Is God that personal?

Keith Anderson, 30 June 2019

Acts 12: 1–11; Matthew 16: 13–19

Last Wednesday was my birthday; I am now more than 77 years old. When I became 65, retirement age, I jokingly said that I had achieved the right to be a grumpy old man. At 77 I now a have it in spades!

So, on Friday as I walked through the nature reserve at Winnall, I was grumbling to myself at how ‘They’ (with a capital T) had spoilt the area by felling most of the trees. And since they had done it, the deer had left the centre of the sanctuary. With that I walked around the corner, and there ambling towards me quite nonchalantly was a small deer with her fawn.

Are you thinking, what has this to do with God? The same question arises about our Bible readings. I loved reading Peter’s story in Acts; it is almost Dickensian. Peter is in prison, fast asleep. Someone taps him on the shoulder: ‘Get up!’ He is barely awake.

He’s like a child. ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ It could almost be his mum getting him up for school. ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ It’s not until the angel has left that Peter realises that he was not dreaming, but the recipient of an angel’s protection.

What has this story to do with God?

In our gospel reading we hear of Peter’s recognition of Jesus as the Messiah; but if we had read on, we would have learned that Peter’s idea of the Messiah was not Jesus’.

Again, what has this story to do with God?

Today we celebrate both Peter and Paul. Paul’s conversion begins to give us a clue to some kind of connection between these narratives. In the story of Paul – or Saul as he was known previously – he is described as a passionate believer in the God of the Jews. The problem is not that he has no faith in God, but that he misunderstands the very nature of God.

The stories of Peter and of Paul’s conversion reveal people who both have a commitment to God … but are still in the process of discovering the nature of that God.

However, that is not the end of it; it is only the beginning. The evangelists Matthew and Luke wrote down these stories, recording them with a purpose. They wrote them for you and me. How do we react to them?

What have these stories to do with our understanding of God? In today’s world, do we really believe that God spoke to Peter and revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah? Do we believe that Peter met an angel? Do we believe that Saul/Paul met the risen Christ on the Damascus road?

Is God that personal?

I can’t answer those questions for you. I can only say that on Friday, as I was grumbling to myself through the nature reserve about the loss of trees and deer, I met two deer. Was it coincidence? Possibly. Or did I make it up as a good starter for this sermon (in the way some theologians think our New Testament stories developed)?

Or was God gently, with a touch of humour, telling me to stop moaning about the loss of trees and enjoy what was there. I’m 77 and perhaps God is telling me that he is still not ready for me to be a grumpy old man. You take your interpretations – as for me, I will try to be less grumpy, but I don’t promise.