A Formerly Disabled New Creation

He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. — Acts 3:8 Have you ever been allowed into a place that was off-limits? Think of a young sports player, hired by the team he or she has loved since childhood, walking into the team’s pregame meeting room for the first time. Or a worker on the floor who has been promoted to sit behind the manager’s desk. Or a group of music fans who win backstage passes and get to meet their favorite band.For the man in our text today, the temple courts were off-limits. He was not allowed to join with others to worship there. The religious leaders barred him from the temple because they said that his disability—not being able to walk—made him ritually unclean. And that meant he could not gather with God’s people in the temple.But then along came Peter and John. They did not have silver or gold, but they had something far more valuable: a living connection to the resurrected Jesus. As they healed the man in Jesus’ name, his legs started working. He was able to walk and jump. And at last he could praise God in the place that had been off-limits to him: the temple courts.This man’s healing was a sign that the resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrated earlier this month, had really happened. It was also a sign of God’s continuing re-creation work to come. O God, we want healing and new life in Jesus’ name. We want Jesus! Thank you for all the ways in which his resurrection can bring renewal in our lives and in your world. Amen.