April 30, 2023 Sermon
Sermon title: "The Behavior of the Disciples"
Scripture: Acts 2:42-47
(Other lectionary suggestions include Psalm 23, I Peter 2:19-25, and John 10:1-10.)
Acts 2:42-47
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Life among the Believers
43Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
As you must know by this time, I tend to follow the lectionary, which is a suggestion of 4 Scripture passages (at least 4, maybe more sometimes) handed down centuries ago by "authorities" (whoever they were) in the church. The idea was that in a 3-year period, a pastor or preacher could get through all the "important" passages of the Bible. You may be thinking, "Wait a minute! Who determines what is important?" And I think the same thing: WHO decides what is important?
On the other hand, it's not a bad idea, either. Have you ever sat down and tried to read the Bible from cover to cover? Some have, with varying degrees of success. If anybody here did, what did you do when you came to Leviticus, the third book of the Bible? I have never read Leviticus straight through because I'm told it's like reading a telephone book! If you ever DO try to read through the whole Bible, please have a commentary or two at your disposal. Reading the Bible without some help from someone more learned than you can be harmful. You can make assumptions which you have no right to make, such as assuming, as the ancients did, that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible because the title says, "The FIRST book of Moses", "The SECOND book of Moses", and so on. If you make assumptions, such as, "Well, it's God's Word, and God wouldn't lie", be careful! No, God wouldn't lie - but consider that some of those who wrote the Bible MIGHT! Not that they lied on purpose, but perhaps they made assumptions of their own which were NOT right. So be careful. Don't make assumptions based on what may be false understandings. That's why I urge you to consult the word of someone more learned than you.
Well! How did we get here? I was trying to say something about the lectionary, which I was urged to follow when I got into the ministry some 20 years ago. Since I was new to the ministry, I followed that advice. Some ministers follow the lectionary and some don't. There is no one "right" way. But since I did choose to follow it, here we are with today's passage! And I must say that I find it strange to be preaching on this passage now. Why? Because it describes a time AFTER the Resurrection and the Ascension, and AFTER Pentecost, which we'll celebrate a month from now, on May 28th! Maybe I am bothered by this more than you are, but I did want you to know that I find it strange for the lectionary to place this passage HERE and not later, AFTER Pentecost.
Okay, so let's examine what the Scripture SAYS, regardless of where it is placed.... One of the things we can say was that it was a LEARNING church, because the members listened to what the Apostles taught. Another is that it was a church of FELLOWSHIP. The members seemed to enjoy being together. They were a band of brothers AND sisters! They also did a lot of praying, and I think that's important. It is SO neat that THIS church right here in Upland is a praying church, and you were a praying church before I ever showed up. Sometimes we get so busy with worry about this problem and that problem that we forget to pray. Let us never forget to - as the hymn says - "take it to the Lord in prayer". We are told that things happened in that early church; there were "signs and wonders". One reason things happened is that MEMBERS BELIEVED that things could happen. In our day it is so easy to become cynical and think, "Well, THAT will never happen!" One thing is sure: if you don't believe that something good will happen, it WON'T! Maybe we need to be more like the early church and BELIEVE. As the Risen Lord told Thomas, "Don't doubt. BELIEVE!" I hope you noticed that it was a SHARING church. We Americans are so in tune with the culture of self-sustainability, for lack of a better term - there it is: "rugged individualism" is what we believe in. Being responsible for oneself isn't bad - but all Americans, believers or not, could use a good dose of COMMUNITY thinking. That early church had it, and it might have been a little too "communistic" for us capitalists! But they seemed to look out for each other and gave to each other as each had need. An argument could be made that they thought the end of the world was coming soon, so it didn't matter if they gave stuff away. But perhaps a better argument could be made that they were trying to live with the spirit of Jesus - and when there was need, they tried to fill it. Those early Christians were a WORSHIPPING bunch. There was no individual religion. They believed that line from Jesus about "where two or three are gathered in my (Jesus') name...." Individual prayer is good, and I hope you pray every day. But you and I need the GROUP on a regular basis. That means attending CHURCH, and I'm glad you do! I don't know why it is, but God's Spirit seems to move among a worshipping GROUP of people! We are stronger together because God moves among us when we are together! I won't know WHY that is, but it SIMPLY IS! Hey, did you notice they were HAPPY? One commentator I read said that a gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms! I believe that! And I have believed it since high school! Why? Because we know that God loves us - not only us - God loves everybody. But because God loves us, he wants us to be with him forever, and how can you not smile at that?! There is a question in the Westminster catechism that asks: What is mankind's chief end? The answer: Mankind's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him FOREVER! How can a person POSSIBLY say that with a straight face? Mankind's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever! I believe that, and I hope you do, too! One more thing: this early church seemed to attract people. And not in today's lesson, but elsewhere in the book of Acts - at Antioch, I believe - somebody said, "Look how these Christians love one another."
Isn't that neat? "Look how these Christians love one another." I am reminded of a sign that I saw on a church somewhere in Southern California - I can't remember where - but it said, "Be the kind of church that people who don't like church would want to attend!" Isn't that funny? I saw an album cover one time of a classical music recording that said, "Classical music for people who HATE Classical music." That's what kind of church the ancients were, apparently: the kind of assembly that appealed to people who didn't like church! I wish WE could be THAT kind of church: a place for people to want to come who don't like church!
It may cross somebody's mind that today's Scripture reading seems a little pat, a little too perfect, a little too idealistic. But don't forget that we're only in Chapter 2 of Acts, thought to have been written by the same person who wrote the Gospel according to Luke, and there is a LOT of the book of Acts left, And, as the Rev. Bradford Scott, of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Toledo, Ohio, points out, we are just seeing "a small window into the early church. It teaches us some wonderful things, but Luke is not suggesting that the early church faced no real problems. Keep reading!" he says. "In Chapter 4, real hostility arises against the church as Peter and John are arrested for proclaiming the Gospel. In Chapter 5, the church faces scandal. Ananias and Sapphira apparently wanted to see their names on a big wall plaque, announcing what generous people they were. They pretended to make a big donation to the poor, but it was all for show; and to pull this off, they lied - to the church, the apostles, but ultimately to the Holy Spirit." And they DIED for those falsehoods! (Whenever somebody says to me that the Old Testament is about vengeance and blood and guts, but the New Testament is about LOVE, I enjoy pointing out THIS passage in Acts 5:3. Ananias and his wife Sapphira are struck down by Simon Peter - or he calls down a death blow from heaven. So don't think there's only LOVE and no judgement in the New Testament!) Back to the Rev. Bradford's words: "Whatever else Luke is teaching us, it is not that the early church faced no real problems. The world of those early Christians was every bit as 'real' as ours is." And he goes on: "That's what makes our text so exciting. It's not that the early church had no real problems. It's that they knew they had a real Savior, and that glorious truth could not help but show itself in how they lived out their faith."
As I think about it, you and I live out our faith as the early church did whenever we contribute to food pantries, for example, or do grief counseling, or care for the sick and the dying. "These and countless other expressions of care are a natural outgrowth of the church's life, and they all happen," says the Rev. Bradford Scott, "because our real and living Savior lives in and through his church." I agree! Amen.
Pastor Skip
