The Radicals! The Feast of Love! Love Feast: we re called to be the New Community, serving each other; fellowshipping in love, fed by the Savior. Acts 2:42-47 Pastor Sandi Evans Rogers What do you know.? What do you think about community? What are you looking for in community? Community can be messy I don t know about you but I have experienced the messy more than once. BUT: What I have learned - - - is that community, the New Community in Christ is a mystery; an exciting, challenging, awesome mystery. PRAY with me... Why might I describe community as a mystery? Definition: something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain Why might I describe community as a mystery? often difficult to experience We all experience community differently Sometimes we can experience a deep sense of belonging that is hard to explain; but it s such a gift. Another, in the same community, may feel separate and apart Or, a person who we once called family/friend, began to relate differently. Thursday morning an awards assembly in Middle school 1
celebration encouragement anticipation hope support Good Morning America story of a different group of middle schoolers Waulkeshau, Wisconson three 12-year old friends, at a sleepover stabbed her 19 times. What one girl thought she was going to experience at the sleepover (fun-friends) was so very different than what she experienced. We too may have experienced such mysterious dichotomy in community, But without the violence and extreme. For some of us, it may seem that we invested deeply into community, Anticipating to experience a sense of fellowship belonging family encouragement. Instead we experience - - betrayal, hurt, separation, aloneness Which can come from gossip Click-i-ness Insecurity Jealousy Bitterness Community can be messy! Why might I describe community as a mystery? Community is often difficult to understand or explain, When I was in High School Ginny Chip Chip (yes 2 chips) Carolyn Debbie Debbie (2 of these too) Mike Sue Terry Jim Doug Robin, Bill, Dick Deep sense of community, sharing life together Bible study, spiritual exploration and discovery Shared meals together weekly Listened and grew from our leaders as they taught Worshipped and prayed together 2
Shared life together. such a deep fellowship that I looked to find it again. BUT for years other experiences never seemed to measure up for a while WHY? Mysterious While researching this week I found this description of community from a Boston-based project manager and innovator - Keith Hopper: Shared locality and government Common Interests Interacting population Segment of Society Unified and Distinct Body Society as a whole How does that ring for you? With your soul? Very scientific for me not all that inviting something is missing Community is a mystery often difficult to understand or explain especially as we talk about the New Community in Christ Have you ever had difficulty explaining to a neighbor to a co-worker, what it is like - to experience community in Christ on a good day? They may look at you with disbelief and confusion in their eyes It can be a mystery It may be because you are trying to explain to them something they have never experienced before. And they can t imagine This week, I asked some friends to share with me the qualities that are important to them in community and here is what I heard: Acceptance Commitment Friendliness Kindness Diversity Acceptance Unity Authenticity Let s go back to this morning s scripture in Acts Common language Transparency Honesty Willingness to be real Sharing in each other s lives, sufferings and celebrations Ability to fail without judgment sounding a bit more familiar? 3
What does God teach us about community through Luke s words as he describes the life of believers in Jerusalem? The New Community in Christ! 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. Did you hear the relationship defined... Devotion/commitment Teaching of the apostles, their leaders Fellowship Breaking of bread Prayer Together In common - unity Sharing with each other Taking meals together sharing at the table Sense of gladness - joy Sincerity of heart - authenticity Commitment ongoing continual Sharing Life Together - [in] Worship Fellowship Serving [with] Authentically Transparently Humility 4
What does it mean to share life together? Here we see that these new believers - this New Community in Christ: Worshiped together Continually devoting themselves to Apostles Teachings listening to them teach, yes BUT learning to live them out that the teachings of Jesus were transformational impacting the way they lived daily. Prayer an intimate relationship with Abba, together they prayed in community with one another... for one another. Breaking bread together; blessing of gratitude and praise for God s provision. Before sharing a meal literally breaking the bread, [BREAK LOAF OF BREAD] giving a blessing. [Blessed are You, O LORD our God, King of the Universe, who has brought forth bread from the earth.] A special time for family and friends a time to share good food, nourishment and fellowship. An opportunity to share hospitality with brothers and sisters in Christ and even strangers, who God might bring into their lives. From house to house they were taking their meals together There is an intimacy to being invited into someone s home to share a meal it is an act of gracious hospitality to invite another in to share a meal, to break bread together. a depth of love is shared when we break bread together. As we gather for Love Feast, twice a year, as the New Community we are expressing this same hospitality around the table at our Agape Meal, 5
