Prime Directive
05-03-09
Any Star Trek fans here today? I live with one, and because of that I know that a new Star Trek movie hits the theaters this week. It is an origins film meaning it goes back to the time when James T (I was informed that the T stands for Tiberius,) Kirk, was a young man, enrolling in the Starfleet academy. The film promises to be an action packed adventure with all our beloved characters at the beginning of their careers: Scotty, Bones, Chekov, and Uhura. So here we go, on a journey from the very beginning of Star Trek history. We have the familiar characters; the close-knit community, learning what it is to work together as a team.
We see the sense of idealism and adventure; the desire to boldly go where no one has gone before. Believe it or not, but we find a similar scenario with the book of Acts (minus the spaceships and guys with pointy ears.) This New Testament book contains stories from the earliest days of the church, with the well-known characters Peter, John, Stephen, Paul, Philip and Lydia. It is in fact, an origins story, including the events that launch a great spiritual adventure, in which Christ’s followers boldly go where no one has gone before.
In Acts 4, our focus text this morning, a showdown develops between the apostles and the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. For those who may be unfamiliar with that term, the Sanhedrin was a Jewish council comprised of priests and scribes that had both religious and limited civil powers. The council in this morning’s story is comprised of an entire priestly family, including Annas, a High Priest Emeritus, and his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who has taken the reigns. The Sanhedrin where well educated and respected in Jerusalem, and at times feared.
The story we hear this morning, marks the first instance that the followers of the Way, "or early Jewish Christians, break from Judaism. Not only have Peter and John just healed a lame man "in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth" (3:6), they have begun to preach about the resurrection (4:2). There are two issues at stake in this story. The first is authority. In ancient psychology, to know the name of a person or a god gave a certain amount of control over them. When the council asks, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" (v. 7), they are really asking, "How can we control whoever gave you the power to do this?"
The second issue is that Peter and John are preaching resurrection. The Jews did not believe in resurrection, and the leaders certainly hoped they had dealt with the last of the Jesus the radical. So, the leaders of Jerusalem arrest Peter and John and put them in custody, and then have them stand before the council, in a kind of pretrial hearing. The Jewish leaders feel threatened by the healing and preaching done by Peter and John, so they ask them, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" (v. 7). They don’t know exactly what they’re dealing with here. Reminiscent of the Pentecost story, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stands before the council, and instead of putting his foot in his mouth as we have seen time and time again, he speaks with confidence. "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead" (vv. 8-10). Peter boldly goes where no one has gone before — proclaiming the healing and saving power of Jesus to the rulers, elders, scribes and priests of Jerusalem.
Peter makes clear that he and his fellow apostles are on a mission to heal, not to hurt. In fact, there is a nuance in the original Greek that is lost when it is translated into English. The word for "saved" can also be translated as "healed." Look at the word salvation, it includes a bit of the word "salve". Salve is a healing word. Salvation is healing of our bodies, our souls, and of the world. It is reconciliation. "Jesus is salvation." Jesus Christ gifts us with the power to heal.
Peter says, more or less, "are we in trouble for bringing healing to this man? We shared with him the power to care for himself, to sing and dance praise to God. We gave him voice to share his story of transformation. That is what Jesus can do for us. We did this in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus is the source of our power. Jesus is a source of transformation. Jesus is a source of healing and reconciliation. Jesus is the cornerstone that holds the Christian church together."
To heal not to harm is a very Captain Kirk approach to the conflict. Do any of you remember what Star Trek’s "Prime Directive" was? The Prime Directive is: To observe other cultures without harming or interfering with their progress. Captain Kirk’s mission was to explore the final frontier not conquer it. In the original series, week after week, Captain Kirk, confronted intolerance and injustice, and each week found a way to defeat the issues, without ever becoming them. "Both the apostle Peter and Captain Kirk were on a mission to heal, not to hurt. They both confronted intolerance and injustice. They spoke the truth, and were honest about their beliefs. They always gave folk a way to turn themselves around. We could do worse than look to Captain James T. Kirk as a model for faithful Christian outreach. Perhaps it is no mistake that his last name is Kirk — which is the Scottish-English word for "church." Captain Kirk = Captain Church."1
So what could it mean for us to be the Kirk of Jesus Christ today? To be a church with a message of healing and hope? To reach out with a sense of idealism and adventure, and boldly go where no one has gone before? We have to begin with a desire to heal, not to hurt. And we must know that we cannot "fix" the world, but we can let our stories of grace and struggle and transformation, begin a transformation in others.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, had three General Rules for the Christians called Methodists. Do no harm; do good; and Stay in Love with God. The first rule can go a long way in healing. Each of us knows of groups that locked in conflict. The conflict is real, divisions are deep, it doesn’t matter whether the issue is important or silly. If all involved can agree to do no harm, the climate in which the conflict is going on is immediately changed. If I do no harm, I can no longer gossip about the conflict, speak disparagingly about those involved in the conflict, manipulate the facts of the conflict, or diminish those who do not agree with me. That is an environment that healing can occur. That is an environment that the church can continue to do important work, heal lives and relationships, and nurture disciples of Jesus Christ.
Doing good, like doing no harm, is a proactive way of living. We do not need to wait to be asked to do some good deed or provide some needed help. We do not need to wait until circumstances cry our for aid to relieve suffering or correct some horrible injustice. We can be bold like Peter and John, like Kirk and decide that our way of living is one that nourishes goodness and strengthens community.
Stay in love with God. One way we are able to be ambassadors of Christ in this world is to continue those practices that keep our relationship with God and Christ vital, alive, and growing. Spiritual discipline, reconnects us to God’s transforming power each and every day, and from that power, with that power, in the name of that power, we can start a healing process in someone else’s life.
The world needs a message of healing and hope, a sense of idealism and adventure and a challenge to boldly go where no one has gone before. The world needs the church to claim the healing power of resurrection, of Jesus Christ in the world. The world needs us to judge less and nurture more. Let us be the church of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Blessings,
Melissa
1 Taylor, Bob, The Kirk of Jesus Christ, Homiletics, May-June 2009.