned ‘what ifs.’ Something to consider: what if, when we hear a new idea, we spend the first few minutes approaching it from the positive side, thinking of all the interesting possibilities? Let’s spend a few moments exploring how we might make something a reality, and why it is worth pursuing. Then, after that initial burst of energy, proceed to those ‘what if’ questions, those necessary doses of reality (and usually they are necessary). By guiding our conversations in this way, I suspect that we will more imaginatively engage in ministry. 

While we haven’t yet developed some sort of outreach ministry like I had hoped, I’m happy that at least in my experience, most people who come through our doors looking for help are welcomed in and encouraged to come to coffee hour, or on Wednesdays, to the post-service breakfast. 

- Matthew Kieswetter