You are welcome to use parts of this sermon, but if you do, please attribute them properly!
Once
upon a recent time, a devoted churchgoer was at a party. We know it was a recent time because as far
as he could tell, he was the only one there who was actively involved in a
congregation.
When asked if
he had plans for the upcoming weekend, the churchgoer replied, “Why, yes. I am congregating with a group of Homo
Sapiens committed to the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in
order that we might become instruments for the transformation of the social
order into the kind of eschatological utopia God envisioned from the beginning
of time." (Tony Campolo)
The person who
had raised the question was taken aback and merely mumbled in response: "Oh,
my, I'm just a lawyer working on some briefs."
“Congregating
with a group of Homo Sapiens committed to the dominant values of the
Judeo-Christian tradition in order that we might become instruments for the
transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia God
envisioned from the beginning of time”:
That is “the Story”. That is our
story. That is what church is all about – coming together in
community in order to catch a glimpse of – and perhaps, in a small way, usher
in – the reign of God in our crazy, mixed up world.
“We are the
church,” we proudly proclaim. But what
does that declaration mean in this day and age when worship attendance in all
churches is declining precipitously? Who
is the church, and what is it doing here? Why do we do this thing we call
“church”? What is the point of all?
As we consider
how and in what ways we, as the Raymond Village Community Church (United Church
of Christ), want to grow as a faith community (and that is what we keep saying
that we want to do), it should be instructive to look at the earliest church
and see if those folks had a handle on their mission and values.
And so today,
we turn to a very brief passage in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Biblical scholars generally accept that the
same individual who penned the Gospel of Luke also wrote this book, which we
commonly call “Acts”. It is a
continuation of the story of the saving acts of God through the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ begun in the Gospel. This Volume II focuses on how Jesus' ministry was sustained
through the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church. This passage that we just read comes directly
after the story of Pentecost, which we will reflect on in detail in just a few
weeks. To set the scene for today,
however, we only need to know that Peter, disciple and illiterate fisherman
that he was, had found his voice and preached a sermon to end all sermons,
connecting all the dots to prove that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and the hope
of all Israel. We also should note that
there were 3000 converts that day, 3000 people who all enthusiastically subscribed
to this new and transformative way of living and understanding the world.
As Pentecostal
pastor, Clifton McKinley, notes: “If there was ever a church growth plan that
worked, it was the one used by the first-century church. Talk about
effectiveness. This church exploded.”
And so you have got to wonder with statistics like that (3000 new
members, I mean): Is there something
they knew that we do not – or maybe have, over the millennia, simply forgotten?
Let’s take a
closer look at this passage because it encompasses God’s dream for the church –
and surely that must mean something when it comes to growth. However (and this is important), herein lies not
evidence to support the discouragement we may feel about being the church in
an age of secularism. Rather, it is a
challenge to be all that God has called us to be, to be a living and vibrant
part of “the Story.”
The author of
the Book of Acts outlines four foundational qualities of the church. Let’s look briefly at each one.
First, the
church is a place of learning. As the
author writes, “They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching.” That is, they read their Holy Scriptures and
tried to make sense of them within the context of their own lives. They struggled both privately and as a
community to define how Jesus’ message -
his parables about Good Samaritans and mustard seeds and Prodigal Sons - how
this Good News could be reflected in their own lives and in the life of their
faith community.
In short, they
had a passion for the Gospel. As the
author of the blog “Through a Glass Darkly” wrote, Jesus “was their joy; their
focus and their object of devotion.
Nothing mattered to them more than discovering more about
Jesus and His will for their lives.”
The blogger
goes on to say: “The most basic problem that the church faces today is that we
have lost this freshness and this joy about the good news of Jesus. (However,
Jesus) is the cornerstone on whom the church is built …. I am more and more
convinced (he writes) that until we regain our passion, our spark, our
enthusiasm for Jesus that the church will continue to wane and to die. Jesus
(and his mission have) to be the center of all that we do, and without that
passion we will never live up to our primary calling to be His body, the
church.”
Here at RVCC,
do Scripture and the Gospel lie at the heart of our quest to be part of “the
Story”? If so, then how are we
demonstrating this passion for learning?
Second, the
church is a place of fellowship, a mecca of community. “Day by day…they broke bread together at home
and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the
goodwill of all the people,” the author declares.
We find at the
core of that statement the fact that Christianity never was intended as a
solitary practice. Hmn! Then what about all those people who say that
they do not need to come to church because they can find God just as well on
the golf course or in the woods, thank you very much?
Now – do not
get me wrong. I am not questioning the
spirituality of those men and women, but I do object to their calling
themselves “Christian.” Community and
fellowship are fundamental to the Gospel message. After all, the very first thing Jesus did was
to gather disciples, create a community – an eclectic one too, made up of
unschooled fishermen, former tax collectors, and wannabe revolutionaries.
It was no different
in the early church either. I doubt that
those 3000 converts all agreed on politics, philosophy, and their outlook of
life. However, they spent time
together. The author of Acts tells us
that they spent a lot of time in the temple together. They shared meals together.
As our blogger
writes, “what brought them together was not just a common human interest, or a
shared curiosity about the Christian faith, but a deep, deep work of the
Spirit….
