Peter and John were at the temple in the middle of the afternoon. They were there to pray. They were there, looking for ways to help, people to tell their stories to.

And their lives intersected with a beggar.

We don’t know his name. We don’t know how he was lame, unable to walk. We only know that he had NEVER walked, never in his life.

As happened in that culture, people who couldn’t work in other ways, begged. Someone carried him to the temple entrance, likely because people on their way into worship were believe to get points for helping those who suffered. You tossed a few coins, and you felt better.

The man asked Peter and John for money.

Peter stopped and looked at him.

John did, too.

They paused their lives, they turned their full attention to the man in front of them. They took in his needs.

And then Peter said, “Look at us.”

This situation was a violation of the way things were done. The man had asked for money, but he hadn’t made eye contact. He was letting there be anonymity in the giving. He was leaving room for people who didn’t give to not be ashamed.

And my guess is that no one looked much at him. Staring would have been impolite. And getting too close would have jeopardized a person’s spiritual purity.

So Peter and John stopped and looked and made him look at them, person to person.

He looked. He was hopeful. But then came the surprise.

“We don’t have any money,” Peter said. “But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

And Peter grabbed his hand and helped him stand up.

Which had never happened. In all the ways that someone touched the man, no one before had helped him stand up.

And as Peter helped, and as the man went through the motions of standing, everything got strength. And the man stood, and then hugged Peter, and then started leaping and praising God.

“Thank you God, thank you God, thank you God.”

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From Acts 3