Visions From the Early Church: Sharing

"And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need." Acts 2:44-45

Robert Fulghum in his poem "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten" lists nineteen learnings which if practiced, he believes, would enrich all of our lives. As the title implies he acquired these learnings not in graduate school but "there in the sand pile of Sunday School." These learnings include: don't hit people, put things back where you found them and clean up your own mess. My favorites are flush, and hold hands and stick together. However for our purpose here let's return to the first learning on his list: share everything.

 

Kindergarten is a time in life upon which we seldom look back. My impression is that our memories of that grade fade quickly in the mad rush of the years that follow. Yet kindergarten is a time when we are taught many of our most basic social skills including how to interact with others in appropriate ways. One of the essential skills we are taught is to share. We are taught to share crayons, books, toys and the teacher's time.

 

Sharing, as a social skill however, does not last long. Almost as quickly as we learn it we are taught to set it aside. As soon as we enter any type of competitive environment we are told that "the ball" is ours and we are not to share it. We are taught not to share answers on tests. We are taught not to share the spotlight on stage. We are taught not to share patents with others because they might gain a competitive advantage. We are taught not to share insider information or we will go to jail.

 

The early church had a very different view of sharing. Sharing was essential for the life and work of the first Christ centered community. As Luke tells us they had everything in common and shared whatever they had so that no one was in need. This sense of sharing was not learned in Kindergarten but at the cross. When they saw what Jesus had done for them, dying that they might be reconciled to God and one another, there was nothing they possessed that was not available to be shared. What mattered were not only the needs of the community, but of strangers as well. Sharing was not a lesson to be learned and then forgotten. It was at the heart of life itself.

 

Our task as 21^st Century believers is to figure out what this idea of sharing has to do with us. I believe the starting point in that discovery process is to remember that what we have is not ours. It is God's and God is sharing it with us that we might share it with others. We are given abilities, skills, families and wealth in order to carry out God's purposes in the world. If we adopt such a view, it will change our perspective so that we will gain some sharing clarity.

(How to; take a moment this week to do two things. First, look at your calendar. Then look at your check book. Ask yourself these two questions: How much of my time did I share? How much of my money did I share? Next ask, how can I share more of each? Do this for a couple of months and chances are you will begin to relearn what we were taught in the "sand pile of Sunday school"; the joy of sharing everything.)

Visions From the Early Church: Prayer

"And they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer." Acts 2:42

How does prayer work? It was a not question I was expecting. I was being interviewed by a reporter from the small town newspaper in Pampa, Texas because I was the newest pastor in the city. He had asked a number of background questions but the prayer question caught me by surprise. It caught me by surprise because I had never thought about prayer as a mechanical process.

One of the things that separates humans from most other animals is not only our ability to accessorize but our ability to be tool makers. That tool making ability means we always want to know how things work, so we can fix them when they break. We see a problem, we figure out what kind of tool we need to fix it, we build (or buy) the tool, we fix the problem, and then we move on to the next problem.

The interesting thing about this mind set is that we do not confine it to broken mechanical devices (including the human body). We have applied it to relationships, psychology and faith. There are thousands of books in circulation describing the six secrets to fixing relationships, psychological struggles, churches and our prayer life. In fact one of the largest areas of religious writings is how to insure that our prayers work…that we get what we want.

The issue I have with this way of viewing prayer (as a mechanistic process) is that it ignores the relational aspect of our interaction with God. To see prayer as mechanical is to see God as no more than a miracle dispensing machine at best and at worst a god who can be manipulated. This view ignores the fact that at the heart of prayer is not getting something, but entering into an intimate encounter with the living God.

Prayer is the act of speaking with and listening to God. The early church understood that prayer was a gift that allowed them to engage and be engaged by God in Christ. While the church did pray for healing they also prayed for guidance, strength and forgiveness. In other words prayer was about seeking to have the will of God made clearer so that the church (both individually and corporately) might live out that will.

