Humble & Vulnerable
Acts 3:11-16
While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”
Before Peter spoke to the crowd at the temple, he and John had commanded a man who was lame since birth to get up and walk. The cripple jumped up and walked around the temple, where everyone there recognized him and could see his newly restored physical condition. Not surprising, a crowd gathered around Peter and John and wanted to be near them.
Peter then uses this opportunity to give God the glory for the miracle, not himself. Beyond the irony of Peter pointing out that the God of the Patriarchs, who the Jews so reverently uphold, who came to earth in the form of the Son, who they demanded be murdered, whose act of healing they are now marveling at, is the one who deserves the praise, I admire Peter’s and John’s humility in a situation they could have made all about themselves. It would have been really easy for Peter and John to take some of the credit for what had just happened. Instead, Peter used the moment to do the opposite. “Why does this surprise you?” “Why are you staring at us as is if we did something?” How often do we take credit for the blessings and mercies God has freely given us? Are we humble enough to know that all good things come from God? We are all blessed with talents and gifts, but those too are gifts given to us from God.
It’s pretty easy, especially in our Western culture, to let humility slip away from us as we enjoy the earthly comforts that God provides. If a crowd gathered around us to marvel at an accomplishment, would we default to giving God the credit or pat ourselves on the back? Is it more of a challenge for one who has much to be completely humble than one who has little? If so, maybe that is because true humility requires vulnerability. One who has little, in earthy terms, is likely already vulnerable to much more than one who has much, so humility is easier to come by. We all would raise our hands if asked the question “Who wants to be a humble person?” But I’m not sure many of us are jumping at the chance to have our vulnerability challenged. Now, nobody is saying we should go out and put ourselves in difficult or trying situations just for the sake of doing it. But maybe we do need to ask ourselves if our security and protection from what much of the world has to deal with is ever a barrier to faith.
Fortunately for us, we have a perfect example in Jesus. During Jesus’ time on earth we see the perfect example of the most powerful willing to be the most vulnerable. And we see complete humility from God the Father and God the Son as Jesus was humiliated and murdered. Peter and John are following the example of their teacher and are showing both vulnerability and humility. In the next chapter, Acts 4, they were arrested and jailed for their claims about Jesus and the resurrection. They must have had such a deep faith that they were willing to take such risks to carry on God’s work. As we move through life as individuals and as a church, let us pray that we have the faith that allows us to get a little uncomfortable once in a while for the glory of God and His kingdom.