Easter 4A
Grace Lutheran Church Lakeland, FL
May 3, 2020
Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10
Those who had been baptized 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. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
Grace to you and peace from God and from our Lord, the Risen Christ! Amen.
A few weeks back, I shared with you my experience in a race some years ago. My cousin and I ran the Bay to Bay race in St. Petersburg. I had not trained well for it but nonetheless we headed off on a Sunday morning in late May. It was hot. And long. I was in the back of the pack trying to pace myself. Along the way my husband and son would appear to cheer me on. And then they would speed up to the next spot along the route to cheer again. Police vehicles cleared the way for us as we passed each intersection. EMT folks were on golf carts to help any who had injuries and tending to those of us who were laboring some.
And then, the finish line came into site – now there were as many as a couple thousand there ahead of me. As I ran into this area, I heard the words of encouragement from those who had probably gone home and showered and come back for the party – Good Finish! they said. Food and drink abounded. Pats on the back. Stories of the run. People wandering and talking and laughing. People sharing. Some resting quietly. What a fellowship!
My friends, that is a little bit of what living in Christian community is all about.
Sharing our stories, sharing our food, sharing our lives, and sharing our hearts and souls with each other. Of course, that is all a bit different for us today as we are living in some degree of quarantine and isolation. But the connectedness we feel when we gather together and the love that makes it possible does not go away even as we stay home. Life in the Christian Community is fundamentally different because it has the life and death and resurrection of Jesus at its center.
Life in the flock is different because of the shepherd. After the resurrection of Jesus, the Christian Church grew dramatically – we heard last week that on that first Pentecost, 3000 were added to the kingdom after Peter preached his first sermon. (Acts 2:36-41) During the Easter Season we exclaim – He is Risen! And the traditional response is “He is Risen Indeed!” But last week we considered a different response – we said “So what do we do next?”
He is Risen! – So, what do we do next!!??
Today we heard about what those who had been baptized did next. They shared four things. They shared the teachings of the Apostles – not just held them in common, but considered them, thought about them, passed them on. And we do this still as we read Scripture and profess our faith in the creeds. They were engaged in sharing the stories of Jesus with one another. They remembered. And they wondered what would come next.
They shared their time with each other in fellowship, expanding their relationships beyond just their immediate families, and beyond just their closest friends, to include everyone who came into their band, everyone who wondered about this love of Jesus Christ. This is a challenge for us today but out of our love for Jesus and one another, we create new ways of maintaining our relationships with each other.
Not only that, they shared meals together; not just the spiritual bread that we all share in the Eucharist, however important that is. But they actually ate meals together, because that is what Christ did. We will have to wait a bit for this, but we can surely see that this has been an important part of our life together.
And, they prayed. In prayer, we share our hopes and fears together; we bowed our heads reverently and ask for forgiveness, and we pray for ourselves and for each other.
Can you imagine how amazing this was to those first followers? All this teaching and learning, all this intentional friendship and fellowship, all this eating and feeding one another, and all this praying together was not very common in those days. In fact, the world they lived in was very much a place where people kept pretty much to themselves. They took care of their family and that's about it. But the Apostles lived differently; they lived in a rich and abundant community. It was a community that turned to each other first, in love and trust and care for one another. They taught each other's kids, they shared meals and talked about what was going on in their lives, they laughed together and cried together and helped each other out when it was necessary.
And when other people saw how the apostles lived, and how they shared a life in common, they...were...in...awe. They were amazed at how this small band of people lived together, and they wanted to become a part of it. And so the band grew, and as they gathered more and more energy and vitality, they continued to spread the Good News that all of us come here each week to hear and share ourselves -- that our God is a generous and abundant God who loved the world so much that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Brothers and sisters, we are that band of the apostles – all of us. The abundance of our lives is that which we share with one another. We are called to teach each other and to learn from each other. We are called to be friends with each other – deep, rich, hearty, loving friends. How might we express our love for each other in more tangible ways? We are called to pray together; to pray for God's forgiveness and God's blessing; to pray for those around us as well as ourselves. How might our prayers be lifted up so that all of us can add our voices together?
The love God has for us is so great, that our cups are overflowing even in this time of the coronavirus, even in this time of quarantine. God came into the world in Christ Jesus so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. The abundant life we receive in Christ, grows as we share our lives with each other. And when others see how much we share, how Jesus is present in our midst, they will be amazed, and want to become a part of it, too. All are welcome.
Thanks be to God.