This is why prayer is essential for any vision that we might share with one another. Without prayer a vision might be simply our vision, and not necessarily God's vision. The challenge before us is to make prayer a regular part of our spiritual life in order that God's will for our lives might be made more and more clear.

(How to: there are many good books on prayer that would give direction to our practice of prayer. However a short course on prayer is to 1) find a regular time to pray 2) find a place where you can be undisturbed 3) use the ACTS formula (adoration…praising God, confession…asking God's forgiveness, thanksgiving…giving thanks to God for all God has done, supplication…asking for God's help). 4) listen…try to hear what God has to say. Like any spiritual practice this one takes time to become a habit, but when regularly practiced, I believe one will gain a deeper and more profound relationship with God.)

John

Visions From the Early Church: Breaking Bread

"And they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer." Acts 2:42

What in the world is Luke talking about when he says that the early Jesus followers devoted themselves to the breaking of bread? The other activities to which they devoted themselves seem pretty apparent: teaching, fellowship and prayer. The one that gets us is the breaking of bread.

Some people have taken it to mean simply eating together. They take it as people coming together to share a common meal. After all how many times have we spoken of having a meal with someone as breaking bread together? Such an activity would not seem out of place in the first century world. People would regularly share meals with friends and strangers who arrived from out of town. What would make this sort of bread sharing different was that they were sharing it with total strangers…with people from different social classes…people of different backgrounds. It was a more expansive sharing.

Other people have taken bread sharing to mean coming to the Lord 's Table…or an "agape" meal (a love feast). There are many scholars who see in this reference the very beginning of a formal remembrance of the of Jesus last meal with his disciples. These new formal meals began to take place early on in the life of the church. We can see this from Paul's letters where he quotes the already established table liturgy (on the night in which Christ was betrayed he took bread…). Again, this would be a new vision for a Jesus centered community because it would replace the Jewish Passover and Sabbath rituals which focused on the Exodus with one focused on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

While I suppose it would be nice for us know for certain, I am not sure it is all that important which the correct understanding is. I say that because each points to the same reality…which can be summed up in the Spanish word "companeros." One of my Spanish speaking friends introduced me to the word and the concept. It is formed from the ideas of "com" meaning with, and "pan" meaning bread. It refers to people who are buddies because they share bread together. It is an intimate term referring to those who share more than a common meal. They share a common life.

This idea of sharing a common life through a common meal calls us to rethink our connection to one another. Whether it is sharing food at a pot-luck supper, a Wednesday night meal, a Dinners for Eight or at the Lord's table, these are all reminders that we are called to be more than strangers eating at another fast food restaurant. We are called to be companeros. We are called to be a family connected in Christ who share our lives with one another.

(How to: First Presbyterian offers a number of ways in which we can connect with one another. Why not try signing up for a Dinners for Eight group, a Covenant Group, a Sunday school or Wednesday night group, come to Wednesday Night Connect dinner, and use that time to meet and come to know others. In this way you will find the joy those early Christians found in being companeros in Christ.)

Visions of Fellowship

"And they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers." Acts 2:42

"I think, therefore I am." Most of us at one time or another have heard this famous saying by Rene Descartes (1596-1650). It was part of his Discourse on the Method and Principles of Philosophy
in which he was trying to decide if there was a way of knowing that could prove his own existence. His conclusion was that because he could think, then he is a "thinking thing" and thus existed. While this kind of thinking may seem a bit obtuse today (philosophy has moved in many new directions) it shows us quite clearly how the European world had taken a dramatic turn toward individualism.

The kind of thinking about radical individualism that Descartes (as well as those who preceded and followed him) offered permeates our society. We see this in the movies (John Wayne), television (the Lone Ranger), and in society (the many people who talk about how they pulled themselves up by their own boot-straps). We speak about rugged individualism and the pioneer spirit. The rationale is that we are completely independent and do not need anyone else. This idea has also infected the church. We see ourselves as persons who do not necessarily have to be connected to the body in which we worship.

