Beggars are nothing new. And neither is token charity. In the book of Acts, which is essentially the creation story of the church, Peter and John find themselves interrupted by a beggar (some pity-attracting man who was born with a physical defect, leaving him lame and lowly for life.) He’s sitting outside the Jewish Temple under the not-so-aptly-named ‘Beautiful Gate,’ and in walk the spirited Peter & John, heading for an afternoon time of corporate prayer.
Now to get the full thrust of this depicted scene, we must not think of the stumbling and bumbling Peter & John of the gospels; instead, we must imagine a newly invigorated and Holy-Spirit-fueled duo who were now the leaders of an early Christian movement that had been spreading like wildfire, amassing over three thousand right there in Jerusalem. As 2 of the 12 apostles, they held authority over that growing community, and had witnessed enough of a numeric response to feed anyone’s ego. This is the Peter and John who find their path interrupted by a pitiful beggar.
And here’s where we find something unexpected.
“When the beggar saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man fixed his attention on them, eagerly expecting a gift. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!” (Acts 3:3-6)
You can pick up the story from there in your own reading—although you can probably guess the next part. But for now, pay attention to the way the narrator describes this interchange. Consider the vastly different socio-religious positionings of the beggar and the apostles. And to get a fuller context, read the beautiful telling of the preceding verses (2:37-47), which portray those first Christians living in an egalitarian utopia of sorts. The way Peter and John were leading that diverse community of Christ-followers was one that had no real hierarchy or social segregation. Everything was shared in common: possessions, meals, homes, gifts, vulnerabilities. And here, the first miracle presented by the church to the wider world happens eye to eye.
There’s a deeply spiritual and sacred connection that happens when we lean over the ledge of own insecurities and peer into the soul of another child of God. The kind of phrase that normally seems so egotistical (“Look at me, look at me!”) suddenly becomes the gateway to see recognize another child of God, to acknowledge the Christian truth that there is only one level at the foot of the cross.
This Saturday about 25 of our youth will be participating in Operation Inasmuch projects. I am excited for the good work that will certainly be done, but I’m even more excited about the eye-to-eye kind of interaction that may happen between our teens and their Asheville neighbors. Coats of paint and piles of mulch go a long way to making someone feel appreciated. But a Christ-like exchange eye-to-eye goes even further.
Along the Journey…
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