Easter 4 Year A May 7, 2017

Transcription

1 They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. I hope this line from Acts sounds familiar to you because it is the basis for the first promise that we make in our Baptismal Covenant: will you continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers? Such wording reminds me of the joke about the Episcopalian who was amazed to discover that the bible had so much of the prayer book in it! This line encompasses the first order of business when it comes to thinking about Christian community. We are formed in the worship that teaches us from scripture, by the doctrine that has been handed down to us throughout the ages beginning with the apostles, that we are to come together to be fed at the Lord s supper in the bread and the wine, in the body and blood of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and to share in that other sacred ritual of coffee and carbohydrates that bring us into fellowship. Which is not to omit the other gatherings around pizza, or pasta, or chicken salad sandwiches, or any of the other ways we find ways to break bread together, and finally to pray together, to offer to God the fruits of our labors from the bounty, of creation, thanksgiving for the gifts we have been given and to intercede for our own sake and for the sake of others in need. Yes, there is a lot packed into that first sentence from Acts, isn t there? And to think that it has been this way from the very beginning when Christ s followers found themselves drawn into his company and then into the community, into life with others. And then he went away. Their life, their center, the reason for their coming together and the author of their salvation was dragged off by the authorities, crucified as a criminal, and buried. But then in spite of all their doubts and fears Jesus Christ rose again, and they had to figure out what to do next. Elisabeth Tunney 1

2 According to Luke this ragged band of cowardly disciples rose to the occasion. Through Peter s preaching thousands were baptized and they began a new way of living together. All who believed were together and had all good things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. It is probably easier for us to believe that Jesus rose again than that a community of believers could come together, share all good things in common, sell their possession and distribute the proceeds to anyone in need. Doesn t that fly in the face of our hope to make it big, to win the lottery, to be able to pull away from the common herd, to live independently and above the fray? It certainly flies in the face of the Prosperity Gospel and the teaching of rugged individualism, and the survival of the fittest. Commentators are divided over the degree to which this was a realistic portrait of the early church but where there is smoke there is fire. Since much of Luke is grounded in the Old Testament s teaching about the need to care for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable it is not too farfetched to believe that this was an ideal for which the early church might have strived. No, we can t know how successful their efforts were but the Church Fathers who compiled the New Testament clearly felt that there was some truth in this witness, something valuable that was not to be lost. In practice of course it did get lost over time. But these words from Acts are in front of us today especially because recent comments by politicians indicate that they are happy to abandon any reference to its teachings. And that is what is so shocking especially when these very same public figures flaunt their Christianity. I know that it is always dangerous to cast aspersions on the faith of others only he who is without sin should cast the first stone so what I will say is that the sentiments revealed by the statement that Elisabeth Tunney 2

3 people who lead good lives don t have preexisting conditions and that therefore people with pre-existing conditions don t deserve coverage is not consistent with the apostles teaching. I am not sure that the statement they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need is really any different than asking us to subsidize the healthcare of those who can t afford it on their own. And no I am not advocating one healthcare plan over another, merely reflecting that if we are honest with ourselves we can t weasel out of taking care of providing healthcare to those in need. Admittedly Jesus never talked about healthcare but he did refer to the traditional commandment of God to care for the poor and to love one s neighbor as oneself which might be construed to mean that we wouldn t let people die for lack of access to healthcare, nor should we require them to go into debt from which they will never recover in order to pay for healthcare. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to expand our understanding of who is our neighbor and it didn t come with any conditions about whether the neighbor was employed or a deadbeat, an upstanding citizen or a drug-dealer. Moreover it wasn t too long ago that we read the story of the man blind from birth and Jesus. Remember how his disciples asked him Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And what did Jesus respond? Did he say, obviously this blind man wasn t good since he had a pre-existing condition? No. No. Jesus said that neither the man born blind nor his parents were to blame, thereby demolishing the long tradition that blamed people for their illnesses or pre-existing conditions. People, Jesus refuted this thinking 2,000 years ago and it is still rearing its ugly head today. Do we not believe what Jesus had taught us? Do we not honor what the early church tried to build into its Elisabeth Tunney 3

4 community? If so then our behavior should match our words. If not, then why do we call ourselves Christians? Yes, I realize that there are all kinds of behaviors that can contribute towards ill health but that is neither here nor there. We still can t leave people to suffer when we are able to alleviate their suffering. Today may be Good Shepherd Sunday but in our gospel lesson Jesus refers to himself as the gate through which the sheep must enter in order to be saved. That gate is the teaching he came to share so that those who follow him might have life, and have it abundantly. To have abundant life is to trust that we shall not be in want. To have life is to be willing to lose it in order to find it, to lay one s life down for one s friends. That the Jesus who called us into relationship with God through him loved us so much that he gave up his life for us. On Maundy Thursday he commanded his disciples to love one another as I have loved you. We have inherited that commandment and all the responsibilities that go along with it. It is the way to have life. That doesn t mean that love is easy but consider the alternative: to live life as if there was nothing in it except what we make for ourselves, that all resources are scarce and therefore we must fight for them, that no one is to be trusted, that it is truly every man for himself. I don t know about you but it is far more attractive to live as if those beautiful images and words of the 23 rd Psalm were really true. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Surely [his] goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Jesus has called each of us by name. If we respond to his call and choose to believe those words we can afford to be generous to those in need, if we believe those words we can believe the image of the early church in Acts, and if we believe those words then then we will find ourselves living life abundantly. The choice is ours. Elisabeth Tunney 4

5 Amen. Elisabeth Tunney 5