Sermon
Sunday, October 30, 2005 (Reformation Day)

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

Text:23) At that time there arose no little stir concerning the Way. 24) For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines for Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25) These he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said: “Men, you know from this business we have our wealth. 26) And you see and hear not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27)And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess of Artemis may count for nothing, and that she may even be disposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28) When they heard this they were enraged and cried out: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29) So the city was filled with the confusion; and they rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30) Paul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; 31) some of the Asiarchs also, who were friends of his, sent to him and begged him not to venture into the theatre. 32) Now some cried one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33) Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make a defence to the people. 34) But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all with one voice cried out: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35) And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36)  Seeing then that these things cannot be contradicted, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37) For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38) If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39) But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40) For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41) And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Dear Congregation,

Uproar in assemblies is apparently nothing new. Already then in Ephesus, at that time a coastal city in today’s Turkey, there were sparks flying. And as in many tumults, there are a few who do all the big talking, others who simply shout with the rest, and then there are those who do not even know what all this is actually about. Finally, the town clerk succeeds, as it is told here, in calming the crowd in the end, and the assembly is dissolved and everyone goes home after the emotionally charged screaming and yelling, and they probably return to their everyday business the next day.  At the beginning of the next chapter, which is the continuation of this text, there is sober statement: “After the uproar ceased…” – It may well be that such scenarios are familiar to us from our society or politics or even from Church, where there is first a lot of excitement, and afterwards, it was more or less a storm in a water glass. Still, for Paul himself it was and still is impossible, to intervene in this brawl that broke out. The mood is so adverse against him that not only his friends but also the officials of the city say: “You better stay away, don’t interfere, they will certainly harm you!”

29) So the city was filled with the confusion; and they rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30) Paul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.

What is this about now?

This is actually the amazing thing in the story that craftsmen, people from the city of Ephesus under the leadership of the goldsmith Demetrius fear for their jobs. If the new religion, the ‘new Way” as it is called, is being preached by Paul in Ephesus, and if people run after him, then this will have a bad influence on their business:  24) For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines for Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25) These he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said: “Men, you know from this business we have our wealth. 26) And you see and hear not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27)And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess of Artemis may count for nothing, and that she may even be disposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

This simply means: We goldsmiths will earn less, our craft will fall into disrepute and our religion will vanish. Here one must know that Ephesus was the centre of trade of the Near East at that time. It housed one of the largest libraries of antiquity with 15,000 book scrolls. It possessed the biggest arena, seating 25,000 people, who preferred to see fights between gladiators and wild animals. And, furthermore, one of the seven world wonders of antiquity, the temple of the goddess Artemis, stood also in Ephesus. And all this here is about the temple, because there stood the statue of Artemis, known world wide, and many artisans were occupied with beautifying this place. These men mastered a craft that demanded great skill that was well paid. Therefore, it is perhaps understandable that Demetrius and others, which were serving in the temple, were so completely beside themselves: If this new teaching of Paul spreads, we will be unemployed, they say.

I find this entire thing an amazing event, because it points out to us, as many stories in the Acts of the Apostles do, how much influence the Christian faith has had on the life of the people, and even on those who were totally against it, and out of purely worldly motives, as Demetrius, incite a revolt against faith, even though it does not, as mentioned, last long, but yet, he can claim success, as the troublemaker Paul leaves the city.

I must say I like this Biblical Book, although it also does not always contain totally accurate history, because it tries to relate what is changed in people and in society, when the Christian message is spread. I am inspired by the consent of people, who let them be baptized almost immediately, as the minister of Ethiopia or Lydia, the first Christian from Macedonia. I am also fascinated by the resistance to Christendom, because it gives evidence that the message is comprehended in its great importance, and because this message challenges people and tears them away from their usual pace.

Demetrius has been absolutely right. Except for a few ruins of this wonder of the world, nothing has remained of the temple of Artemis. There is no religion any more in which some people believe in Artemis. Christendom came and has changed the map of this world in a unique way.

I do not want to go into the negative changes which happened in the name of Christ, which, without doubt, were, unfortunately, also there, as the misunderstanding of Christendom as factor of power and the subjection of the alleged heathens with all their might. The conversion of the Knights of the Cross, whom no one could resist and the political coalitions which faith, unfortunately, has entered time and again. All this existed, unfortunately, too, and it exists still, which, according to my opinion, speaks not against faith, per se, but unfortunately, it is clearly recognizable, that people are able to change a very good thing like Christian faith into the opposite.

I think that we Christians in the course of the two millennia have, unfortunately, become tardy and inflexible. We have become accustomed to faith being a fixed institution and Christendom a recognized and widely spread religion. We don’t get beside ourselves when someone comes into town to preach faith. We don’t even go to where this is happening. Even every second-class Hollywood star gets more attention than Paul had throughout his time. For us, faith is not, as for people at that time, a disruptive element, or liberation or a new beginning. Faith has become something normal, and, unfortunately, thereby also something ordinary. And that, I find, is not fitting to faith. I mean, we do not have to stage artificial enthusiasm ala Pentecostals, and get into a flap, but a little bit of enthusiasm or joy or impulse or challenge for our life would not be amiss, do you not agree?

Faith should motivate us to do something, should not be an end in itself. Last Sunday, when we were in Ottawa to attend the Anniversary of the Martin Luther Church there, our Bishop Michael Pryse said something remarkable. He spoke about hope and said that he does not pay any attention to the downfall-sayers, who, within and without the Church predict our downfall. For it is still the same spirit who works in people, that has also blown at that time when Christendom was young. We must only believe in it. And he has said something else: there is a difference in many other religions, also in very legalistic concepts of the Christian faith, in the Lutheran faith it is not about “ if – then”, if you do good, then you go to heaven, but it is about “because – therefore”: Because God has saved us in Christ and has declared us just, therefore we can go on our way and do good.

What it is about – and I hope we learn this from the story of the Apostle anew – is, that we get caught up in faith as it sets out into the world and into society, and that it urges us on. We must not be sad and desperate and nobly reserved, but cheerful, and confident and openly state our business, because it is something that is for the benefit of all people, even those, who, indeed, do not share our faith with us, and perhaps they even crassly reject this faith which we have. We Christians are called to distribute God’s love in this world and to become messengers of hope.

I hope that you all know what the difference is between optimism and hope. Optimism regards the facts and says: Because there is an upward trend noticeable, therefore we look ahead with confidence. Hope is something totally different, for hope can say: Even though everything is gloomy, in spite of it, I hope, I believe that everything will get better.

Dear Congregation, time and again, this must be told to us. To us personally, so that we do not fall into a deep hole, just because life, at the moment, does not favour us. And also for our faith, because in the way we use it, it becomes quickly visible whether we truly believe what we say. We must believe that all, who only think of themselves, all, who egotistically look only for their own advantage, all who take advantage of others, who have only contempt for us, will, as Demetrius and his friends, one day resign and can no longer perform their jobs. We have no need to hide, and we shall not simply just establish ourselves comfortably, but remain the salt of the world, as Jesus has suggested.

And all this, because we know that our faith is indeed not based on something that people have made with their hand, but something that is God’s work, as the Letter to the Hebrews says in chapter 10, verse 23:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

He is faithful. Amen.

And the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.