Acts 2:42-47
“We believe that we are all one, that the
material and spiritual are one,
and the spirit is identical and one in all of creation.
and the spirit is identical and one in all of creation.
We believe
that marriage, childbirth and death are sacraments of our church.
We agree that child rearing and care of
the elderly is a holy responsibility.
We believe that being truthful and
compassionate is instrumental to living together in peace and as a community.
We agree to be honest and compassionate
in our relationships with each other.
We agree to resolve any conflicts or
disagreements in a nonviolent manner.
We believe that humanity must change to
survive.
We agree to participate in that change
by accepting feedback about ourselves.
We agree to accept personal
responsibility for our actions.
We believe that inner peace is the
foundation for world peace.”[1]
These statements are from The Farm’s
website. They are some of the principles that members of The Farm agree to as
part of their life together. The Farm is an intentional living community in Summertown , Tennessee Nashville
The Farm is a commune, started by a
bunch of idealistic hippies that caravanned their way from San Francisco Tennessee
Although the conversations that led Stephen
Gaskin to begin The Farm happened when he was invited to speak by a group of
ministers, I am not trying to imply that the Church would be better off if it
were a commune. But I use The Farm as an illustration because it is a long time
example of intentional living. Intentional is the critical word here.
The whole book of Acts is essentially a description of the earliest believers
and their life in the early church. The passage before us today tells of the
community that formed after Peter’s Spirit-filled sermon on Pentecost. The
“they” our passage begins with are the newly baptized believers who welcomed
Peter’s message.
“They
devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs
were being done by the apostles. 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. Day 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, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.”
This sounds
idyllic, doesn’t it? It sounds so easy, so effortless. They were filled with
the power and zeal of the Spirit. They were filled with the heady rush that
comes with a new belief and understanding. They were in constant awe and
amazement because signs and wonders were being done in their midst. The NRSV
does not do a great job of translating that particular verse. According to
Biblical scholars, it should read “wonders and signs were being done through
the apostles” rather than “by the apostles.” By implies that the
apostles were performing these wonders by their own power, except they weren’t.
It was through the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Even so, the people, these new
believers, were witness to amazing miracles.
What made it
even better is that they were all together. They were not scattered hither and
yon. They were not isolated from one another, believers alone in hostile
communities. Together they were living in a community of support and
understanding. They shared this new belief and understanding in common with
each other. Not only were they together praising and worshipping in the temple,
they were in each other’s homes as well; breaking bread and sharing fellowship
with one another.
They were
taking care of one another. They were willing to sell their possessions so
every person’s needs would be met. It would be like me selling my mandolin so Alice
But the
idyllic never seems to last, and that is true for the early church as well.
This idyllic fellowship did not last either. In just a few chapters we will read
about trouble and dissension. There will be problems and disputes, conflicts
and contentions. The church will struggle and grow, struggle and grow. The
gentiles will enter the picture, and there will be a division between the
Hellenists and the believers in Jerusalem
To be fair
to this early community, they thought that Jesus was going to come back any
minute. It was probably relatively easy to live peaceably with one another when
you thought your Messiah was just around the corner. But as the days dragged
on, and Jesus did not come, things changed. As I understand my church history,
part of institutionalizing the church was out of necessity; it was to keep the
church going in what scholars call “the time between times;” the time between
when Jesus came into the world and when Jesus will come again.
The question
is what does this mean for us? What does it mean for us today and next Tuesday?
We are not privy to the miracles and wonders done by God through the apostles’
on a regular basis. We do not doubt that the Holy Spirit moves in our midst,
but we cannot predict where and when it does move. We don’t always feel it or
are aware of its presence. As wonderful as it would be to live in this ongoing
state of anticipation – the state it seems the early believers were living in –
we don’t live like that. We live in the day-to-day, the ordinary.
What can
this example of the early church teach us today? For that matter, what can The
Farm teach us today? I know that we are not going to sell all of our
possessions and go set up on a cattle farm –although the selling of the old
church does feel a little like that. But I think that both examples share one
thing in common: intention. The Farm is still around because it is intentional.
Its members seek to be together. That early church, those early believers were
intentional in how they lived with one another. They sought to live together,
to be in fellowship together. Today, more than ever before, I think the church
is called to be intentional in our fellowship – not just with one another but
with the world. Fellowship isn’t just sharing cookies and punch after worship.
Fellowship is being in community with each other, being in relationship with
each other. Fellowship is really looking at one another and looking honestly at
ourselves. Fellowship is listening to one another, loving one another, even
when that love is hard – and it can be very, very hard. Fellowship is about creating
community, not because it is a nice thing to do, but because it is a Christ
like thing to do.
That is the
heart of the matter. That is what sets us apart from The Farm and any other
intentional communities. That is what makes the Church the Church: Christ. We
are to be Christ’s body in the world. We are to be Christ to others. People are
to see Christ in us. I don’t believe we are called just to speak the gospel; we
are called to embody the gospel. We are called to live as Jesus lived and to
love as Jesus loved. And it seems to me that if the church is failing in the
world, if the church is lacking in relevancy, then it is because we are not
doing that. We are not living as Jesus lived, and we are definitely not loving
as Jesus loved. Are you willing to sell your possessions to cover another
person’s need? Are you willing to sell your possessions to cover another
person’s need? Am I? Are we living as Jesus lived? Are we loving as Jesus
loved?
Let all of
God’s children say, “Alleluia!” Amen.
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