Good Trouble

Scripture:  Acts 5:27-29

Sixty years ago in March of 1965, the Civil Rights movement turned bloody.  One of the major issues that the civil rights movement was seeking to address was voter suppression of black people.  In Alabama to protest this issue a march on the capitol of Montgomery was organized.  The planned protest march had the protestors crossing over the Edmund Pettus bridge.   Local police and state troopers were blocking the bridge’s exit, and when the peaceful protestors reached the law enforcement officers, the authorities responded with extreme violence.  March 7th, 1965 is remembered as bloody Sunday in the civil rights movement.   Seventeen of the protestors, mostly students, were hospitalized and at least fifty more were treated for lesser injuries.   It was unwarranted savagery motived by the ugliness of racism and it was captured by national media.  The sheer violence displayed by the attackers on the Edmund Pettus bridge shocked most of the country and that shock transformed into greater national support for the civil rights movement.  One of the protestors who helped organize the march, and suffered a fractured skull on the Edmund Pettus bridge, was John Lewis.   Lewis would continue to be a leader in the civil rights movement, and he continued to advocate for equality for all later in life as a congressman.  Lewis once famously said, ““Never be afraid to make some noise and get into good trouble, necessary trouble.”

I think for a lot of us though, the idea of good trouble sounds a lot better on paper than it does in practice because good trouble is still trouble.   For a lot of us getting into trouble is something we work actively against because we have had it ingrained into us that getting in trouble at all is bad.   We are taught from an early age that following the rules is a virtue and that good people do not get into trouble.   Chances are a lot of us have internalized those lessons and might even pride ourselves on being a “rules follower.”   However, when we look at the examples of faith that we are given in the bible we see examples of good trouble all over the place.   Jesus for instance got in a LOT of trouble, he got in trouble to the point of being handed a death sentence, and that trouble was all good.   In this morning’s scripture we see that trouble would follow Jesus’ disciples in the early days of the church.  Peter and John also give us an example to follow.  When it comes to obeying the rules or obeying Jesus, we should always choose Jesus even if that gets us in good trouble. 
This morning’s scripture, which is one of the lectionary readings for today, is one that picks up in the middle of the story.  Reading just this morning’s scripture is kind of like watching just the last fifteen minutes of a TV show, it is kind of possible to figure out what is going on but there is a lot missing.   So here is what you missed. Following the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the ascension of Jesus into heaven, and the coming of the Holy Spirit- the group of Jesus followers quickly grew from around 150 to 5,000.  This explosive growth made the Jewish religious leaders incredibly nervous as we find in Acts 4:1-2: “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.  They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.”

               These religious leaders had Peter and John arrested, but they could not agree on any way to charge them with wrongdoing, so they released them but commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.   Of course, Peter and John promptly choose not to comply with this order.  The continued to heal people and preach about Jesus and the resurrection.   In response, the religious leaders arrest them again.  This time an angel comes and springs them from jail, so that when the authorities come to get Peter and John so they can question them instead of finding them in jail they find them in the temple courts talking about Jesus.  The captain of the temple guard then brings Peter and John before the Sanhedrin in this morning’s scripture. 

               In this morning’s scripture, Peter makes it clear what their motivation was:  “We must obey God rather than human beings!”  Peter and John were witnesses to the resurrection, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and fully convinced that Jesus is God’s messiah.   They were faithfully following the commands of Jesus.  They healed, because Jesus gave them the example of caring for the least of these and having compassion on others.  They preached the good new of Jesus Christ, because Jesus had commissioned them to take gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.  Their motivation was not to defy the religious leaders or garner a following for themselves, their motivation was to be faithful to God. 

               The religious leaders did not see it that way though.   While Peter and John are ultimately released after this morning’s scripture, the religious leaders first have them flogged.  The traditional Jewish punishment of 40 lashes minus one.  Supposedly this was on the grounds of not honoring the authority of the religious leaders by continuing to talk about Jesus despite being ordered not to.   Peter, John, and the rest of the apostles were faithful to following Jesus, they were faithful to listening to God, and it got them in trouble, but it was good trouble. 

