May 3, 2009
Grace Church
Rev. Robert E. Hensley

Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18

      Let us pray.  Eternal God, we stand before you this morning eager to be renewed. We pray that we may we sing your praises joyfully and be energized in your Word. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and instill in us the zeal to boldly share the good news of the gospel with everyone we meet. Amen.

      Peter’s courage as he stood before the council in Jerusalem marks the beginning of the greatest spiritual adventure of all time.  For those of you who are like me and are fans of Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk, the future begins on Friday.

      That is because the new Star Trek movie arrives in theaters this week, and unlike the previous movies, this one is an origins film – it takes us back to the time when James T. Kirk was a young man, newly enrolled at Starfleet Academy. Far from being the captain of the Enterprise, Kirk just barely makes it onto the starship for a journey into space. Then, when the ship’s captain is forced to step down, it is the calm Vulcan Spock who is left in charge of the bridge – with Kirk as his assistant.  For die-hard Trekkies, this role reversal might take a little bit of getting-used-to.

      Still, I predict that this film will be a summer blockbuster, with a dramatic invasion of Spock’s home planet by evil Romulans from the future.  In this “pre-quel” we will supposedly see all of our favorite characters at the beginning of their careers: Scotty, Bones, Chekov, and Uhura. And since Scotty manages to invent time travel as part of his engineering duties, we will be seeing some familiar old friends as well. Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock, manages to travel back in time to be part of the story.

      If you like this pointy-eared character, young or old, you’ll probably think the movie is … Spock-tacular.  And for those of you who are uncomfortable with change, there is no reason to despair. Ben Child reports in The Guardian (November 11, 2008) that some things remain the same. As is always true in Star Trek, “wearing red is still likely to reduce your life expectancy by several decades.”

      So here we go, then, on a journey from the very beginning of Star Trek history. We have the familiar characters. The close-knit community. The sense of idealism and adventure. The desire to boldly go where no one has gone before.

      It is in some respects like the Acts of the Apostles. 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 also a book of origins, including the events that launch the greatest spiritual adventure of all time.

      In Acts 4, the future begins with a showdown between the apostles and the Jewish council in Jerusalem. This text marks the first break from Judaism for these early followers of the Way. Let me repeat that.  This text marks the first break from Judaism for these early followers of the Way. Peter and John have just healed a lame man “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (3:6), and have begun to preach about the resurrection (4:2). The leaders of Jerusalem arrest them 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 really know exactly what they are dealing with here.

      “Rulers of the people and elders,” says Peter, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, “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 it abundantly clear that he and his fellow apostles are on a mission to heal, not to hurt – he begins by talking about the “good deed done to someone who was sick.” Then he speaks the truth, saying that “this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” Peter, no longer the reluctant disciple, does not hide the source of his power, but is honest about where this healing power comes from.

      Then Peter reminds the Jewish leaders that they are responsible for Jesus’ death, but he does this in a way that shows them a new path. “This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders,’” says Peter, “‘it has become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (v. 12). Peter corrects the Jewish leaders without condemning them. Instead, he gives them a way to turn themselves around, and begin to follow Jesus. Which might possible by something that we should be doing as well – giving people a way to follow Jesus.

      This is such a Captain Kirk approach to conflict. Jim Kirk’s “mission was to explore the final frontier, not to conquer it,” writes Ronald Moore in The New York Times (September 18, 2006). “Week after week, he confronted the specters of intolerance and injustice, and week after week found a way to defeat them without ever becoming one of them. Jim Kirk may well have beaten up his share of bad guys, but you could never imagine him water boarding or torturing them.”

      Both the apostle Peter and Captain Kirk were on a mission to heal, not to hurt. They spoke the truth, and were honest about their beliefs. They corrected people without condemning them, and always gave them a way to turn themselves around.

      We could do a lot 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.

      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. This means doing good to people who are sick, hungry, homeless, abused, neglected. Donald Miller tells the story of a friend of his named Andrew, who feeds the homeless on Saturday mornings. He sets up a portable kitchen on a sidewalk and makes breakfast for people who live on the streets. He serves coffee to his homeless friends, and talks with them and sometimes prays with them. “All great Christian leaders are simple thinkers,” concludes Miller. “They actually believe that when Jesus says feed the poor; he means you should do exactly that and do it literally. Andrew is the one who taught me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do.”  What we believe is not what we say we believe; what we believe is what we do.

      What we believe is what we do. Feed the hungry. House the homeless. Heal the sick. Actions do indeed speak louder than words.

      But it is also important to be clear about the source of our healing power – Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We are not free-lance do-gooders, or independent charitable contractors. Instead, we are ambassadors of Christ, and apart from him we can do nothing of any lasting good. It is so important for us to speak the truth about the source of our power, and be honest with others about our reliance on Jesus. Our effectiveness comes from our connection to Christ, and this is nothing to cover up or feel embarrassed about disclosing. We should be as bold as Peter in proclaiming, “[L]et 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” (v. 10).

      Finally, we are challenged to correct our opponents without condemning them, and to present the truths of our faith in a clear and compelling way. Peter concludes his speech to the council with the words, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (v. 12). Now these are strong words that may seem overpowering to some, but there is a nuance in the original Greek that is lost when it is translated into English. The word for “saved” at the very end of this verse can also be translated “healed.” So what Peter is saying is that there’s no other name under heaven by which we must be healed.

      Peter uses that as his “Prime Directive.” Those of you who are familiar with the Star Trek mission know that the Prime Directive of the United Federation of Planets states that members are to observe other cultures without harming or interfering with their progress.

      The United Methodist Church has three general rules that guide and govern their mission work.  Stated simply, they are: Do no harm; do good; attend to the ordinances of God.

      These “rules” might be a handy way to talk about what the Kirk of Jesus Christ is all about, whether you’re Methodist or not. In any case, every one of us needs healing of some kind, whether it is physical, mental, emotional, relational or spiritual. All of us are broken in some way, and all of us want our shattered pieces to be put back together – body, mind and spirit. The offer of healing is one that can be made without condemning people or putting them on the defensive, especially when it is done with love and clear concern for their welfare. When we present the truths of our faith, we should do it in a way that carries with it the promise of healing and hope and an ever more abundant life – after all, Jesus came so that everyone could be healed and made whole.

      I think that this is perhaps an approach to Christianity that fits very well with the idealism of Star Trek. Movie director J.J. Abrams was drawn to the Star Trek project because he believed in its message of close-knit community, idealism and adventure. He said to Entertainment Weekly (October 24, 2008): “I think a movie that shows people of various races working together and surviving hundreds of years from now is not a bad message to put out right now.”

      He’s right. 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.

      Together, let’s be the Kirk of Jesus Christ. 
 
Sources: 
 
Child, Ben. “Star Trek: How 20 minutes of early footage engaged my warp drive.” The Guardian, November 11, 2008. guardian.co.uk. 
 
Jensen, Jeff. “Star Trek: New movie, new vision.” Entertainment Weekly, October 24, 2008. ew.com. 
 
Miller, Donald. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003. 
 
Moore, Ronald D. “Mr. Universe.” September 18, 2006. nytimes.com.