Sermons

Peace? Unity? Bah, Humbug!

The Madison Avenue Pulpit
The Reverend Carmen C. Goetschius, Copyright 2009.

April 19, 2009

Second Sunday in Easter, Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary

Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31

Sell everything you own and give it to the church. And then: trust the leaders to distribute the money wisely, that all the members may share and live together in harmony. Isn’t that what the Scripture lesson from the book of Acts suggests? Perhaps you have already taken a furtive glance to your left and right. Sell everything and live together in harmony with this crowd? Not a chance. In a city that produces generous philanthropists and scandalous crooks like Bernie Madoff alike, it’s pretty hard to know whom to trust. Aaaahh, archaic Scripture: speaking of a time and place and a set of circumstances that just doesn’t resonate here and now. Is it possible to engage this text? Must it serve as a literal guide that shapes the way we live our lives? Certainly not. Right?

For the next 7 weeks we will be hearing from and studying the book of Acts in Sunday worship. It narrates the history of the earliest Christian church. A book that starts in Jerusalem just after the execution and resurrection of Jesus, and a book that ends in Rome. It recounts the expansion of the Christian movement from an eclectic group of followers to an even more eclectic group of followers (which clearly hasn’t changed much two thousand years later). And this is a book that begins with incredible optimism, for the followers of Jesus have seen their Lord. They have come to discover that this Jesus of Nazareth did not die in vain, but swallowed up death in his resurrection. He returned to them before returning to his Father and inspired these disciples to go forth in power. And so they do!

Chapter 2 verse 42 says they devoted themselves to one another in fellowship and prayer. Verse 43: the apostles performed signs and wonders and all who saw them were amazed. Verse 44: those who believed held all things in common. Verse 45: they sold their possessions and shared with all who were in need. Verse 46: the Lord blessed this gathering and added to their number daily. Now that is favor; in those first few chapters of the book of Acts, momentum is building. Prophecy, healing, conversion, growth and hope–no wonder more and more people joined their community on a daily basis.

But perhaps the writer of the book of Luke and Acts (for Acts is “Part II” of the Gospel of Luke) was painting the picture of an ideal, rather than reality. The gospel of John may have been more accurate. In John chapter 20, which we heard this morning, the disciples gathered together in fear. The writer paints a much more dismal picture. The disciples are gathered together, doors barred, white-knuckled because they are terrified, fearful of what will happen next. They have not seen the resurrected Christ, so they gather together envisioning their own arrest and execution. But in the midst of their fear, Jesus enters and, showing them the scars in his hands and feet, he says, “Peace be with you. Peace be upon you.”

In Acts, the believers are gathered together in expectation that God will fulfill God’s promise that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the hope for all of Israel and the world. So, which is the more accurate perspective? John’s gospel, where the disciples are gathered together in fear rather than joy, gathered with death and destruction in mind rather than power and conversion? Most likely, there is truth to be found in both narratives. It is kind of like when you attend a family reunion and throw horseshoes with Crazy Aunt Betty and talk to prima donna Cousin Vicky and then try to explain the weekend to friends and family later after you return. As you are reflecting back on this reunion, you offer a very different set of stories, a different perspective than Aunt Betty or Cousin Vicky–because we all see things differently. The same events are understood and described differently.

On the “Colbert Report” this week, author Bart Ehrman busily “debunked” the gospel narratives by raising some of the discrepancies and contradictions in the texts. But I found his arguments less than compelling. Of course there are discrepancies in the texts. Ehrman was saying nothing revelatory, or new. The gospels were written by different writers with different agendas, who saw the person and work of Christ differently. We Christians, two thousand years later, trust that God is alive and at work and has something to teach us through them. Bart Ehrman can call that crazy, but not the discrepancies in the texts. On this subject, he is not saying anything new.

Hear again Acts chapter 4:32-35: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” They sold what they had, gave it to their leaders, the apostles, and grace was upon them all. Not a needy person among them. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions. Was this truly the reality of the early church? Or was it the dream–the ideal that they aspired to?

For those of you that are tempted to make this into a contemporary political debate, please don’t do it. This is not a passage of Scripture about “isms.” It is not about socialism. It is not about communism. It was written in First century Palestine, long before these ideologies and “isms” came into being. If we get caught up in that, we will miss it. We will miss the lesson, the guiding principle that lies within this text for you and for me.

