Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But Peter said, ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, April 14, 2024
by Madison Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: When we open ourselves to true encounter, we create space that the Holy Spirit uses to transform us.
At their worst, stories of healing in the New Testament can read like ableist narratives that diminish the beauty of the diversity inherent in human bodies. In more neutral interpretations, stories of healing in the New Testament can read like magic tricks: Look! This person was suffering for years and years, and now, in just a matter of moments, every one of their problems is solved!
This account from the Book of Acts is a story of healing from the New Testament at its best—a story of healing done right. And that is because it reminds us that healing for everybody is a matter of transformation. Physical, emotional, and spiritual change is not about a moment wherein a problem is solved. Rather, it is about a moment of true encounter—a moment wherein our minds and our hearts open to something completely new.
It is clear in this passage from Acts that the man begging at the Temple gate has a premonition about how his exchange with Peter and John is going to unfold. The text tells us “he expected to receive something from them,” insinuating that the “something” was money. We can assume, especially because we know that this man’s disability has shaped his experience from birth, that he has premonitions like this in every facet of his life. The fact that other people carry him to the Temple gate every day indicates to us that he is operating out of a status quo that is framed entirely by what his body can (or can’t) do.
The intentional and very pointed, mutual “looking” between Peter, John, and this man marks a turning point, both in the story and in this man’s life—the introduction of a new status quo rooted not in his ability, but rather, in a radical love unlike anything else that he has experienced. This man allows himself to see Peter and John differently than he had expected to, as more than just potential donors. Peter and John allow themselves to see this man in a new light, as well, as more than just part of the Temple landscape. As their respective “normals” are upended, the Holy Spirit comes in to stabilize them and make the formerly impossible, possible.
What might we look at differently this week? Who might we truly seeand how might we be transformed because of it?
