CMLC 2026-05-17 Sermon

Howdy. Well, today we're looking at the Acts

of the Apostles and the Gospel of John and what

it means that the people of God are held together

in Christ even when they are not held together

in agreement. And I have to make sure that I

explain something that in the world there are

two types of people. There are those in the world

who refuse to let any of the food on their plate

touch each other, and then there are normal people.

I'm just saying, what is up? What is going on

here? Why are people so freaked out? The vegetables

touching the meat, touching the bread and the

potatoes, and oh my word, and yes, of course,

I'm just kidding, I'm just teasing. But it's

always so funny because while some people are

always trying so hard to keep the food from touching,

I'm actually the opposite. I actually do everything

I can to mix up everything, every chance I get.

You know how you go to IHOP or Denny's and you

never leave IHOP, IHOPing, I'm just saying. But

you go to IHOP and they give you the pancakes

and they give you the eggs and they are nice

enough to put them on separate plates and I'm

like, don't you dare? And I dump the runny eggs

on top of the pancakes. Because I need to mash

up the runny eggs onto the pancakes with syrup

and preferably maybe add some hash browns on

top. Because I need every bite to have five different

things in it or I am not happy for breakfast.

Or often like those poke bowls. No, not a poke

ball for all the weird Pokemon people in the

world. Those poke bowls where they have the aji

tuna and the rice and the vegetables and everything's

mixed together and delicious and don't even get

me started on Thanksgiving. You've got your cranberry

sauce on top of the turkey, and then the mashed

potatoes and the stuffing have gravy all over

everything, and there's green bean casserole

that somehow gets onto the pumpkin pie. I'm not

sure how it does, but it does, and you have to

eat it together because that's what Thanksgiving

is for. And I love it. I love it so much. Because

while it is good to taste foods on their own,

There's also something even better that happens

when things are brought together. Something new

is created that did not exist before all of the

mixing. But unfortunately, we often do not think

of it this way when it comes to people. When

it comes to people, we tend to prefer things

to stay separated. We prefer sameness. We prefer

predictability. We prefer people whose actions

that we can anticipate and whose thoughts will

never surprise us. We want people who think like

us, organize like us, process like us. But here's

the thing, when there's tension, when there's

a difference, when there's disagreement, we often

assume that means that something is wrong. I'm

pushing in one direction, you're pushing in the

other direction, so therefore something must

be broken. Or if we're just being honest, well,

you must be wrong. But when we come to the book

of Acts, we're stepping into a very different

kind of community. We're stepping into a church

that has already been through quite a bit in

less than two months. was crucified and then

rose from the dead. He appeared to the disciples.

He spent 40 days teaching them and restoring

them to make sense of all the Old Testament.

And then He ascends into heaven and tells them

to wait for the Holy Spirit. And here we are

sitting. The Spirit has not yet come in the fullness

of Pentecost. The disciples are waiting. They're

praying. They're uncertain. They're not even

really sure what they're supposed to do next.

Yes, Thomas heard from Jesus that He is the way,

but that's still hard. And if we're honest though,

even though Jesus said they'd be His witnesses,

they're still a little confusing. But it's understandable,

because when the person who's been leading you

every step along the way is now gone, Even if

they've told you what to do, isn't it amazing

how unsure we still are? Even if before the boss

went on vacation, they told us exactly what to

do, there's still this little part of you that's

like, am I really sure I should be doing this?

But on top of it all, they're still carrying

everything that they've been through. Think about

it. Judas betrayed Jesus. Peter denied him publicly

and painfully. Thomas wrestled with his doubts

very visibly. The disciples got scattered when

Jesus was arrested. The fear was real. The confusion

was real. Rome is still in charge and they thought

it was going to be done. The religious authorities

are still doing what they did. Nothing looks

like it changed. Except one thing though. They

are still together. And that might actually be

the first miracle that, even before Pentecost,

is that those disciples actually stayed with

each other. Because think about everything that

could have broken the group apart. Different

personalities, different fears, different instincts.

You got Peter who's impulsive. He's called the

rock, but let's be honest, he's more like a boulder

being hard -headed and stubborn. And Thomas,

yeah, he's thoughtful, but he's the one who asks

all the questions and slows people down when

they want to move forward. James and John, the

sons of thunder, and they're not exactly known

for building consensus with people. Oh, we want

to sit on your left and your right hands, Jesus.

