A Case for Equanimity – July 2, 2023
Isaiah 44:1-8, Acts 5:12-42
July 2, 2023
This is a new word for me today! “Equanimity.” Did you ever hear that word before? Do you know what it means? It’s actually another way of saying some other words I like. “Equanimity” means “Calmness,” “Level-headedness,” and “Composure.” I think it’s a very New Testament word, even though I don’t think it actually appears there. But similar words do, words like “forbearance” and “discernment” and “Grace.”
Well, it just so happened, that when I learned the word “Equanimity,” I was reading the story of Gamaliel, which we read today. And I think he is the embodiment of that word! It describes him to a “T!” Gamaliel showed great equanimity in this story. I tried to determine if that meant he was “Equanimious.” But I don’t think that’s a word. (But maybe it should be!)
Gamaliel showed great equanimity! He showed great composure! He was calm and level-headed when all around him were angry, livid, and even murderous!
It was hard to determine how much of this chapter I would read today. (Don’t forget the 20 verse “rule of thumb!”) There’s a lot in this passage. There were great miracles happening. That actually started with the healing of the lame man at the Temple gate – and the first arrest of the boys! But it went on from there.
The apostles were healing many people in the name of Jesus, and then we’re told in verse 17, “But the high priest rose up and all who were with him… and filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put them in prison.”
So, Peter and John were arrested… again, for telling about Jesus. And again, they were doing it right there in the Temple! And remember, that they had been “strictly charged” not to do so. That meant they were given an injunction by the religious council of Israel. Remember, they were the civil law, too, not just the religious law! So they had issued a “gag order!” And Peter and John had now defied that order!
But then, before they could be brought before the council, they had a miraculous jailbreak. (There are a number of them in Acts!) So when the council was ready to deal with them – again – they were gone! And where were they found? They were found In the Temple, preaching – again! (I’m starting to use that word a lot!)
So they were brought in, and they stood them before the council – again – and they were reminded of the “gag order” they’d been given. And again Peter says, “We must obey God, rather than men.” In other words, “Rather than you!” And that’s actually a shorter version of what he said before. Do you remember that? He said, “Whether we should obey you or God, you judge. But we cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard!”
Here, it’s just “we must obey God rather than men.” And if you remember before, they had gone on to say Jesus was “the stone which you builders rejected that has become the cornerstone.” They accused the council right out of their own scriptures! You may also remember that was not so well received! But now, it was much more harsh! Peter was very blunt! He said, “The God of our fathers raised this Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree!”
As you can imagine, the council’s reaction was also much more harsh! Luke tells us, “When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill him!” All equanimity had gone out the window! And that’s when we meet Gamaliel. And Gamaliel diffuses the situation. His equanimity, his level-headedness, rules the day. He says, “Leave these men alone. If what they are doing is not of God, it will fail. But, if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them, and you might even find yourself fighting against God himself!”
I’ve always been amazed by those words! They showed a lot of wisdom, as well as composure and level-headedness. It might be said of that moment that “Cooler heads prevailed.” Or at least one did! And now that I’ve learned the word, I would say that Gamaliel showed great equanimity!
I like this story and I’m glad we’re looking at it, because it is so needed in our world today! Our world suffers from a serious lack of equanimity! It also suffers from a lack of the other New Testament words I mentioned before, words like “forbearance” and “discernment.” And that’s very sad to me!
Think about it. People today are very “reactive” to everything! People are way too easily angered. They are overly emotional. They are panicky! And sometimes when we’re dealing with something difficult, I’ll say that we don’t want to “waste a good panic!”
So, this is a case for Equanimity. We are in serious need of it! And we as God’s people should be the best example of it. Paul wrote that we are to be “slow to anger and quick to forgive.” And for too many people today it’s the other way around.
And then, of course – and you’ve heard me say this many times – people in our world have lost the ability to show respect for those with whom they disagree! And that’s a huge problem in our world! People today think they don’t have to do that! They think they have to dismiss people who don’t agree with them, and even attack them. The “default” in our world is to write off people who think differently than us. And sadly, that sometimes means even friends and family!
These are all natural human tendencies! And if we’re not careful, we too can find ourselves doing the same kinds of things! If we’re not careful – if we’re not intentional otherwise, we can find ourselves in those same “defaults,” those same tendencies!
And while we’re at it, let me say that social media doesn’t help either. We need to be careful how we use that! Everyone should watch the video called “The Social Dilemma.” I believe you can still get it on Netflix. “The Social Dilemma” is a documentary about the programming of the social media sites, even the Artificial Intelligence they use, that allows them to learn about their users, and then “feed them” things that will keep them swiping on their screens the longest. That’s what they want! They want people to stay on as long as possible, they want people to see more of the advertisements! That’s what it’s about! It’s about making money, after all.
Well, the video includes interviews with people who used to be in the social media programming. (And got out of it!) They were bothered because what they found was that, in many people’s cases, feeding them things that make them angry will keep them on the screen longer! So they feed them things that make them angry! And in that way, social media is contributing to, and some would say even driving, the lack of civility and reason and equanimity in our world!
We, as God’s people, need to show the world a better way. As Paul described it, we need to show the world “a still more excellent way!” I think Paul would agree with the sentiment of Bill and Ted, in their movie. They said, “Be excellent to each other!” (Wow, I quoted “Bill and Ted!”)
So yes! Be excellent to each other! Be slow to anger and quick to forgive! Be respectful even of those with whom you disagree! As one of my mentors would say at the end of worship, “Go out into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
And I would add, “And show to all people – equanimity!”
Prayer
Eternal God, help us to be people who do all those things. Help us to love the world you so loved that you gave your only Son. Grant us the power of your Spirit, that the world may know we are Christians by our Love. For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!