I asked at the beginning of this sermon if this passage of Scripture supplies us a literal guide to our lives. And the answer is no. You and I both know that Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church would fold, very quickly, if we decided to create a commune where all possessions were shared. Why? Because we would fail one another. But this passage of Scripture speaks to a profound generosity that must not be ignored. And it speaks to the power of God. For this kind of generosity, this kind of peace and unity described in Acts chapter four cannot be achieved by relying only on human goodwill. Our best intensions fail. Jesus Christ, the bearer of peace, the bearer of Good News and liberation, the giver of grace, is the one that gives power to do such a thing. Jesus says, “Receive my peace. Receive my power. And I will give you the strength to love in a way you never knew was possible.” Those early followers experienced this.

A friend told me a story a few years ago that remains in my mind. In a small town in Oregon the community church where my friend attended was preparing for Thanksgiving and encouraged the congregation to donate items to create food baskets to give to those in need. My friend felt compelled to give and although money was tight she thought, “Well, I am hosting this year anyway. I will just buy two of everything.” So she went to the store and doubled her list: two turkeys, an extra bag of potatoes and ingredients for various casseroles–because you eat casseroles in Oregon. For whatever reason, cranberries were expensive that year, so she paused for a moment and decided, “Nah, not everyone likes cranberries anyway. I won’t buy an extra bag.” She brought the items home and went down to her basement to find an old basket to use. She put all of the ingredients together and tied a pretty bow on top. She was feeling quite good about herself when she dropped off the basket at church that day and went home to be with her family. A few days later she got a phone call from a couple that had recently come to the church and wanted to invite my friend and her family to come for dinner that night. She happily agreed and loaded up the family into the car. When they arrived they were greeted warmly. She couldn’t help but notice how modest, how sparse, the room was as they sat down together. She and her husband were feeling a little uncomfortable, especially in light of the new couches that were being delivered to their own recently-remodeled home the following day. But soon they were set at ease as the families began to share stories–lots of laughter, lots of banter. As they sat down to the dinner table that night, my friend was overwhelmed by the feast that came from the kitchen. Turkey, casseroles, mashed potatoes and cranberries. She glanced up into the kitchen where she saw a familiar basket with a familiar bow sitting empty on the floor. Her eyes returned to the table and lingered on the cranberries. Mortifying. For in that moment, as she was joyfully served a bounteous feast, she began to understand true generosity. My friend had given from her abundance, but these new friends had given from their poverty. They had given all that they had–and more.

This family embodies the lesson that we must not miss this morning. For those early Christians did not simply give to one another out of their abundance. Not simply out of their storehouses. They gave to their brothers and sisters everything they had. Everything. Certain philosophical sects of the day and monastic groups, like the Essenes, practiced such sharing, but these early Christians were everyday, average people like you and me. And they chose to practice a profound love–a love that produced real generosity.

The book of Acts tells a complex story about the earliest church. It narrates all kinds of factionalism. In fact, immediately after this passage in chapter 4, two followers, Ananias and Saphira, are killed for keeping some of their money to themselves. In chapter 5 the persecution begins and disagreements arise between the leaders. Eventually, the widows begin to complain that their needs are not being met. Yes, the book of Acts begins full of optimism, but that is not the full story. It narrates the hopes of a community and the failures of a community, the hopes of some young missionaries and some failures of these same missionaries. The text is full of ego. For what would church be without some significant ego? Or, more properly, what would any human institution or family or business be without human ego playing a significant role? The church is full of broken people. It always has been. It is full of prideful, selfish, ignorant, fearful people because that is who we are–at least who we tend to be. Yes, extraordinarily beautiful and compassionate, but all the negatives as well. Peace? Unity? Bah! Humbug!

And here we sit, two thousand years later, trying to follow the teachings of Jesus in a troubled world. Thankfully, the early church did not depend exclusively on good intensions–and neither do we. For we depend on God. As soon as it comes out of my mouth, it sounds like a cliché, but it is what we believe. We trust in a God who is faithful from generation to generation, who brings peace and grace–a grace that allows us to stay when it is hard, a grace to love when loving seems impossible, and to hope when hope is nowhere to be found. We do not depend on our own ability, but on God’s ability, so that we might live generously, not sharing or extending love from our abundance or excess, but from the fullness of who we are–and then some.

And perhaps we may indeed love with a love we never thought possible.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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