Acts 2:14a, 36-41

            {Prayer}

            When people go to ball games or especially concerts … where do they really want to sit? In the front row, right? While sometimes we’ll say it is more enjoyable or you see more if you are sitting back a ways or up high … for some, they want to sit as close as they possibly can to the action. They want to hear the crack of the bat, the contact against the glass, the bass in their chest.

            But realistically … not everyone sits in the front row. Most of us sit farther back. It’s easier. More comfortable. Less costly.

            Being close changes the experience.

            But when it comes to faith … a lot of times … we’re content to stay at a distance. Close enough to see what is going on … but not too close.

            And maybe that’s part of why what we heard from Pastor Ethan last Sunday sounds so strange. In Acts 5, the apostles were suffering. They were thrown in prison, flogged, and dishonored. They were persecuted for speaking out about who Jesus is. And yet … in the midst of their suffering, the disciples were rejoicing.

            They were not just enduring it. Not just surviving it … they were rejoicing!

            And that may leave us wondering … How do you get there?

            How do ordinary people, who after the crucifixion of Jesus are hiding in locked rooms for fear the Jews, go to being and having a bold and joyful faith? How do the disciples go from cowering fear to unbridled fearless proclamation?

            To understand that, we have to go back to where it started. We go back to Acts 2. To the Day of Pentecost. We go back to Peter’s sermon and the people asking, “What shall we do?”

Peter says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And then he says this, and these are the words we’re going to focus on this morning … “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off” (Acts 2:38-39a).

            This promise is for you … and for all who are far off.

            In a variety of ways … you and I, we are the ones who are far off.

            Think about it … we are far off in terms of physical distance. All the acts of God recorded in the Bible take place half way around the world. We’re far off in terms of time. Peter here is talking to people in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. We’re far off in terms of culture. First century Jerusalem is much different that 21^st century United States.

            These are the easy examples. But let’s dig a little deeper.

            Sometimes … we’re far off from God Himself. Think about the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They are walking along the road with Jesus … and they don’t recognize Him. They are in the front row … and still far off.

They had hoped He was the one. But now He is dead. And dead people don’t come back to life. Even when they hear the reports of the empty tomb … they still don’t see.

And Jesus says them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe …” (Luke 24:25). They are right there with Him … and still far off.

And that’s not just them. We’re here this morning. We’re here, not in the front row of the sanctuary, but we are near to God as He comes to us through His Word and His Sacraments. And yet … we still drift, doubt, and misunderstand.

We know as Christians we will suffer, We know God is near. And yet the questions still come: “Is God really with me?” “Why do I have to suffer so much?” Even here … we are the ones who are far off.

But Peter says, “The promise is for you … and for all who are far off.

The promise of forgiveness. The promise of the Holy Spirit. For you. Right here. Even now. This is personal. This is for you.

But it is also expansive. Not just for you … but for all. Especially for those who are far off.

Because through Christ’s death and resurrection, He bridges the gap. He comes to you. You don’t make your way to Him … He come to you. You were far off. Christ though has brought you near.

So let’s go back to our opening question. How do fearful disciples become joyful witnesses?

The disciples in Acts 5 are not some sort of spiritual superhero. They are the same disciples who ran away in fear. The same disciples who hid behind locked doors. The same Peter who denied Jesus three times.

What changed was not their personality. What changed was this … they were brought near to Christ.

The promise did something. It gave forgiveness. It gave the Holy Spirit. It gave the presence of the risen Jesus. And that changed everything.

The suffering didn’t go away.  The disciples were still beaten. They are still oppressed. They are still suffering. But … the promise changed who they were in the suffering.

They were no longer men abandoned in fear. They were men brought near to Christ. They could suffer without despair. They could be rejected without losing hope. They could rejoice even in hardship.

And that is how Christians still live today. Not because life gets easier. Not because suffering disappears. Not because fear is removed. But because Christ has brought us near.

You were far off. Christ has brought you near.

That is how you get from Acts 2 to Acts 5. And when Christ brings people near like that … they do not stay the same. Christ’s nearness changes how we live. It changes how we see suffering. It changes how we see others. Because once you know what it means to be brought near … you begin to notice those who are still far off.

There are people I’m not preaching to this morning. Absent members. The unchurched. Those who don’t feel like they belong. And you know them. You see them. You live among them.

Now, it is not your job to fix them. It’s not your job to convert them. It’s not your job to have the perfect words to say to them. But what would it look like … to simply move toward them? To reach out. To invite. To be present. To begin closing the distance.

Not because you have to but because Christ has come near to you. While you were still far off … Jesus came near to you. His Holy Spirit took up residency in the front row of your heart. The light from that divine flame shines through you.

Not everyone is trying to get to the front row. Some don’t think they belong in the stadium at all. Some are standing outside assuming there’s no place for them. Here is where Christ sends you … not to drag them in … but to meet them where they are … and begin to close that distance. To go to them the same way Christ came to you.

The promise is for you. For your children. And for all who are far off. … You were far off. Christ has brought you near. He brought you near, not so you could just sit in the front row, but so that others, too, might be brought near through Him. And now you live as His people. People who move toward those who are still far off. Amen.

The peace of God, that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our living and sending Lord, now and forever. Amen.