Easter VII (Acts 16:16-40)  05/12/2013

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A couple of months ago I decided to dedicate some time to a hobby that has long interested me, and that hobby is the research of my family history. At first thought there was the anticipation of finding recognizable names from the past: colonial patriots, founding mothers and fathers of this country, and other people that streets and schools and parks are named after. However, once the real work of the research was underway I soon discovered that most of my time was spent sorting through old handwritten documents, visiting the town clerks office, and wandering through old cemeteries. I think the slow and methodical process of sifting through old records was the cause of my previous departures from this hobby in times past, but this time around something very different happened to me. I discovered that mixed in with all the hard, cold facts and figures of those old handwritten documents are the many, many fascinating stories of my family. Family research also provides the opportunity to discover information that has long since been hidden away; sometimes quite accidentally and sometimes quite on purpose. The more information I found, the more questions I had, so I gathered up all my information and set out to talk with as many family members as I thought would have even the slightest memory of the family stories of our past. Interestingly, those conversations began to shape a new understanding of the past and, remarkably, a new vision of how the past guides and informs our future. Thomas Merton, a 20th century monk and spiritual guide, once spoke of how memories must be more than simply facts from the past. Merton wrote, “Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not ‘remember’ the here and now, does not ‘remember’ its true identity, is not memory at all. [One] who remembers nothing but facts and past events, and is never brought back into the present, is a victim of amnesia.”[i] Thomas Merton’s insight helps us to realize that memory becomes something far greater when we allow ourselves to move from the idea of simply recalling facts to the living process of remembering and sharing the sacred stories of our lives.

This morning we hear a long and curious story that recalls the missionary work of Paul and Silas. They are in Philippi on a mission of spreading God’s Word. For many days they were engaged in this mission and we might assume they had achieved limited success; we do not hear of great crowds gathering, no conversions of new believers, no miracles – just one possessed girl held captive for her unique gift of fortune telling. As the difficult days progressed and Paul encountered the young girl every day, rather than being moved by compassion toward her, we are told Paul was annoyed and sent the spirit away. And then the story takes a very bad turn – after generally being ignored for many days, Paul and Silas were immediately the focus of the town’s anger. They were falsely accused, beaten and thrown in jail – the life of a disciple is not easy work! But Paul and Silas never gave up, even as they sat in jail, they spent their late hours praying and signing hymns. The story reaches an exciting climax as an earthquake rips everything apart – the strength of their faith bursts apart the man-made prison where they sat; the faithful disciples could only be slaves to their service of God. The jailer feared the worst, assuming his prisoners were gone, but Paul prevented the unfortunate end to the man’s life. The jailer was amazed and, realizing the power of God, he and his family were converted to the Christian faith. A curious story full of twists and turns; a story with some difficult and challenging moments for everyone, but the story we hear this morning is not the end of the story…the lectionary stops us five verses short of the end with Paul and Silas still in jail, so please allow me to tell you the rest of the story (Acts 16:35-40):

“When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, ‘Let those men go.’ And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, ‘The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.’ But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.’ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.”

The strength of Paul’s faith in God should encourage and inspire us. Allowed to leave the prison in quiet, Paul refused to go. He understood that once set free he would be just fine, but the faithful community he left behind in Philippi would continue to suffer the injustices he experienced. Paul confronted those who mistreated him, leaving a powerful memory of the justice of God, and then departed to the home of Lydia, a leader of the Christian community. Paul’s memory of Lydia and the Christian community of Philippi compelled him to spend time with them, encouraging them as they faced both the challenges and joys of their life together; Paul’s memory of the past was nourishment for the future. Paul’s time with the Philippians was coming to an end, but the Christian community continued to grow and fulfill their ministry of spreading God’s love and grace, and their memory of Paul’s ministry among them was a source of great strength and encouragement to them.

Today, the joyous and festive season of Easter is coming to an end as we celebrate this seventh and last Sunday of Easter. Next Sunday, we celebrate our Youth and gather for a great parish picnic on the special day of Pentecost (don’t forget to wear the color red!), but this celebration should not mark the close of our year together but the beginning of something new happening in our midst. Just as the Philippians’ memory of Paul encouraged them in their time together, our memory of this past Easter season is an opportunity for us to discover new understandings of prayer and ministry throughout the days and months ahead. As I have discovered from searching out my family’s past and bringing those memories into conversations filled with life and growth, I encourage you to use your Easter memories for the nourishment and growth of your spiritual lives and our ministry together in this place and in the world beyond. May you be filled with the love and grace of the Risen Christ, may the memories of this Easter season never fade and throughout the days ahead, may you go out into all the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit! Amen.