By what power or by what name?

Or as my mother would have said it, "By whose authority?"

I like the reply attributed to Peter, "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...."

Notice how quickly the 'authorities' jumped over the wondrous healing of this man, a crippled beggar who can now walk (see 3.1-10).  Little time is given to thinking through this miraculous occurrence.  Little time is given in prayer to listen for God's guidance in view of this miraculous healing.  Instead, Peter is taken prisoner so he can account for his actions!  You would have thought he was a thief, a murderer, even a blasphemer.  But not a healer, or why would the authorities be so hostile?

No, they jumped right to an examination of credentials.....and the tone is clearly hostile.  Peter acknowledges that when he poses his question.

Now this is NOT the primary reason this text has been chosen for Sunday, April 29th.  The text has been chosen because of Peter's subsequent testimony to the power of the risen Jesus Christ.  Peter never points to himself, but points to Jesus and through Jesus to God, the source of all healing.  We too are called to this kind of witnessing.  But that is for another day.

Today I want us to pause and think about the last time we leapt over the miraculous and amazing in order to pick apart the details.  It is so easy to do since the miraculous upsets the world as we know it; it upsets the given order which includes my place in the order.  It frightens me because it may leave me in a *lower *worse *unstable *unknown position compared to where I am now.  So I ask, "Who are you?' and "Where does your power and authority come from?" and "Why should I listen to you?" 

And we do all of this without first listening for God, wondering with God what the message here could be and what new pathway God might be opening for us, our neighbor, the world. 

As limited as we are in the task of witnessing, we are even more limited in the work of listening.  Perhaps if we listened more, we would find witnessing a greater source of joy, and easier as well.