Pastor’s Notes for Peter and Paul, Apostles, A Date: 6/29/14 Theme: The Witness/Martyrdom of Peter and Paul Bible Ref’s: Acts 12:1-11; Psalm 87:1-3, 5-7; 2Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; and John 21:15-19. Prayer of the Day Almighty God, we praise you that your blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdoms. Grant that your church throughout the world may always be instructed by their teaching and example, be knit together in unity by our Spirit, and ever stand firm upon the one foundation who is Jesus Christ our Lord, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Brief Sermon Outline: “Springing Into Action” Focus Statement: Be patient in discernment, then spring with joy into action. 1. Last week we heard Jesus say, “whoever does not take up the cross & follow me is not worthy of me.” What he meant is that discipleship is a tough row to hoe—it’s going to involve facing up to fears, going places you don’t want to go, carrying one another’s burdens. Following Jesus is going to be a cross-walk (not a cake walk) of learning how to give up one’s life for the sake of th gospel. 2. So maybe you hang back a moment to take this reality in—to get it sorted out that this is what God is calling you to do…but then you need to spring into action; weigh the cost of discipleship and go! 3. We commemorate today two people who did just that. First we have Paul… Paul who was known as a persecutor of the church, then experiences a dramatic encounter with the living Christ on the road to Damascus. But then it’s another 3 yrs in the Arabian desert (Gal. 1:18) before Paul springs into action as the Apostle to the Gentiles. No doubt, it was an intense time of discernment for him. 4. Among his tools for discernment would have been his facility w/ the Scriptures, having memorized long tracts of the Torah & other prophetic writings, knowing how to hear God’s voice speaking to him through the ancient writings—being well-versed in doing what we would call today Bible study. 5. Prayer is another tool Paul had at his disposal, making good use of the Psalms (the Bible’s prayer book), but also just learning to open his heart to God’s leading, calling on God in times of distress, for deliverance from enemies, for assurance of God’s steadfast love/faithfulness to God’s people.
Transcript
Pastor’s Notes for Peter and Paul, Apostles, A Date: 6/29/14Theme: The Witness/Martyrdom of Peter and Paul Bible Ref’s: Acts 12:1-11; Psalm 87:1-3, 5-7; 2Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; and John 21:15-19.
Prayer of the DayAlmighty God, we praise you that your blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdoms. Grant that your church throughout the world may always be instructed by their teaching and example, be knit together in unity by our Spirit, and ever stand firm upon the one foundation who is Jesus Christ our Lord, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Brief Sermon Outline: “Springing Into Action”Focus Statement: Be patient in discernment, then spring with joy into action.
1. Last week we heard Jesus say, “whoever does not take up the cross & follow me is not worthy of me.” What he meant is that discipleship is a tough row to hoe—it’s going to involve facing up to fears, going places you don’t want to go, carrying one another’s burdens. Following Jesus is going to be a cross-walk (not a cake walk) of learning how to give up one’s life for the sake of th gospel.
2. So maybe you hang back a moment to take this reality in—to get it sorted out that this is what God is calling you to do…but then you need to spring into action; weigh the cost of discipleship and go!
3. We commemorate today two people who did just that. First we have Paul…Paul who was known as a persecutor of the church, then experiences a dramatic encounter with the living Christ on the road to Damascus. But then it’s another 3 yrs in the Arabian desert (Gal. 1:18) before Paul springs into action as the Apostle to the Gentiles. No doubt, it was an intense time of discernment for him.
4. Among his tools for discernment would have been his facility w/ the Scriptures, having memorized long tracts of the Torah & other prophetic writings, knowing how to hear God’s voice speaking to him through the ancient writings—being well-versed in doing what we would call today Bible study.
5. Prayer is another tool Paul had at his disposal, making good use of the Psalms (the Bible’s prayer book), but also just learning to open his heart to God’s leading, calling on God in times of distress, for deliverance from enemies, for assurance of God’s steadfast love/faithfulness to God’s people.
6. As a Pharisee, Paul would have been comfortable with all these spiritual practices. But it was the introduction of the gospel (the unconditional love of God revealed in the person of J.C.) that really got Paul to thinking, that really challenged him to think & relate to God in a totally new way. For Paul, springing into gospel action meant the former Pharisee embracing ungodly Gentiles w/ love.
7. The Apostle Peter also had an intense time of discernment before springing into action w/ a totally new way of relating to Jews & later to Gentiles. Remember, Peter was the disciple who confessed, “You’re the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16) & swore he’d never forsake Jesus. But on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, when confronted re: his loyalty to Jesus, Peter denied him 3 times. Peter allowed the fear of his accusers and his own sense of inadequacy to drive him to despair.
8. This is when Jesus decided he needed to make breakfast for Peter, to serve him up some good ol’ biscuits & gravy. The biscuits were easy enough to serve: comfort, kindness, encouragement. For each of the 3 times Peter had denied him, Jesus asked, “Peter, do you love me?” to which Peter responded, “Yes, Lord…” and Jesus reinforced the mission Peter was to fulfill: “Feed my sheep.”
