The Third Sunday after Pentecost (June26, 2022)	Text: All Lessons

"A Well-earned Reputation"

I.	"And they glorified God because of me."

A.	On first reading, that sounds like St. Paul tooting his own horn.

1.	"Ain't I great? People all over are praising God because of me!"

2.	But if you listened carefully, and then read it with equal care, you will discern that Paul has placed the emphasis where it belongs.

a.	"They glorify God . . ."

b.	It is what God is doing that is the focal point;

c.	Paul just happens to be the one through whom God is doing what God is doing.

3.	What is God doing? A total transformation.

B.	This is what Paul is talking about.

1.	Not how great he is; but how great God is.

2.	"The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy."

3.	As Paul laid out to the Galatians his credentials in Judaism, he is not exhibiting pride.

a.	He is confessing that, at one time, this was a source of great pride for him: "I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors."

b.	He was a big deal — and not only in his own mind.

c.	To the Philippians he wrote of himself: "circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless."

d.	Anyone from a Jewish background would have stood in awe of such a resumé.

4.	But to what end were these credentials educed?

5.	William Loader has a valuable insight: "In reality [Paul] probably had a better grasp of the gospel when he was fighting it than many did (and do) who claim to be Christian. He must have sensed that what was at stake was not just sets of laws, but Law itself, the will and being of God. These Christians, whom he was hassling, were threatening to shift the focus from commandments to a more dynamic approach which set love at the centre and applied it freely to life's issues . . ."

6.	In a sense, Paul was telling the Galatians (and others), "By the standards of my upbringing in Judaism, I was right! But by God's standards, I could not have been more wrong!"

7.	This is a most valuable insight to which we all should give heed: What everyone around me calls "right" I need to examine in light of what God says.

8.	Human history is filled with examples of cultural norms that finally have to yield to Biblical truth.

9.	We should never be so sure of ourselves that we do not take the time and energy to dig into God's Word — not just for inspiration, but also for correction.

C.	My point, however, is not that Paul gained by understanding the Biblical witness.

1.	That is true; but Paul would always point to his experience of Christ Himself.

2.	Pointedly, Paul never refers to this as his "conversion" but as his "call."

3.	This, not his background and training and breeding in Judaism, became for him the primal reason for existing.

4.	He was no longer Saul; he truly was transformed into Paul — chosen, called, sent, and empowered by Christ.

5.	"And they glorified God because of me."

6.	This was the reputation for which Paul would give thanks himself to God.

II.	Jesus likewise gained a reputation.

A.	Luke tells us in today's Gospel, that when they witnessed the raising of the young man at Nain, "Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, 'A great prophet has risen among us!' and 'God has looked favorably on his people!' This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country."

1.	Let me speak a word about "fear."

2.	The Greek word, foboV phobos, from which we get the word phobia has at its root the concept of trembling or shaking.

3.	One could translate it in the more vernacular to mean "to get rattled"

4.	When Luke tells us this crowd was seized by fear, he does not intend for us to understand that they wanted to run away in terror; rather that they were awestruck (or to use a word that has recently re-entered my vocabulary, "gobsmacked") by what they had just witnessed.

5.	Note what they say.

a.	Not "Holy cow! Let's get out of here. This man means to do us serious damage!"

b.	But, "Wow! Look at what God is doing!"

c.	That's the word that begins to spread around the surrounding country.

6.	Terry Wardle tells of a time he was visiting a church down south, and the service began with the Pastor asking the people what God had been doing in their lives during the previous week.

a.	After each person shared something of their encounters with God, the congregation would join to sing.

b.	Here was their song: "God's not dead, He's still living. God's not dead; He's still living. God's not dead; He's still living — I can feel Him in my hands, I can feel Him in my feet, I can feel Him all over me."

c.	That congregation believed and lived out that God has a reputation and that this reputation should be expressed among them.

B.	Jesus' renown began to swell.

1.	Luke reports that news of these events reached John the Baptist, who then sent disciples to inquire of Jesus if He was indeed the Promised One.

2.	Next week we will hear how opposition begins to mount because of the reputation that Jesus was gaining.

3.	That would, in fact, culminate in the plot to seize Him, condemn Him, and put Him to death.

C.	But right now pay attention to how closely what is said of Jesus matches up with what was said about St. Paul.

1.	In both instances, the focal point is on God.

2.	God is doing something here

a.	Enemies of the church become apostles.

b.	Dead men sit up.

c.	What else does God have in mind?

