Simon V Peter
Delivered on Sunday 25 May 2008 in St George's Chapel
Acts 8:4-15
In Samaria there was once a magician called Simon. He wasn't any common or garden variety magician, he had a fantastic reputation. Such was his success that you can read about him still in a number of first century documents. There is even some thought that there was a statue erected in his honour, as far away as Rome. Anyway, he was as famous as any first century magician could ever hope to be.
Not, of course, that being a magician is anything rare in biblical history; what's rare is the extent of the accompanying fame. You may remember that Moses had a run in with magicians. He had this staff that when he threw it to the ground would turn into a snake. The Egyptian magicians, not to be outdone, worked out a way of performing the same trick. Moses did win that competition eventually but it was a close run thing. And still later Paul had an encounter with Elymas the sorcerer who used his art to persuade people away from faith. That particular encounter ended with Elymas losing his sight. On another day Paul bumped into a group of Jewish exorcists who invoked the name of Jesus as part - but only part - of their magical rite. But as they were in the middle of a rather tricky exorcism they were attacked by the possessed man and ran from the house battered and naked. When that story got on the grapevine, there were many who thought it best, right now, to own up to using magical spells. Best they thought to burn their books. They lit an enormous fire in the middle of Ephesus and residents took the opportunity to throw their offending books into it; a total cost estimated at fifty thousand pieces of silver, a large amount of money.
The picture that is building up is not a good one as far as the magicians are concerned. Paul, sums up the attitude well, when he calls these magicians charlatans and swindlers. Modern day magicians are more honest about their craft. I took our kids to see the American mentalist, Marc Salem, last summer. They were intrigued at what the guy could do but Marc was more reticent stating very clearly that this was no more than entertainment and that he was doing nothing that could not be achieved with normal human powers and a great deal of practice. His art is passed on a mixture of soft psychological bullying, illusion, and skilful manipulation - and, yes, anyone can learn to do it, if you are willing to put in the time. There is a difference, however, between the tricks of a modern day magician and those of early times. Those earlier sorcerers were more involved in the darker arts and might not really have been into anything we would call magic but would instead call the occult. The general drill was to call on the demons to bring about a particular effect. This involved complicated rituals, written out in spell recipe books, and a prayer of invocation. The purpose? That varied, but could be for protection, for putting a curse on someone, or for altering fate. Given what these magicians were trying to do and how they were going about it, you can well imagine why it is that they failed to impress Paul. Paul would never have doubted - not even for a moment - the existence of a darker side of the spiritual world but he would have objected - and vehemently - to any attempt to harness the power of it. And had he met Simon, he would have been distinctly unimpressed. But it was not Paul that met Simon.
That honour first belonged to Phillip. On his missionary journey, preaching the gospel of Christ, Phillip had made his way to Samaria. In one particular city he encountered a rather special problem. Here he was preaching about Jesus Christ but his listeners were more interested - at least initially - in Simons magical powers; in fact, they were so interested in him that they thought he must have the power of God. As it happens Phillip must have been a handy preacher because the text tells us that the locals did indeed put themselves forward for baptism. And believe it or not, we are told that Simon also asked to be baptised. Apparently he was so taken with the signs and miracles that Philip and co were performing that he thought he'd better be part of this. I think he must have seen baptism as the means of adding to his professional skills.
Anyway, once the head outfit in Jerusalem, the chief office of early Christian mission, got to hear that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God they sent off Peter and John. In the early church it appears that there were two stages to Christian initiation (or at least according to Acts), you first underwent baptism - much as we know it - and you then probably at a later stage received the Holy Spirit. As far as these Samaritans were concerned they had been baptised by Phillip but it was now up to Peter and John to lay hands on them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. On receiving the Holy Spirit believers were given different gifts, some spoke in tongues, some healed, some became great preachers, some performed miracles.
Now Simon was watching this. And he was thinking to himself, I can see my professional income going down the drain. What's the point in my doing tricks if all the residents of Samaria can perform genuine miracles. Not really sure about what's going on but desperate to keep ahead of the game, he offers Peter and John money. 'Here, take this money', he says, 'and give me that same power, so that anyone I lay my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit'. Peter was outraged. He had correctly spotted that Simon wanted God's gift not for the upbuilding of the Church but for his own purposes. And with a harsh look he tells Simon to repent of this wickedness.
The story of Peter versus Simon, is much the same as Paul versus Elymas or Moses versus the Egyptian sorcerers; they all speak about trust. In whose power do you trust? For Simon and Elymas they trusted in dark spirits, in a side of the spiritual world that was not a force for good. For Peter and Paul they trusted in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Father who had raised the Son from death to life. Modern folk living in the western world are, in general, more likely to put their trust in their own powers. Feeling confident in their own abilities they see themselves as powerful independent agents performing on a great global stage. That view would have caused Peter and Paul to scratch their heads. It would appear outlandish, quite foolish. Clearly we are not independent agents - just look around you, we are all dependent on each other; clearly we have very little power - just ask what it is that we, as individuals, can really do, or as the Bible puts it 'can you control the waves?' This question of trust is at the heart of much of the Biblical witness. We keep getting the same question, where do you place your trust? And we keep getting the same invitation - will you place it in God, father, son, and Holy Spirit?
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