"I exist in relationships, therefore I am." These are the words of Japanese theologian Seiichi Yagi. What Yagi is trying to do is to return us to a Biblically based sense of self. The scriptures do not present persons as rugged individualists. Instead persons are portrayed as having life because of what they shared in common. In the opening quote from the Book of Acts the word "fellowship" is used. A better translation of the Greek word is the word "common" as in what we hold in common. The idea is that we are in common because we are one in Christ. We are all part of the very body of Jesus therefore we are one. We exist in the fullest sense of being human not because we can think but because we are part of the very life and love of God and one another in Jesus.

How might that help us think differently? First it can help us to rethink "fellowship." Often we have seen fellowship as simply hanging out at church over a cup of coffee. While that kind of hanging out is sharing something (time, space and coffee) in common, what if we were to see "fellowship" as something more, such as truly knowing and caring for one another? Second I hope it helps us rethink our relationship with church, that we are indeed a common body in which each of us and our gifts make a significant difference. It would remind us that each of us is a necessary part of the whole. We are needed here.

(How to; I would like to challenge you this week to an experiment. At church, while you are in your pew, spot someone you do not know. Begin by introducing yourself during the greeting time or as you leave. Then the next week when you see those people (or person) make sure you say hello and inquire about their lives. Next begin praying for them. Then in the weeks ahead deepen that budding friendship and then do it again with someone else. In other words get connected with those with whom you live in common.)

John

Visions from the Book of Acts: A People Immersed in The Story

"Where there is no vision the people perish." We have heard this proverb (Proverbs 29:18) many times before used in any number of ways. We assume that the writer is simply encouraging us to have a vision, any vision to guide and direct our work. The trouble is that this translation misses one of the key elements of the text which is that the Hebrew is referring to a specific kind of vision…not vision or direction in general.

 

The CEV translation is, in my opinion, closest to the original meaning. "Without guidance from God, law and order disappear." In other words without an understanding of God's outline for our lives as expressed in the first five books of the Bible the people of God come apart at the seams. We see this more clearly when we read the second half of this couplet, "but blessed are the ones who keep the law," meaning that when we actually allow God's written word to set the vision for our community our individual and corporate lives are blessed. (All you have to do is to read the Old Testament to see how true this is!)

 

This understanding then forms the background for our call to be a people immersed in The Story. In Acts 2:42 we are told that "they (meaning the new Christ followers) devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching." The apostle's were following the wisdom laid out in Proverbs 29:18 by teaching how Jesus' story was a part of the larger story of God's work in and through Israel. The vision, the Godly guidance, that they were offering was not simply good advice, it was an explanation of how Jesus had come to fulfill God's plan for Israel and for the world and for their lives.

 

Our calling is to do the same, immerse ourselves in their teachings. Our vision for our life together is to be shaped not merely by wanting to do good things, hanging out together, or even listening to great music, all of which we do here on a regular basis. Our vision is to be shaped and formed by The Story, which is what the Bible is. The Bible (though certainly a collection of metaphor, law, poetry, history, prophecy, letters, and Jesus stories) none the less is The Story of God at work redeeming and reclaiming the world, including you and me. When we come to understand and internalize The Story it gives guidance and direction for our lives allowing us to be blessed and be a blessing to others.

 

The challenge for us then is to make The Story (the scriptures) real for us. This means taking the time to read, study and comprehend the scope and sequence of God's activity from creation (Genesis) to re-creation (Revelation). This is not a simple task. It is one that takes time and effort. Yet the rewards are great. By knowing and living The Story we become those who are able to love God and neighbor in a way that changes us and changes the world. My hope is that in the years ahead we will become a people immersed in The Story that we might fulfill the vision God has for us.

