During my recent visit to Outreach International’s programs in Malawi I heard an interesting sermon by Malawian Community of Christ minister Patrick Gausi on Christian responses to social problems. He reflected in particular on Outreach International’s approach to ending poverty, which maintains people’s dignity and seeks sustainable, rather than stop-gap, solutions.
I think his sermon would make a good resource for church groups studying or reflecting on Outreach International’s work, so I have posted a transcription of it below.
-Matthew Bolton
At the Beautiful Gate: A Reflection on Acts 3:1-10
Sermon by Seventy Patrick Gausi, Mzimba Community of Christ Congregation.
25 September 2008.
I want to share with you this afternoon the message from the book of Acts, chapter 3, verses 1 to 10. It is a very beautiful story. I will read from my bible:
“One day Peter and John were going up to the Temple at the time of prayer – at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the Temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the Temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
“Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the Temple courts walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the Temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. [NIV]”
Hallelujah!
Here we see the importance of prayers. Peter and John are going to the Temple, around three o’clock, to worship God. And they say, at the Beautiful Gate, just near the door of the Temple, there was a lame man, who was born like that. Every day, his relatives or his brothers had to carry him and put him there so he could beg money from those people that were entering the Temple.
When this man saw new faces, John and Peter, he thought of asking them for something and when he begged them they looked straight into his eyes and Simon Peter said, ‘ Look at me. I have no money to give you, but I will give you something.’ Why did Peter say these words? Because in Luke 10:4 and Matthew 10:9, we see that Jesus sent them to heal the people but should not carry anything to give them. That means it was true that Peter and John had no money to give that person.
But that person needed something. And Peter knew that this person needed something. When Peter and John were going to the Temple, they had the name of Jesus Christ with them. And they had that authority that Jesus gave them to heal the sick. And they wanted to prove that this authority came from Jesus. That’s why they said ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk.’
Simon Peter did not just say those words and leave that man like that. We hear that he helped that lame man, he got his right hand, and we see that that man got up and he started jumping. I tell you, if it was you or me, seeing that I’m healed, I would not go into the Temple, I would just run around and tell people ‘Look, I’m healed.’ But this man went with John and Peter into the Temple, praising the Lord.
Now, there is something important to note. This man did not expect that one day he would walk. It was his daily lifestyle to be at the Beautiful Gate, waiting for people to help him. Perhaps his relatives were even benefiting from his begging. But we see what John and Peter did for him. They didn’t give him money, because they knew that money is not permanent. They healed him so that he could stand on his own feet and work for himself. And when later in the Temple, people recognized that he was that beggar, they knew that from then on, he wasn’t going to beg again. He would not sit by the Beautiful Gate again. Because now he was able to work for himself. To help himself.
That’s why I’m proud when I hear of Outreach International . Because it goes in the rural areas, helping the poor people, planting good knowledge in them, so that they can help themselves. That’s why Outreach International works in partnership with the church. Because on the one hand the church is doing the work spiritually, and Outreach International is doing the work physically.
Thanks to Outreach International, in the rural areas we have seen very good developments. Those places were not like that before Outreach International came into this country. But now we see those poor people, those who used to beg, no longer beg, because of this organization. So that is very very good.
And even those of us who are members of the Community of Christ, it isn’t only Outreach International that can do such things. We should practice the same thing. Teach people. Plant new skills in them. Let them know Jesus if they don’t know him. Empower them, so that they no longer have to beg, that they too can go worship in the Temple.
May God bless us this afternoon. Amen.
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