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. And day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Today’s suggested reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles presents us with a snapshot of life in the early church community in Jerusalem. The picture is an idyllic one, and sounds almost too good to be true.
Which it might well have been.
As we read this text, it can be good to remember that many parts of the book of Acts – although presented as a literal or straightforward history — were probably shaped in careful and intentional ways. The specific details of certain stories, and slight inconsistencies with other parts of the New Testament – particularly in relation to the activities of the person who would come to be known as the apostle Paul – lead most careful scholars and commentators to conclude that the narratives of Acts are probably shaped with theological intentions rather than simply presenting objective and literal facts.
And such may be the case with the portrait of the early community that we read about today.
Without doubt, there have been many times, in the history of the Christian tradition, when these passages have been read quite literally, and even used to set priorities for, and shape the way that Christian churches have been organized.
Some have, for example, read Acts 2:42, which states that the early followers of Jesus “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers??? – and on the basis of that verse, have suggested that the church should be a community that is formed by these four pillars of Christian identity and spirituality – teaching, fellowship, communion and prayer.
And there is good reason why the church is wise to return to this vision, time and again. If we lose any of these four pillars – the teaching of the faith, a fellowship with others that creates the bonds of deep, meaningful and compassionate relationships; the breaking of the bread as a sacrament and the sharing of bread and wine as a central act of our life together; and the ongoing call to prayer – without these four pillars, one might legitimately ask whether the church is still the church.
There is much inspiration and guidance to be drawn from this passage.
But if we take this verse literally, in its description of these four essential pillars of the Christian community, then should we also take literally the other “hallmarks??? of the church that are presented in this passage? The text also states that in this vision of the early church, the believers had the power to do miraculous signs and wonders; they shared everything in common; they sold their possessions and distributed the proceeds to all in need; they met daily in the place of worship and shared meals together in their homes with glad and generous hearts; they praised God and enjoyed the goodwill of all people; they welcomed newcomers – daily — into the community of faith and into the saving love of God.
So if we do not have the power to do miraculous signs and wonders, are we something less than the ideal vision that this passage presents to us?
If we do not have the time to meet daily with others, does this mean that we are less than a real church?
If we do not sell all that we have and share everything in common, does this mean that we are failing to live according to this vision? There are, after all, some who suggest that this vision of a community in which the members share all things in common – or perhaps even better, in which there are no personal possessions at all – is the way that the church is supposed to be organized. And, in every era of Christian history, there have been movements within the Christian faith which have tried to implement this vision. The monastic communities are only one example of a powerful stream, within the Christian tradition, which has upheld as a central pillar the concept of a shared ownership of goods, and an abdication of personal possessions.
I do not want to quickly “explain away??? such a courageous vision. There is a lot of merit, after all, in examining our economic systems and pondering why there can be radically different economic differences in a church community. Our caution and hesitation in embracing such a vision can be motivated by many things – self-interest, fear, greed, a lack of confidence that such a situation is attainable or sustainable. In spite of these hesitations, perhaps we need to be a bit more daring – and maybe a bit more faithfully courageous – in examining the economic priorities and circumstances in which we live.
But this hesitation, this caution, may also be born out of the lived experience of seeing this particular form of community fail, sometimes in even dangerous ways.
After all, if most of us heard about a friend or family member who had joined a religious community that required them to give away all of their possessions and spend all day, every day, with the other members of that community, most of us would be quite concerned, suspicious, and even frightened that our loved one had joined a dangerous cult.
And those who want to read this passage in an overly prescriptive way are probably wise to read the subsequent chapters of Acts, and to ponder what happened to the members who did not seem to provide full financial disclosure to that early community. In chapter 5, we read the story of Ananias and Sapphira – who sold a piece of property, but did not give the church all of the money that they received. They were questioned about how much they had actually received, and when it was revealed that they did not report all of the proceeds, they died.
Again, such stories cannot help but make us feel slightly uneasy. After all, a religious community that requires its members to sell all their possessions and in which couples die if they do not accurately report all of their proceeds – well, suffice it to say that most of us would have some fairly significant concerns about such a community…especially if, as was the case in this text, the community was claiming to be acting in the name of Jesus.
So what are we to do with today’s reading from Acts — a passage that contains some truly beautiful, inspiring, and perhaps even essential descriptions of the hallmarks of the Christian community, but which also contains some truly controversial and complicated descriptions of the ways that the Christian life is meant to be lived out?
And do we have to embrace the whole vision, and use it as the model for our life together, if we are going to derive any benefit from it at all?
Perhaps one way to approach the text is to try to discern the qualities and virtues that this vision of the church describes. The particular ways that those virtues are “lived out??? may be different in different cultures and different contexts – we may not always be able to meet daily in the Temple, or sell all that we have, or go to each other’s homes for meals, or perform miraculous signs and wonders as the passage describes, but this does not mean that there is nothing about this vision that we can draw upon in the shaping of our life together.
Consider, instead, the qualities of that community, aside from the details about how they chose to live those qualities out.
So what qualities marked their life together?
The text suggests that the people were devoted to the disciplines of their faith, to God, and to each other. In prayer, in the breaking of bread, in learning, in worship – they practiced their faith on a daily basis.
The text suggests that the people were joyful and generous with each other. They spent time with each other, they shared meals together, they tried to ensure that no one lived in great or overwhelming need.
The text suggests that the people lived in a way that was viewed positively by those around them – or as the text states, they enjoyed “the goodwill of all the people.??? Sadly, the same cannot always be said of the general view of organized religion, or of the church in the world today.
The text suggests that the community was marked by hospitality and welcome. The statement that “day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved??? suggests that this work of drawing others into the community was God’s work – which it was, and always is – but God’s work is rather significantly aided when the communities towards which people are drawn are willing and intentional about welcoming those newcomers and helping them to find their place in the community.
The qualities and priorities of the community that are described in this passage from Acts, therefore, are significant and noteworthy – a community that is made up of people who are prayerful, worshipful, joyful, generous, spiritually powerful, compassionate, willing to share, caring, intentional about finding ways to meet the needs of others, respected by the wider community, hospitable, disciplined, devoted, faithful.
Listen again to the qualities that seemed to mark that community – and that should mark all Christian communities, in every culture, every age, every economic system, every social and political context. Prayerful, worshipful, joyful, generous, spiritually powerful, compassionate, willing to share, caring, intentional about finding ways to meet the needs of others, respected by the wider community, hospitable, disciplined, devoted, faithful.
They are beautiful qualities. And we can strive toward them in our life together, even here, even now.
But the good news is not simply that we are given this vision of what the Christian community can be. The good news is that Christ promised that he would send his Spirit to help us, to inspire us, to motivate us, to give us the power to be such a community.
Our calling therefore, is to set the vision of what we can be in front of our hearts and minds, and then live with the faith and the openness to allow God’s Spirit to move in us, among us, and through us, so that this vision can become true.
Not just in Jerusalem all those years ago.
But also at the corner of King and Simcoe, today.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