Matthew is the tax collector who seems to be

pro -government. Simon the zealot seems to be

the anti -government person to come in and overthrow

everything. And even others that are not always

named in detail. But we know that even the introverts

are a major part of what God is doing somehow

all of these crazy people are supposed to work

together and If we were there our instinct might

have been the same We might have been just trying

to figure out. Okay Those of us that seem to

have the same idea. Let's go work together Okay,

and those of you who want to go this other direction.

Okay, go for it and then We would have been trying

to make sure everybody that we're comfortable

with was working together. But Jesus had gathered

people who were not the same. So why should we

consider doing any differently from Him? See,

the first thing in Acts, though, is that they're

not necessarily trying to be in perfect agreement.

They cannot, they will not, eliminate all of

the tensions. But instead, they start with prayer.

Because the center of unity is not with each

other. The center of unity is Jesus. And we see

that tension very clearly even when they're deciding

who will take the place of Judas. See, they're

trying to figure out what to do. The question

even, should they even replace him at all? Should

they be waiting for something else to happen?

They went to the Psalms and they found parts

that looked like, well, we should probably find

someone to take his place. Were those the right

Psalms to use? Did they even know? Did they even

need twelve apostles? What would faithfulness

look like? And then, they do actually find a

way to get it narrowed down to two people. And

then they still can't decide between those two.

There's not some obvious choice. They're praying,

and then they're casting lots. Like throwing

dice. When was the last time that we took a serious

decision and said, let's just roll some dice

and go for it? If we ever tried to do that during

election, I think the US would just be done for

at that point. But we might read it and wonder,

Why it would even be that way? Were both of the

candidates actually equally good? Or was the

group even evenly divided? Or was it that maybe

one of them was really good at one thing and

another was really good at a different thing?

Or maybe there was one group that was a smaller

group, but they were just so loud and vocal that

nobody wanted to upset them. We don't know! But

they were trying with limited understanding to

be faithful with what they had. But the deeper

question was Luke in writing this, was he actually

showing us a perfect church working perfectly,

or was he trying to show us something else? Because

even in the same book, Paul comes up and is shown

to be an apostle. He would describe himself in

1 Corinthians as an apostle untimely born, but

coming out of nowhere that anyone would have

expected. But maybe that's the point. Is that

the book of Acts is not trying to prove that

every decision that the disciples ever made was

always right on track. It was showing something

more important. That Christ was keeping His church

together while imperfect people were trying to

be faithful. And that brings us to something

even deeper because even if the disciples are

trying to figure it all out, The one who is at

the center is the only one who knows Because

Jesus he knew that these things would happen

He knew even before the cross Jesus knew that

Judas would betray him Jesus knew that Peter

would deny him Jesus knew that Thomas would doubt

him He even knew that John would decide to tell

everybody. Hey, I'm faster than Peter in a foot

race. And by the way, I'm the disciple that Jesus

loved Jesus knew it all. But Jesus prays for

them and says, Father, keep them. Keep them so

that they may be one. He does not say, Father,

get them to all stop being so stupid so they'd

finally agree all the time. He doesn't say, Father,

would you please relieve all the tensions and

differences and make sure that they're all the

same. He says protect them. Keep them. hold them

together. Because if you need God to hold people

together, it means they couldn't hold themselves

together already. Even in differences, failures,

and confusion. Remember that story where confusion

happened in the Old Testament with the Tower

of Babel, and humanity is trying to come together

with one purpose and one language and one project,

and they were trying so hard to all be on the

same page, and God looks and says, nope. And

they all begin to collapse. Different languages,

different ideas, different directions. Because

it wasn't about focusing on God, it was focusing

on building a tower that made themselves feel

better about themselves. But you see, we're approaching

Pentecost, and something different is going to

happen. The people are going to be gathered again,

but not just for themselves. They will be gathered

around Christ. And when the Spirit comes, they're

already speaking many languages. But when they

begin to communicate together, notice what happens.

The languages are not erased. They don't all

of a sudden start speaking the same language.

Instead, everyone can start speaking to everyone

where they are. The differences are not erased,

but they become the very means by which the gospel

is able to move forward. Because now the message

of Christ is in every language. Not removing

all the differences as if somehow we have to

all be exactly the same to be together, but rather

that the unity in Christ means we all have the

same Savior, the same hope. Even today, in the

life of the church, we find unity to be so important.

