The Lame Man

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 -- Week of Proper 13

Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 979)
Psalms 78:1-39 (morning) 78:40-72 (evening)
Judges 7:1-18
Acts 3:1-11
John 1:19-28

Today we read the story of Peter's encounter with the lame man who is asking alms from those who are entering the Jerusalem temple. It would seem to be a good place for a beggar. The worshipers would be more likely to have converted some of their property into coinage, and they were in a mood to make offerings of thanksgiving. They would know that this crippled man would not be given entrance to the temple. He was regarded as marred, incomplete and unclean.

Yet many would see his condition as a judgment of God and pass him without empathy -- his physical condition was his own fault, part of the justice of God who punishes some with lameness. They might turn to the commandment from Leviticus: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or man with a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles." These were excluded from the temple. It was common for people to offer no empathy toward others with such deformities, after all, the scripture has condemned them as being unclean and under judgment.

But Peter stops and makes connection. The account says, "Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, 'Look at us.' And [the lame man] fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them." Poverty, brokenness and suffering are remarkably invisible to most of us. We rarely drive through the "roughest" parts of town. We rarely see the 700 to 1,110 people who are homeless in our area.

There is a homeless man who lives in a makeshift tent not far from the White House in Washington, D.C. Like the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, he begs. One of the signs he uses in his attempt to get people to pay attention -- to look at him -- reads, "I can see you not seeing me."

Peter looks, and sees. Peter does not turn away, either out of repulsion or judgment. Peter reaches out and touches the man, whom many would have regarded as unclean, untouchable. Peter gives him a hand up, and the man is healed. The lame leaps for joy.

Part of the scandal of the early church was that it continued the scandalous practice of Jesus who attended to the outcast and impure and touched them with healing compassion and inclusion. In a few chapters we will see Philip welcome a eunuch -- one with "crushed testicles" -- into the fellowship of the church. Such acts of radical hospitality were controversial, and many religious people believed them to be violations of the Biblical commandments.

We still live with some of these controversies.

Lowell
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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas