The Fifth Sunday of Easter (Acts 17:10-12)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance  (1 Pe 1:2).  Amen.

Today is Mother’s Day.  I realize that mention of that can bring a wide range of emotions—from both ends of the spectrum, painful to wonderful.  And for different reasons.  And perhaps there is a mixture of those feelings all at once.  I pray that we can still say, “Happy Mother’s Day” whether you have one, are one, or will be one.
I will assert the obvious as I have before.  I am not a mother.  The chances are not good either.  Many others of us fall into that category.  That doesn’t mean that we cannot take one day out of the 365 to think about and to thank mothers.  That also doesn’t give us the excuse to disrespect or disregard them the rest of the year.
There is something or someone that we can all be.  Be a Berean—with the right attitude and with the right action.  We read from …

Acts 17:10-12

Dear People of God whose Word we eagerly examine,
Comparisons can be harmful.  Maybe there is a mother who looks at another mom and feels as if she doesn’t quite measure up.  Sometimes her children point out the perceived gap when there is a complaint about her or when it is convenient for them.  And a mommy sighs in discouragement, “I can’t be like her.”
But comparisons can be helpful.  A mother looks up to another like her own mom or a mom figure—to imitate or emulate.  She works to improve since there is no such thing as a perfect mom.  So she states with determination, “I can be like her.”
That is the tactic that we are going to take with the citizens of a city in Macedonia.  I can be like one of them.

Be a Berean
1.  With the right attitude  (10,11)
2.  With the right action  (11,12)