Next week, during our late service, we're going

to be having the Spanish -speaking congregation

and the Vietnamese congregation coming over here,

and we're going to be worshipping together. And

I promise you, it is going to be weird and difficult.

It will be awkward, and you will wonder how people

even understand each other. But it will also

be amazing and beautiful. because it will be

the Word of God in all these languages. And that's

the truth about what God keeps doing is bringing

people together not in spite of the differences,

but with all of the perspectives, instincts,

and experiences that we all have. And maybe we

still come to it with our own wounds as well.

Because pressure may be difficult. And the difference

is they may cause arguments, they may cause fights,

they may cause all sorts of struggles, but that

does not mean that there's always something wrong.

It means the reality of being human beings together.

And this is how Christ the cornerstone is also

the keystone in the arch of the church. Whenever

you go under an archway and you see all those

stones together, they're not held together with

glue. They are not always even exactly the same

if you look at some of the old ones. They're

not always even perfectly matched. But somehow

those stones hold together because they press

against the others. If it were not for the pressure

of them all together, gravity would pull it all

down. But the shape of the arch redirects all

the pressure not just outward, but also upward

to the keystone, the one in the middle that carries

the weight of everything. The structure holds

not because all of the stones are great on their

own, but because the pressure keeps being held

at the one in the center. Each stone feels pressure

differently, but all of that pressure still comes

back to the middle. And that is what Christ does

for the church. He is our foundation, and He

is the center that holds us when the pressure

is real. When the differences are real. When

the struggles are real. Because at the end of

the day, the church does not survive because

we've found a way to always agree. The church

survives because of the one who rose again from

death. The one who did not survive. brings life

so that we do. He is the one still interceding.

And when Christ is at the center, even our understanding

of what we even think glory is, even that changes.

Because the glory of God is the cross. The glory

of God comes at times of betrayal. The glory

of God comes when no one seems to have it all

figured out except Christ Himself. Because glory

is revealed in sacrifice. Glory is revealed in

self -giving love. And that changes how we see

one another. Because we are not competition in

the midst of disagreement for the love of God.

We are brothers and sisters learning how to follow

Christ together. So before we finish our time,

I'd like to leave you with with five ideas of

things I'd like for you to consider this week.

I'd like for you to consider these when you feel

the pressure, when you feel the arguments, when

you feel the frustration. Number one, slow down

before you correct somebody. When you feel like

someone is on the wrong track, slow down long

enough to actually say back to them what you

thought you heard from them. Not trying to win,

but make sure that you even understood them in

the first place. Because it turns out that when

we actually speak back what someone else thinks,

it actually creates empathy inside of us. Is

there something I am missing in what they are

trying to say? Number two. Before you start spouting

off, write down what your position honestly is.

Take a look at what you're saying, something

you strongly believe, and write it out. And ask

yourself, if I were wrong, what harm would happen

if I would never question myself? Not because

you should not have convictions, but because

convictions should always be matched with humility.

Number three. Remember the last time you were

corrected well. When was the last time somebody

stopped you, challenged you, made you pause,

and you were grateful that they did? Because

not only is that question, if you can't remember

a time, that may be something to consider, but

also that shapes how we should treat others.

Number four, notice when the distance is forming.

Ask yourself, if our disagreements are slowly

causing us to ignore each other, would I ever

even notice early enough to change direction?

Because division doesn't start when we're angry.

Division starts when we no longer hear from one

another. Number five, choose curiosity over certainty

when it comes to people. Because when you disagree

with someone, make it a habit to ask one question

before you assume what their motives are. Instead

of saying what's wrong with them, maybe ask what

experiences might have led them to see things

this way. Because curiosity keeps the door open

when our certainty would close it. Because the

church does not stand when we are all the same.

It stands only because Christ is at the center.

And when Christ is at the center, it changes

how we see one another. Because we realize the

church never will rest on our ideas alone. It

only rests on what He has done alone. So with

our differences, may they not become division.

May they not become dismissing one another. May

they not be the things that cause us to lose

love, compassion, and understanding. But rather,

may they be the very things that draw us closer

as brothers and sisters learning how to follow

Christ together because it is not by my will

and not by yours, but only by His Spirit, says

the Lord. Thanks be to God.