Acts 3:1-11: a reflection

1Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple. 3Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy. 4Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.” 5He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 7He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength. 8Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. 9All the people saw him walking and praising God. 10They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

At the temple gate, a man lame from birth begs for money from those going in to pray. When he asks Peter and John, Peter says something striking: I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. Peter had no money to give, but he had something better, and he gave what he had; and the man, taken by the hand, is healed, and goes walking and leaping and praising God.

Notice Peter's response to the man's need: not what he lacked, but what he had. He did not say, I have no money, so I can do nothing; he said, I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. He did not lament the gift he could not give, but offered the gift he could, the healing power of Christ's name. And God used what Peter had to give, giving the man far more than the coins he had asked for.

That points to a simple wisdom: give what you have, rather than lamenting what you lack. We often feel we have nothing worth giving to those in need, no money, no great resources, and so we give nothing, paralyzed by what we lack. But Peter gave what he had; and God uses what we can give, not what we cannot. You may not have silver or gold, but you have something to give, your time, your prayers, your kindness, the truth of Christ, yourself. Do not withhold what you have because it is not what you lack, or not what was first expected. Give what you have, as Peter did; offer to others what God has given you, and let God use it, even to give more than they asked. What you have to give, however small it seems, may be exactly what God will use.

Lord, at the temple gate, when the lame man asked for money, Peter said, I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you; in the name of Jesus, get up and walk; and the man was healed. Teach me from Peter's response: to give what I have, rather than lamenting what I lack. I often feel I have nothing worth giving to those in need, no money, no great resources, and so I give nothing, paralyzed by what I lack. But Peter gave what he had; and you use what I can give, not what I cannot. I may not have silver or gold, but I have something to give, my time, my prayers, my kindness, the truth of Christ, myself. Keep me from withholding what I have because it is not what I lack, or not what was first expected. Help me give what I have, as Peter did; help me offer to others what you have given me, and use it, even to give more than they asked. What I have to give, however small it seems, may be exactly what you will use; help me give it freely.