“Cut to the quick”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Acts 2:36-41 (Forward, p. 72) CEV p. 1135

Peter, I’m afraid, doesn’t mince words with the Pentecost crowd gathered here in Jerusalem. He tells them plainly what God had done with Jesus, raising Him from the dead and making Him both Lord and Christ [Messiah], even though they, as part of the people there in Jerusalem had consigned Him to the Cross.

That the people were upset upon hearing this is an understatement to say the least. Our English translations have long wrestled with just how to put this into words. Here are some of their attempts:

-they were cut to the heart, stung to the heart, pricked in the heart

-they were sick at heart, were deeply distressed & felt guilty

Clearly, they felt a sense of responsibility for what had happened to Jesus, what had happened ‘on their watch’, as it were. No wonder they immediately wanted to know what they should do. And what does Peter say? It is quite simple:

-turn back to God; repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ

-if you do so, your sins will be forgiven, and you will be given the Holy Spirit;

-this promise is for you, your children, and everyone that the Lord God choses, regardless of where they live;

-yes, he says, save yourselves from this untoward, crooked, unjust, perverse, twisted, wicked, and perverted generation. Or, as the Message puts it, ‘this sick and stupid culture.’

No wonder, given their deep emotion and sense of responsibility, and Peter’s very clear and succinct message, they turned ‘on mass’ to God, repented, believed and were baptized, some 3,000 persons in all.

So, what about us? How does this apply, if at all, to people living in the here and now? Well, I would take away two things from this:

a) First of all, even though we did not live in Jerusalem at that point in time and so did not directly have a part in the events leading up to His shameful crucifixion, we still have a part in what causes this to take place, both personally and corporately:

-We have all sinned, all fallen short of what God expected and demanded of us. And so, we are part of why Jesus had to die in the first place. We had all, in one way or another, made a decision to be lords of our own lives, to ‘do it my way’, even if otherwise we led good and respectable lives. All of us, no matter who we are, needed a Saviour!

b) And secondly, we are all part of a wicked, crooked, perverse, twisted unjust generation. We glory in power, pleasure, prestige, privilege, and possessions, just as they did. Selfish ambition, fears and anxiety have just as much a hold on us as they did back then. Our culture and our world, in many ways, is just as sick and stupid.

And so, we need to turn (or turn back) to Him and ask for His help and deliverance and forgiveness. We need the new start, the new life, that only He can give. And, as He promised it back then, and delivered it then, He can do just as easily and faithfully today. Amen.

Forward notes: “So those who welcomed his message were baptized” (verse 41a).

“One Sunday, I came to church prepared to baptize one child. However, as I walked around the side of the church, I saw another child, the sister of the child I intended to baptize, dressed in frilly white. I quietly asked my deacon to inquire whether the mother intended both children to be baptized. My deacon returned to say that the mother, whose first language was not English, indicated that she wanted both children baptized. The service was about to start, and I had to make a quick calculation.

“Thinking of this scripture passage, I decided yes, I could adjust my sermon to mention the second child. I had already prepared the mother for the one child’s baptism; to turn away her other child would be, in my view, a denial of the work of the Holy Spirit. No one else in the congregation had any

idea other than that a ‘mistake’ had been made in the bulletin, listing only the one child, but I knew the mother believed and was making promises on behalf of her children. Who was I to stand in the way?”

Moving Forward: “Are you open to unexpected invitations by the Holy Spirit? Pray for a willing and receptive heart.”