               Now we can easily say that in hindsight.  Looking back now, especially from the perspective of faith, it is easy for us to say that Peter and John were clearly in the right and that the religious leaders were in the wrong.  However, I am not sure that it was all that clear to those living in Jerusalem during this time.  The religious leaders they were the leaders, they were the ones who knew the Law of Moses, they were the rule enforces, and the good Jewish people of the time sought to follow the rules.  Clearly many responded to the good news proclaimed by the apostles, but there were also those who took the side of the religious leaders.  There were also who probably tried to stake a claim in the middle.   These people in the middle would have likely appreciated the good work and healings the apostles were doing but wondered why they had to always make such a disruptive scene.  They probably asked questions like “can they just heal people without always mentioning Jesus? “

The religious leaders wanted the disciples to stay quiet for a lot of reasons.  For one it made them look bad and undermined their authority.  It also threatened to upset the status quo and potentially bring about interference from the Roman Empire.  Despite that, the disciples would not be quiet.  The good news of Jesus Christ, the life changing news of the resurrection, was too important to be quiet about.  It had the potential to make too much of a difference for them to keep it to themselves.  One of the takeaways we see in this scripture is anything that is truly important, any action that will make a positive change in the world, any step of faith that will transform the world into a more loving and kind place will always, always be met with opposition. This was true for the disciples, and it continues to be true.  The message of this scripture is clear.  Obedience to God, Sharing the good news through our words and actions, treating others with kindness in the name of Jesus is always worth doing. 

 Even in a place like the United States which has religious freedom, it is still possible that faithfully following Jesus can lead to trouble.  In response to growing issues of homelessness over the past several years, two things have happened.  Churches and Christian groups have risen to the occasion to provide food and shelter to those who have none.  This is out of love and a desire to be obedient to following Jesus.  The other thing that has happened is that cities have passed ordinances, and some states have passed laws that essentially make it a crime to be homeless.  Some places have taken a different approach and instead they have passed overly restrictive laws to prohibit people or organizations from providing help to the homeless in hopes that the homeless will just leave the community. 

This is what happened in Santa Ana California, where the city went after a Christian organization that grew out of ecumenical efforts between churches called Micah’s Way. Micah’s Way provides food to homeless individuals, and the city kept passing more restrictive ordinances to stop them.  This eventually led to a court case, where the justice department intervened in 2023, and the organization was able to continue feeding people because they were doing so out of religious conviction and protected by the first amendment.  A similar court case in Texas reached a similar decision in March of 2023.  Despite that, Christians seeking to serve the least of these can still find opposition. 
This is happening right now in Ohio.  Bryan Ohio does not have social services to provide for a homeless population, and whenever there is life threatening cold conditions a church opens its doors so that people do not freeze.  Unfortunately, this church has found itself repeatedly targeted by local officials, and the pastor has even faced criminal charges for providing a place for people to escape the cold.  On the grounds of religious liberty, this case is currently working its way through the courts.  

Just like the original disciples got in trouble for being obedient to God, disciples still get in trouble for being obedient to God.   There are no doubt some who might say that Christians should be more concerned with talking about Jesus, then feeding people or providing shelter.  South African Episcopal Bishop Desmund Tutu certainly heard that criticism regularly.  He put a lot of energy and effort in providing for those who were in need and advocating for social change.   When he was told he should just focus on the gospel he responded by saying, “ I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn’t say, “Now is that political or social?” He said, “I feed you.” Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.”

This morning’s scripture is not meant to give us license to ignore the rules we do not like, but it does remind us that ultimately our highest priority is to follow Jesus.   This morning’s scripture is a reminder that following Jesus is not always easy.  It will sometimes require us to take risks and it will sometimes get us into good trouble.  This morning’s scripture urges us, despite the potential for trouble, to be obedient to God.   Being obedient God means that we share the good news of Jesus Christ, we share the good news of the resurrection.  Sometimes we share this good news with our words and proclaiming Jesus saves, but other times we share this good news with our actions- because the good news to a hungry person is bread.   

if we take seriously following Jesus, then we are going to get to a place where we have compassion and love for those around us.  Loving others means sharing the good news of salvation with them certainly, but it also means serving them.  It means ensuring their needs are met, that they are safe, and they are cared for.  If we take seriously following Jesus it will lead us to love the least of these.  It will lead us to advocating for the people who have no else sticking up for them, it will lead us to speaking out for those who feel they have no voice, and it will lead to us serving those who have been systematically under-served.   If we take seriously following Jesus then we will engage in acts of kindness in his name, and those acts have the absolute potential to transform this world into a more kind, loving, and just place. 
So may we proclaim the good news.  May we be obedient to God by following the example of Jesus of loving the least of these and having compassion for all.  May we do this, even if it gets us into some trouble- because it is good trouble.   Like Peter and John, may we fearlessly share the good news about how Jesus has won the victory.