Sermon for the 7th Sunday of Easter- 05/29/2022
Rev. Enzo Pellini
Acts 16:16-34

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

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With the coming of Jesus, a new agreement has been installed between God and humanity. In that new covenant it is clear that there are things that have been renewed and there are things that have been clarified for many. That revelation has come to the people of Israel first of all, and then to the entire known world, including us today and here as well.

One of the things that we have to be clear about is what the presence of the risen Christ means among us. He is the only and the supreme:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Rev 22:13).
In addition, it shows us that only in unity with him all Christians can be like the Father and He:
“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (Jn 17:22).
This will be a visible sign of those who belong to Christ.
The reading of Revelations tells us that he is the supreme authority and only source of power.
“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” …Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev 22:17)

Two interesting topics emerge from today’s reading of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. A fortune teller who allegedly had a kind of power and the power of God manifested through an earthquake. Two types of supernatural powers.

The power of the Holy Spirit of God is present on this earth and wants to bless us, help us, comfort us. The power of the Holy Spirit of God cannot be denied. It is part of the reality of God.
In this new covenant, with the arrival of Christ on earth we want to witness that God is present more than ever among his people. He just wants us to focus on him. That we put the true God in the first place of our lives, that we worship only him. Let us discard any other power that, although supernatural, does not belong to God. May we have the ability to distinguish that there are powers on this earth that are not of God! There are the powers of darkness and the powers of light and that as Christians we must know how to distinguish them, just as Paul did.
The miracle in that prison can also teach us believers more things.
I don’t know if this has happened here, but we know of many healers, quacks, fortune tellers, psychists, seers, etc. People who apparently possess a supernatural power that allows them to perform supernatural acts. Have you heard about these? Even many people in our churches also have these types of connections and have even gone to these kinds of people. Is this true, do these people have powers like the fortune teller girl in the story? I would say yes. I myself have evidenced people who have displayed these powers. What is Paul’s reaction to that fortune teller? Paul told her:
“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” That means two things that the girl actually had a power. And secondly, that power did not come from God, because Paul had to exorcize a demonic spirit from her. That shows us that there are people who have that power on earth. The question is where does that power come from? We see that power is not from God. So, Paul wants to make this clear. Not necessarily all the powers we see on earth come from God. And especially when we think of these healers or fortune tellers or any other kind. We have to be clear about that. There are many people who go to these personalities, even Christian people, sometimes. And there we are mixing with things that are not of God. That does not bring blessing.
So, Paul makes it very clear that there are supernatural powers, but not all of them come from God.

Then we see another case of another power. The power of God manifested in praise, thanks and faith. It is a supernatural power that can miraculously modify natural things. But that power does come from God. God wants to show that he is present in the world supernaturally helping his children, those who believe, trust and focus their praise on him.

How is it that Paul and Silas could sing in such a situation? In truth, there is only one answer: Paul and Silas could sing in this situation because, despite all the misfortunes, they still had reason to! They felt confident of God’s care and grateful to be able to announce the good news about him.

We believers can sing at all times, through thick and thin. When we are sad and when we are happy. Because no necessity can destroy the victory of Christ that was shown at Easter and the bond of baptism that assures us: ‘You are my children; I will take care of you forever’. In this life we will have to suffer, but we must not despair, because our souls are safe in Christ Jesus and will not suffer any harm. Whoever suffers will still be able to sing and praise God; whoever despairs will not be able to do it. Singing releases our fears, it affirms our trust in God. Praise through singing is something that greatly pleases God because it shows a strong confidence. Shall we sing at home? Of course. Let’s try worshiping God by singing at home too. We will be surprised at the outcomes. We don’t have a good voice? it doesn’t matter, the most important thing is what comes genuinely from the heart.

Paul and Silas were not desperate. They could stand by their faith and confidence. They knew that even in prison they were under God’s care. That is why they were grateful for the situation they were experiencing. They were happy to have the privilege, to bear witness to Jesus. The prayer and praise with songs pierced the ears of other prisoners and reached their hearts. And the supernatural, miraculous power that came from God by being called upon confirmed that faith. That manifestation made the jailer himself, with his whole family, reach faith and be baptized. In the same way God wants to manifest himself in our lives as believers. He has a lot to give us, to bless us, to show us, he just wants us to focus on praise, worship, gratitude and our confidence that tells us despite life, I am here and I want to improve your life and give you the strength that is lacking and even show others the power of God in your own life.

We always ask God for miracles and the manifestation of his presence in our lives. Today God gives us a clue through his word about what could be the things that we could offer him: our thanks no matter what our situation is, our praise through singing no matter what our situation is, and putting him in the first place of our lives, no matter what our situation is, as a sign of our steady worship and full surrender.

Amen