Acts 2:42-47
I’m sure most of you are familiar with this feature on Apple phones: there’s probably something
similar on Android phones. When you right swipe the home screen, you see the date, your next
calendar commitment, how charged your battery is, top news stories, and a photo. Like many of
you, I have hundreds if not thousands of photos on my phone or stored in the Cloud, and every
time I open my phone it shows me one. Often, it’s a picture of my smiling children, sometimes
taken years ago. And I’ll see it, and think, “Oh yeah, that was a great trip,” or “I remember how
much fun that day was.” Since I don’t normally scroll through all my photos, these snapshots
from the past are a gift my smartphone gives me each day.
Unlike smartphones, the lectionary is old technology, but today it also offers us a snapshot from
our past, our past as a church. Our reading from Acts is just a snapshot: it’s a brief look at life in
the early church. And it’s a picture filled with smiles. My favorite part is, they broke bread at
home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God. Glad and generous
hearts. There was great gladness in the early church. They were clearly living in the joy of the
resurrection, and praising God with real delight. And their gladness prompted tremendous
generosity: they shared what they had freely with each other so that no one went in need. And
such gladness and generosity was clearly very attractive. Luke records that in those early days
Christians had the goodwill of all the people: they weren’t judgmental scolds, they were joyful
believers. And so it’s not surprising that day by day the Lord added to their number those who
were being saved.
It’s quite a snapshot. But what’s the key to it? Why all the smiles? Well, the apostles were among
them, performing many signs and wonders, which presumably included healings. That would
certainly have provided moments of awe. But I don’t think that by itself accounts for these glad
hearts. After all, most of these people were like us: they had not witnessed the resurrection or
seen with their own eyes the risen Christ. And human life being human life, they no doubt
experienced their fair share of suffering and pain. And they were certainly not perfect by any
means. And yet we can feel something powerful in this text: the glad and generous hearts shine
through. What really accounts for that?
Well, I think the reading makes that clear at the very beginning: They devoted themselves to the
apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. This was a
worshiping community, and it was as a community that they enjoyed the happiness recorded in
this account. Luke emphasizes this when he writes, Day by day . . . they spent much time
together in the temple. During his earthly ministry Jesus formed a community, and it was only
as a community that his followers knew the joy of the resurrection. In the New Testament, there
is no such thing as an individual Christian or an isolated believer. It is only in community with
others that we can experience the Good News of Jesus in all its fullness and live lives that are
blessed for us and attractive to others.
This is an important message, but it may not be easy for us to hear. Our society tends to prize
individualism. And all of us function as consumers. So it’s natural for us to look at things in a
self-centered and pragmatic way: “What’s in it for me? What will I get out of it?” Those are fair
questions, and sometimes they are necessary questions. But when it comes to life in the church,
they can be an impediment. If each one of us is basically operating as a religious consumer,
wondering, “What am I going to get from going to church?,” and that’s the way we approach
worship or any other church activity, then we will probably miss out. The key to gladness in the
early church is the key to gladness in any church now: it is active participation in the life of the
community, a giving of ourselves to each other.
That goes beyond “What do I get from it?” to include “What will I give to it? How will I invest my
time, my energy, and my gifts in this community?” In my decades of church life, the people with
glad and generous hearts have been the people most involved and engaged. And that shouldn’t
surprise us: Jesus said the measure you give will be the measure you get back (Luke 6:38). It’s
by giving, by actively sharing in a vibrant common life that we will most fully experience the
presence and love of the Risen Christ.
That means that our presence in worship right now is not just about what we may get from it:
just by being here together, we are making it possible for others to get something from it as well.
Coming to church matters: the more people who actually show up, the more ways the Holy Spirit
can move. And beyond worship, there are many ways to come together. We all have different
gifts and different interests; we may help out at the Food Pantry or attend a Bible study; we may
serve on a ministry committee or help make our grounds beautiful. And we all go through
seasons of life: sometimes we may be super involved, and other times we may need to rest and
just worship on Sundays. Sometimes we may only be able to watch the livestream. But the
bottom line is that we need each other. We need each other to realize Christ in our midst.
Parish life is not always easy: I’m painfully aware of how difficult it can be at times. But I am
constantly reminded of how good it is, in ways great and small. This past Wednesday at WAC,
the cooking team I am part of was missing several people, but after dinner, some others joined
in to help us clean up. We joked around and laughed as we washed dishes and put stuff away.
And I thought, as I have thought countless times, “Thank you, God. I’m so glad to be here. I’m so
glad you are here with us.” That would not have happened if I had been alone. And I could give
you a thousand more examples of that. So I thank you for showing up this morning. If you are
new, I thank you for being here. Each one of you matters. And I invite you to participate in our
common life in whatever way the Spirit moves you so that together we may truly live with glad
and generous hearts, praising God who is in our midst.
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