Lives were being transformed… Through the power of the Holy
Spirit they were becoming more like Christ….That broken relationship was
mended;…that legacy of bitterness replaced by acceptance and forgiveness;…that
grief and despair touched by resurrection hope and joy. Everywhere you looked
the Spirit was at work, and it was little wonder everyone was filled with awe.” (Through a Glass Darkly)
Here at RVCC,
how do we demonstrate such fellowship and radical welcome? How do we strengthen
a community that is at once diverse, feisty, and empowered by the spirit? How do we encourage seekers – questioners,
doubters, the millennial generation - those who may never have had a
relationship with a church community – ever – to even contemplate that we offer
something they crave – simply to be part of “the Story” with us?
Third, the
church is a place of love. As the author
of Acts tells us, “All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all,
as any had need.”
In the early
church, the wellbeing of the community was more important than the wellbeing of
any individual. The reason the community
could do this, of course, is that they fervently believed in the second
commandment – to love your neighbor as yourself. This was no socialist utopia – though there
certainly was a demonstrated unity and power because everyone – everyone (even
the oddball, the geek, the one who can’t seem to hold a job - everyone) was
loved and accepted.
As independent
Canadian pastor Nathan Colquhoun comments about those who witnessed early
church communities, “Who are these people that are
selling their stuff just so everyone else is taken care of? Who are these
people who eat together in each other’s homes? This isn’t the way the world
works normally.
Life
then, as it is now, was plagued with individualism, greed and a constant
chasing after instantaneous results and pleasure. It is awe inspiring to see a
community of people reject that way of living and take the narrow path toward a
life of community, learning and downward mobility.” They were living, to the best of their
ability, what the Kingdom of God should look like.
(He
goes on to say that) acts of love – such as pooling resources and radical
sharing- are some of the most significant ways that the church witnesses in the
world. Such acts of love substantiate
everything we say we are.
We
do it differently now since we certainly do not hold everything in common here
in our post-modern church culture. Most
of us do not even share 10% with our church community in support of its acts of
love.
Here
at RVCC, how willing are you to uphold this most significant witness of our
church by supporting the acts of love, the ministries that are our foundation
as the Body of Christ? What part of your
resources are you willing to share, so that our church can truly be a place of
love? Ten percent? More?
Less? Do you even know what
portion of your income you are sharing?
How are you demonstrating in your financial commitment to our churcy a
passion for acts of love? What role are
you playing in “the Story”?
Finally,
the church is a place of worship. As the
author notes, “They devoted themselves to prayer…and spent much time together
in the temple.” The
early church was built on prayer and worship.
And guess what? Early congregants
did not go to church because they were forced to or because they had nothing
better to do. They worshipped together
because the community mattered to them.
In fact, it was like nothing else mattered. They praised the one who had become their
passion. Worship was at the center of
their conviction that they had freely chosen to embody the promise of the
Kingdom of God.
Worship
is still a big part of who we are as the church. It is where these foundational qualities come
together. Worship
is where we learn about the teachings of the Apostles and Jesus himself. It is not an easy learning either because it
requires both mind and heart. I agree
with Clifton McKinley when he writes: “People develop an
appetite for what they are fed. A church with a steady diet of feel-good
sermonettes in place of good theology or solid teaching from Scripture will
eventually raise a congregation that is weak.”
You may not always like what I have to say. You may not always enjoy the symbolism and
songs that Karen and I use, but hopefully the worship experience will always
make you reflect.
Worship is also
where we gather for fellowship and to support one another. And worship is where we become empowered over
and over again to initiate, facilitate, or simply follow along in those loving
actions that define us as the Body of Christ.
Worship tells “the Story” - our Story.
Here at RVCC, how willing are you to actively participate in that weekly
telling – even if it nudges you out of your comfort zone?
Questions,
questions - lots of questions this morning in this sermon as we compare our
mission and values with those of the early church. But, come on, you may ask, surely this is an
academic exercise, not grounded in reality.
Tell me, was it really like this back in the first century? Sharing meals and money? A veritable love fest?
And the fair
answer to that question is that, if it was, then it certainly was not for
long. You see, the Book of Acts is also filled
with stories of conflict – from the relevance of rules of kosher eating to how
the widows of Greek converts were being treated.
However, as
UCC pastor, Kate Huey, tells us, this brief passage “holds up for us a
wonderful model, a memory and ideal not just for the Christians at the end of
the first century, but for us, too, here in the twenty-first.” She goes on to remind us that however the church has failed
– religious wars, inquisitions, hypocrisy – it has managed to pass on the
message of God’s love and forgiveness, the promise of the new life and hope we
find in Jesus, and the dream of God’s reign on earth – a kingdom of justice and
peace. And that is a good Story – one
worth telling both in the first century and in the twenty-first.
And so we
“congregate with a group of Homo Sapiens committed to the dominant values of
the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that we might become instruments for the
transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia God
envisioned from the beginning of time.” Yes,
that is “the Story” - our Story - and it has been passed on to us here at the
Raymond Village Community Church (United Church of Christ), challenging us to
live it out in a manner of continuous improvement in our learning, our
fellowship, our love, and our worship.
No comments:
Post a Comment