1.  With the right attitude  (10,11)
Moms seem to have a special way of addressing their child’s outlook when it comes to helping around the house—like making a bed in the morning.  It can be sharply or subtlety.  There is either a minor or major adjustment to have the same mindset.  That might happen as we work our way to Berea.  Be a Berean with the right attitude.
Paul and Silas made a quick exit at night under the advisement of the believers in Thessalonica.  They had been there for three weeks, preaching and proclaiming the necessity of Jesus’ death and resurrection  (Acts 17:2,3).  But the Jews got jealous and started a riot in a misguided attempt to uphold God’s honor and to discredit the new teaching.  It was not safe for the two missionaries to stay because of the persecution.  When it was dark, they departed.  “As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea”  (Acts 17:10).
Those two did not take a little time to regroup or reorganize—which is in and of itself amazing.  It had to have crossed their minds, “what will the reaction be here?”  It was a legitimate question and real concern.  There was no giving up, only going on.  “On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue”  (Acts 17:10).
That was Paul’s normal practice.  That was the place where he would meet people who were familiar with the Old Testament.  That was their house of worship.  Not too far from what we are used to.  On the Sabbath day, there would be readings from books of Moses and selections from the prophets.  There would also be prayers and petitions as well as a time for someone to expound and explain the Scriptures.  And that is what Paul would do.  He would make clear that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the One whom God selected to save  (Acts 17:3).
But things were the opposite in Berea than in Thessalonica.  “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness”  (Acts 17:11).  It wasn’t because there were better mothers 55 miles farther south in that province—ones who taught good manners like “be polite to strangers.”  The Holy Spirit worked in their hearts a willingness, a readiness, to listen to and learn from the Word.  They might have echoed the psalmist David:  “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD’”  (Ps 122:1).
That is not natural.  It is not exciting, more along the lines of insulting, when we hear that there is a great distance between us and God because that is what sin does—whether it is by what we do or don’t do.  And we don’t bridge it with all the good things that we do.
But God has brought us to himself.  It is through Jesus who once emphasized the night before he hung on the cross for us and three days before he headed out of the grave:  “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me”  (Jn 14:6).  The way to the Father is through the Son.  That is truth.  And it results in life because all who believe have eternal life  (Jn 3:16).  For us there is a room, a permanent place that Jesus has prepared for us.  Or as Peter reminded us, Jesus is the “living Stone”  (1 Pe 2:4), the One on whom we build our faith and base our faith.  And what follows is “the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame”  (1 Pe 2:5).  And then those descriptors:  “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”  (1 Pe 2:9).
It doesn’t become a burden or a bother to be in God’s Word.  Finally we could be sleeping or shopping or something else this morning.  It is not like the teenager who complains, “Why do I have to get cornflakes for mom on the second Sunday in May anyway?  She knows where they are in the pantry.  And coffee?  With cream and sugar?”  It is not an “ought to” or “have to”—a duty or a responsibility.  It is a “get to” or a “want to”—a privilege and a treat.  As the explanation of the Third Commandment highlights:  “We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and his Word, but regard it as holy, and gladly hear and learn it.”  We can’t get enough of having it cross our ears that God loves us in Christ.  And he forgives us in Christ.  It is another songwriter who encourages us:  “Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him”  (Ps 33:1).  We do.  Be a Berean with the right attitude.  We receive the message with great eagerness.
2.  With the right action  (11,12)
Moms like the proper response when they call attention to the sheets all crumbled at the end of the bed or on the floor.  A delay is not in one’s best interest.  (I have gleaned that from years of personal experience.)  And usually once a year is not sufficient.  It is more significant subject material in Berea.  Be a Berean with the right action.
The Bereans’ right attitude to God’s Word led to the right action with God’s Word.  “They … examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true”  (Acts 17:10).  We sometimes claim that a student is a sponge—they soak everything up.  That is good.
But the Bereans were not just passive—getting the Word, but active—grasping the Word.  They gave careful consideration to Paul’s teaching.  Did Paul’s spoken word contradict or confirm God’s written word?  As Jesus once commented:  “These are the Scriptures which testify about me”  n 5:39).  It is all about Jesus  (1 Co 2:2).
The Bereans came to that conclusion after diligent investigation  (cf. 1 Jn 4:1).  I was to a particular tourist attraction in the city of Wall, South Dakota.  (Maybe you have heard of the famous pharmacy.)  To urge you to part with your money, you can do some prospecting.  You buy a bag of sand or dirt.  You put it in a wooden box with a screen on the bottom.  You place it in the running water and shake it.  Suddenly precious fake gems come into view.  You inspect them and match them up with a sheet of paper to determine the name.  This is bigger.  But that is what the Bereans did.  They sifted thoroughly what Paul spoke.  They matched up the promise of the Savior with the fulfillment of the Savior.  Jesus.   These things were really so.
Paul wasn’t upset or angry.  “Don’t these people know who I am?”  No, he welcomed it.  Because it was true.  It is fine to take note of what is being presented in church and then take time to verify it.  Read the Bible on your own and with your family—in the morning or in the evening, talk about worship, listen to memory work  (and maybe memorize it too).  And not here and there.  The devil will back up our claim that we are busy, too busy.  And then we become lazy and lax.  But make it a daily habit like brushing your teeth  (assuming that it your usual procedure).
And it wasn’t occasionally, but regularly.  Daily.  Not just that we would reserve our look at Scripture for Sunday.  Or we have the idea that we did the confirmation thing or we do the Little Light thing.  There is no reason to limit our exposure like to the dangerous rays of the sun between 10 AM and 3 PM.  It won’t be detrimental.  Martin Luther once quipped:  “We need to hear the Gospel  (the good news about Jesus) every day, because we forget it every day.”  Moms don’t appear to tire of their children telling them quite often, “I love you.”  We could hardly get sick of the Lord recalling his grace and goodness.
With that noble activity day after day, the consequence will be as clear in us and around us as with that town:  “Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men”  (Acts 17:12).  The Holy Spirit creates faith and keeps that faith as our trust grows deeper and deeper.  That is a blessing.  Be a Berean with the right action.  We examine the Scriptures every day.
Today is a shout out to moms  (not to shout at them).  There can be varying sentiments.  Regardless, a good mother is a gift of and from God.  Appreciate that no matter how you are related to motherhood.  But pattern yourself after a Berean.  Be a Berean with the right attitude and the right action.  Lord, we are eager to examine your Word.  Help us with that.  Amen.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ  (1 Pe 5:14).  Amen.


May 14, 2017