In this moment We recognize that we are the family of God, family-of-faith together. Breaking bread Is expressing THANKS for the privilege of sharing the agape meal together, remembering Jesus sacrifice, THANKS as we love on one another, THANKS to be family, THANKS to share life together Thanks for the opportunity to talk about Jesus together, who He is, how we have seen Him work in our lives, how we have seen Him in the eye and lives of each other how we have seen His movement among us, anticipating our life as we walk with Him together. Back to Jerusalem. as the New Community, they shared Fellowship - a word we use for many things. Our English word, fellowship is the translation of the Greek word, koinonia. This Greek word is derived from the root, koinos, which was actually a prefix in ancient Greek that means if you were to add this prefix to words meaning living, meal, you would get words meaning living in community together, having a meal in common. So we see that the root of the word, fellowship, means to hold something in common. Koinonia is used 19 times in the New Testament - - 6
In the New American Standard Bible, koinonia is translated: "fellowship" 12 times, "sharing" 3 times, and "participation" and "contribution" 2 times. As we study this word more closely, we begin to understand koinonia shows that action is included in its meaning. So fellowship is not just being together, it is doing together! Serving together and serving one another now that sounds very Brethren! Feet washing those who are prepared to wash feet come forward As we DO life together We are to do it authenticity. sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. When we are Real and Genuine People see, People respond God is glorified!!!!!! Community is a mystery when we all DO life together in Christ. Foot washing BEGIN to wash feet now. Because you see As we begin to develop our understanding of community the New Community, We should move beyond our normal perspective What community can do for us,? What is in it for me? to what I understand from God s perspective What can you and I do to support and encourage our community? 7
How can we invest and enrich our community and one another? How do we serve one another? With the attitude of Jesus Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus He did not regard equality a thing to be grasped, But emptied himself he humbled himself By becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Philippians 2:5-8 Paul prefaces these words with a very direct word for the believers in Philippi and to us - - Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit; but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself. Philippians 2:3 As we wash one another s feet at Love Feast, this is what we are expressing we are yielding to one another - OURSELVES Putting others first in the kingdom. Carl Bowman, in his book - Brethren Society The 1923 COB Pastor s Manual offered a traditional interpretation, identifying the meaning of feet washing as love humbling itself for service such a brotherly love that one is willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of making one s brother purer and better. This morning you have witnessed the act of humbling oneself in order to serve another in the New Community, In the Body of Christ, In the family of faith, What a rich privilege we have to share life together imitating Jesus as we walk together serving one another humbly. Along with humility and a servant s heart 8
Living in the New Community we are challenged to live with authenticity and transparency. One of my favorite passages to describe this kind of real life together in Jesus: Colossians 3:12-17 12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:12-17 What an amazing description of community Do you recognize these qualities in the life you share with the New Community? Graduates I pray you ve experienced some of this here as you have grown and will look for such community if/when you go away to school So how do we get beyond ourselves Beyond looking simply for our own needs to be met in community; toward balancing the give and take of sharing life together, taking on the attitude of Jesus? By: Accepting the gift of Jesus grace and sacrifice through repentance, turning from our sinful life we surrender to Jesus. And to make a covenant with one another as we share life together in Christ 9
with all the mystery and all the mess that comes with it. There is a covenant that we hold in common. We close each Love Feast by re-affirming it together as a family of faith. This morning as we close, I would like join in a spirit of Koinonia, and affirm together our covenant.in unison Having now experienced the grace of God and confessing Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we joyfully and sincerely covenant: That mindful of the teachings of our Lord, we will walk together in love, be slow to take offense, be ready for reconciliation, participate in each other's joys and sorrows, and with Christian care and sympathy bear one another's burdens. That we will love temperately, be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. That in keeping with Christ's great commission; "Go and make disciples of all nations " we will use every opportunity of word and deed to bring kindred and acquaintance to the knowledge of Christ. With humble faith and the help of God, 10
we accept this covenant with the earnest prayer that is set before us, and so live that we may be prepared for the life everlasting, which is our hope in Jesus Christ. Amen! 11