III.	Which brings the strong parallel between today's Gospel and First Lesson.

A.	In both cases a widow has lost her only son.

1.	We are not given many clues about what was happening to the son of the widow of Zarephath other than somehow his breathing was affected.

2.	We know absolutely nothing of the cause of the death of the son of the widow of Nain.

3.	But we don't need that information to recognize the impact of these losses for these women.

a.	In that culture, a widow without any male support was herself as good as dead.

b.	Her family of origin had been left behind when she married; so they had no obligations toward her.

c.	The family into which she married were responsible for her only if her husband had died leaving her childless.

d.	To lose her only son meant that she had nowhere to turn, no place to go, and no status among her people.

4.	So, on top of the devastating grief in losing a son, there is this prospect of gloom hanging over each of these widows.

B.	In the case of Elijah, he gets blame for this illness.

1.	The woman (wrongly) assumes that his presence has meant some punishment from God.

2.	As Eugene Peterson paraphrases her reaction: "Why did you ever show up here in the first place—a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?"

3.	We don't know if there is specific guilt here — some sinful act of which she is aware having committed that now haunts her as a possible causation of her son's death (there's a whole sermon for that mistaken notion, but not today!) — or is she simply acknowledging herself as a sinner (much as we do in our confession liturgy each Sunday).

4.	In either case, she is seeking to place blame.

a.	"Elijah, it's your fault."

b.	"No? Then it must be my fault."

5.	Elijah seems to chime in with the idea that this is all God's fault. "Why?" he wants to know (a question I am sure many of you have asked in the face of the death of a loved one).

C.	As with Jesus, so with Elijah; in both cases, dead sons sit up.

1.	Note the reaction of this widow of Zarephath: "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth."

2.	We are told nothing of Elijah's reaction. Did he take this all in stride? "Ho-hum, another resurrection."

3.	How would you respond if a dead man sat up at his own funeral? Excitement? Fear? Disbelief? All of the above?

4.	What if God told you to go up to the casket, lay over it, and pray (as He did to Elijah) and then the person sat up?

5.	Would you turn away, smacking your hands, as if this were commonplace?

IV.	What is the common theme here?

A.	Paul's conversion, the man from Nain, the child from Zarepath — these are all "God things."

1.	We may not be able to pinpoint exactly what God is doing and why He is doing it — but we come to realize that He is in the mix somehow.

2.	Paul's reputation, the widow's assessment of Elijah, the renown for Jesus — all of these are reflections of people seeing the hand of God at work.

3.	It is, in a very real sense, God's reputation that is front and center.

B.	Which leads me to ask [then I'll take each one in order]:

1.	"What is God's reputation with you?"

2.	"What is God's reputation with us, as a congregation?"

3.	"What is God's reputation in this community?"

4.	"Is that reputation because of things we do (or have done) or in spite of what we do?"

C.	What is God's reputation with you?

1.	Can you feel him in your feet, in your hands, all over you?

2.	Is God merely a concept, or a close and personal lover?

3.	Is there an ongoing sense of Him present, or does He seem to you quite distant?

4.	Is there an awareness of Him in each present moment?

D.	What is God's reputation with us, as a congregation?

1.	Do we live as if we trust Him?

2.	Do we act as if He is the one guiding a directing us?

3.	Do we find joy in coming together — not just because we will see friends we haven't seen all week — but because we will encounter God here?

E.	What is God's reputation in this community?

1.	Is God known here?

2.	How would we determine that?

3.	How do we reach out to first ascertain where people are in relation to God, and then how do we plan and organize so that we can enable them to have a real sense of God at work?

F.	Which begs my last question: Is God's reputation because of things we do (or have done) or in spite of what we do?

1.	We can point to many things we do as individuals and as a congregation within our area:

a.	The Community Pantry.

b.	Our connection with Redeemer Crisis Center.

c.	Our connection to Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.

d.	Involvement with Akron Pregnancy Services.

e.	Individuals and families that have been helped through many years.

2.	Can we sit back and say: "Well, that's enough."

3.	Will it boost God's reputation? That may well depend on some things we are willing to do.

G.	It does not require dead men sitting up or converting some atheist to Christ in order to bolster God's reputation.

1.	It does matter that we — individually and collectively — make known His love.

2.	That takes more than "behind the scenes" activity; it means proclaiming Christ in word and deed.

3.	Why we help people is as important as that we help people.

4.	More important yet is that people — ourselves included — come to the realization that St. Thomas Lutheran Church is a place where "God things" happen . . . because, whether we see it or not, talk about it or not, sing about it over each other or not . . . they do happen!

Amen.