9. Comfort, kindness & encouragement were the biscuits of blessing, but the gravy was the gospel of God’s unconditional love in J.C. which Peter & the church were thereafter told to feed the world. So today we celebrate two great figures of the early church, Peter/Paul, who represent the spread of the gospel to both Jews & Gentiles and, according to tradition, were martyred on this date.
10. That’s the meaning behind bearing witness to Christ: the Greek root of the word “witness” is mar-tyria, where we get the words “martyr/martyrdom” from, someone who willingly suffers for a cause. But after the cross of Christ, the cause for which one suffered & died was not to save souls—one’s
own or others’. The cause was for the sake of the gospel itself—feeding to the world the uncondi-tional love of God through prayer, worship & Bible study, thru service, tithing & radical hospitality.
11. Sure, you’re going to receive flak for this—standing up for the vulnerable, the outcasts, for gays & lesbians, for the environment; tithing to the church & synod Mission Support. Just read th Lutheran magazine. But as Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are you when people revile you & persecute you & utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice & be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets [& apostles, I add] who were before you.” (Mt. 5:11-12) Be patient in discernment, then spring w/ joy into action.
Hymn of the Day: “Healer of our every ill” (WOV #738)
Children’s Sermon
<In today’s gospel lesson, we hear about when Jesus made breakfast for Peter and the other disciples after he rose from the dead. We talk with the children about why Jesus did this for the disciples, and what Jesus calls us to do for the sake of the gospel.>
Pastor: Good morning, kids. I want to tell you a story about after Jesus was raised from the dead. The disciples weren’t sure what to do, so Peter said, “I’m going fishing,” and all the disciples went with him, but they didn’t catch anything. Jesus knew that the disciples were discouraged, not just for not catching any fish, but because they weren’t sure what Jesus wanted them to do as disciples.
So while the disciples are out on the boat, Jesus shows up on the shore, waves to them and says, “Cast your nets on the other side of the boat…” So they did, and guess what? They caught tons of fish. Then Jesus yelled to them again, “Come on in, I’ve got breakfast for you!” Peter was so excited he didn’t wait for the boat, he just jumped in and swam for shore.
So when all the disciples were together, Jesus asks Peter “Do you love me?” Three times Jesus asks him, and three times Peter answers, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Then Jesus says to him, “Feed my lambs; tend my sheep; feed my sheep.” Jesus fed the disciples what he wanted them to feed to others—encouragement, food, kindness, comfort and joy. And you know what? That’s what Jesus wants us to do, too: Feed his sheep (i.e., others).
On the back of the sermon notes, I have a special activity I’d like you to do. Here’s a picture of some sheep, and laying on the ground are special “biscuits of blessing” I’d like you to feed to the sheep by cutting them out and taping or gluing them inside the sheep. <show the picture & explain the activity> Then all this week, I want you to feed “biscuits of blessing” to others. Feed someone, give someone comfort or encouragement, make someone joyful, etc.
Let’s pray: Loving Lord, we thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to feed us all that we need. Help us by your H.S. to feed all these biscuits of blessing to others—blessings of encouragement, of food, of comfort & healing, of kindness & joy; help us to pray for the needs of others in Jesus’ name. Amen
The Word
(2Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18)As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
(Psalm 87:1-3, 5-7) 1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah 5 And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in it”; for the Most High himself will establish it. 6 The LORD records, as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah7 Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” (Acts 12:1-11) About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. 3 After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.
6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
(John 21:15-19) When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
The Holy Spirit gives us words to speak and hearts that care… Cut out the “biscuits of blessing” below and feed them to these hungry sheep by taping the “biscuits of blessing” inside them. This week, give these same blessings to
ENCOURAGEMENT
Jesus said to [Peter], “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17b)
Sermon Notes: Peter & Paul, Apostles & Martyrs
The Confession of Peter ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God") is commemorated on 18 January, and the Conversion of Paul (on the approach to Damascus) a week later on 25 January. On 29 June we commemorate the martyrdoms of both apostles. The date is the anniversary of a day around 258, under the Valerian persecution, when what were believed to be the remains of the two apostles were both moved temporarily to prevent them from falling into the hands of the persecutors.
The Scriptures do not record the deaths of Peter or Paul, or indeed any of the Apostles except for James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2), but they are clearly anticipated (see the readings below), and from an early date it has been said that they were martyred at Rome at the command of the Emperor Nero, and buried there. As a Roman citizen, Paul would probably have been beheaded with a sword. It is said of Peter that he was crucified head downward. The present Church of St Peter in Rome replaces earlier churches built on the same site going back to the time of the Emperor Constantine, in whose reign a church was built there on what was believed to be the burial site of Peter. Excavations under the church suggest that the belief is older than Constantine.
St. Augustine writes (Sermon 295): Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; And even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles' blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.
Tradition affirms that both Saints Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome under the Roman Emperor Nero in the year 67. - The above oil painting is by El Grego, and resides in the National Museum in Stockholm.
