Scripture reference: Acts 3:1-10

The pews across America are filled every Sunday with people who autonomically go to church. They do it like breathing or going to the bathroom. They do it without thought. They do it in the same way at the same time with the same mind set. It is a routine function of their life, just like eating and sleeping. These are the sort of people depicted in our reference scripture. These friends of the lame man who bring him to the same Temple gate at the same hour of every Sabbath. They do it autonomically without any conviction or faith. It is just something they have gotten used to doing. Just like so many church-goers of today.

Who were these men who brought this lame man to the Temple and just left him outside the gate every week? Why did they do this? Why did they not take the man into the Temple? What, if anything, were they expecting to result from this activity? These are the same questions we could ask of people who just go to church on a regular basis, not out of faith or hope (confident expectancy), but just because it has become a regular routine of life.

Let's begin with why the lame man was left outside the gate to the Temple, rather than being taken inside. That has to do with strict Pharisee enforced Jewish law. You see, a lame man was an unclean person; and the unclean were not allowed into the Temple. He was considered unclean because it was believed that either he or his parents must have offended God is some great way through some terrible sin for God to have punished him with his lameness. This common belief promulgated by the Pharisees is made event in John 9:2 when Jesus' disciples ask of a blind man, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents?" It was believed that any ailment was the result of sin. And a sinful person was considered unclean, and to be avoided, lest you become contaminated with their uncleanness. And nothing unclean could be allowed to defile the sanctity of the Temple. For that reason, the lame man had to be left outside.

This belief is not uncommon among today's churches and church-goers. Many good, regular church people do not want the unclean among them in the sanctuary. They do not want the drunkard, the prostitute, the drug addict, the gambler, or the tattooed motorcycle rider in their midst. For are not such persons unclean and therefore unfit to be in the church? Many of today's church-goers would answer, "yes." For that reason, many regular members of America's congregation would leave these people outside the church. Let them listen on the radio or watch on TV. But they are not warmly invited into the sanctuary to share the fellowship of Christ.

Accepting the belief that the unclean should not be taken into the fellowship, but believing that the unclean should go to church, the unclean are invited to the building, but not taken into the inner circle of the "good church-goers." We may bring the drunkard to church, but not invite him to the church social. He can come to the church, but is left outside the actual "church," the fellowship of members. In this way the church-goers of today behave exactly as the men of two-thousand years ago.

So who invites or takes the physically or psychologically lame to church, but does not take them into the fellowship of the church? Why do they do this? What are they expecting? Is there behavior motivated by faith and hope in God, or by there desire to appear to be doing "the right thing?"

Perhaps today's church-goers are, like their counterparts of two-thousand years ago, seeking the approval of men. They want to be able to claim piety and holiness by their actions. Unfortunately for them and the ones they invite to church, pleasing men does not provide any one with the blessings of God. Therefore, neither the regular faithless church-goer or his unwanted invited guest benefits from the action. Just as the lame man in the scripture was never healed by the actions of his friends.

The story told in this passage of scripture can be contrasted against the story told in Mark 2:1-12. In the passage in Mark we are told of four men who had faith in Jesus, believing completely that he could heal their friend. When Jesus looked into their faces and saw their faith, he healed the man straight away. It is that faith which is the missing element in the story of those who take the lame man to the temple. Because there was no faith in them, the man was not healed. It was only when two men of faith, Peter and John, came along that the man received healing.

The message for us from these two stories put together is clear. If the psychologically and spiritually lame among us are to receive healing, then we must have the faith that they will be healed. When we invite them or take them to church, it must be with complete confidence that they will be touched by the Spirit and have a life changing experience. And our action needs to be motivated by true compassion for the sick soul we carry to the temple, not for how holy we look in the eyes of others. If our action is a direct result of our faith in and love for Christ Jesus, and our belief that the grace of God is extended to all, then both we and our guest will be blessed. Otherwise, it will be a complete waist of time for all.

May the Lord bless you and grant you his peace. Amen.