 

(How to: here is a way to begin immersing yourself. First get a partner or two…things always work better with a partner. Second choose one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and read it straight through. Talk with your partner about what you discovered, what confused you and how the story helped your faith. Then find a simple guide to the book…such as N.T. Wright's commentaries from the Bible for Everyone series (Westminster John Knox Press)...and take the story in pieces asking the same questions. Then if you want give me a call and we can talk more about it.)

 

John

Serving: Our Seventh Core Value

Our seventh and final core value is serving. Both our Mission statement and our Focus statements speak of us having ministries of service and of our being mission oriented. They are a reminder that First Church has a long history of being involved in serving the community and world around us.

Serving is also a reminder that the scriptures, from beginning to end, call upon is to serve others. The Torah, the Law of Moses, makes it clear that we are to serve the hungry, the widow, the orphan and the stranger. Jesus tells us that he came to be a servant and not to serve, and his followers are to follow his example of service to others.

I realize that many of us would have placed serving at the beginning rather than the end of the list. Since Jesus speaks of loving God and loving neighbor perhaps we ought to have had Christ as the first Core Value and Serving as the second Core Value. So why place it here at the tail end?

I placed it here not because it is at the tail end, but because I believe it fits here as part of the cycle of spiritual life. Spiritual growth into Christ-likeness is not a straight forward path. It is a cyclical path upon which we tread as we seek to be faithful to the one who loves us.

We center our life on the Triune God that we have come to know most fully in Jesus Christ. Then we seek to practice each core value (spiritual discipline) in order that it leads us to more fully practice the others. So as we practice serving, it will cause us to reach out, which will then cause us to welcome…and on and on.

The PCSA Book of Order puts it this way, we are to reach out by: "(3) participating in God's activity in the world through its life for others by: (a) healing and reconciling and binding up wounds; (b) ministering to the needs of the poor and sick, the lonely and the powerless; (c) engaging in the struggle to free people from sin, fear, oppression, hunger and injustice; (d) giving itself and its substance to the service of those who suffer; (e) sharing with Christ in the establishing of the his just, peaceable, and loving rule in the world." (G-3.0300.c.3)

The First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham is a community of the saints of God (yes you are a saint…you just don't get a statue) who are called to live out the Christ like life. I believe if we are willing to return again and again to our core values centered in the triune God we will find that we are indeed becoming that kind of community.

John

Growing: Our Sixth Core Value

The sixth of our core values is that of growth; through deepening our knowledge and love of God. In both our mission and focus statements we speak of education as a key element in our life together. We also state that we live the will of God. The two of these are inseparable. We cannot fully live the will of God unless we are continually growing through learning and then practicing what we learn.

If we return for a moment to the Gospels, the stories of Jesus' ministry, what we see is a great teacher at work. Jesus taught using parables, stories and aphorisms (short pithy statements). Jesus taught by referencing the Old Testament (Torah, prophets and writings). Jesus taught by demonstrating the values of the Kingdom of God in all that he did (forgiving, healing and ultimately dying on the cross). Jesus understood that for men, women and children to live into the kingdom of God there were lessons they needed to learn.

Unfortunately many of us have come to see Christian education (learning the stories of Jesus, the writings of the New Testament, the whole story of God's people in the Old Testament and how our Reformed tradition understands them) as a nonessential in our Christian faith. The stories which are intended to shape our faith and life are seen as being irrelevant because we have equated being faithful with merely being nice. Even the word "education" turns us off because it reeks of sitting in class being bored to death by someone who just drones on and on (if you know the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off think of the character played by Ben Stein). Even the idea of growth seems a bit odd considering that faith can be seen as no more than making a statement about Jesus when we are confirmed thus fulfilling our faith commitment.

So why then ought we to see education and spiritual growth as being important in our lives? The answer is blessing. By growing in knowledge of the Triune God we are blessed because we experience the love and grace of God more deeply each day, thus transforming our lives. By growing in knowledge of the Triune God we become capable of being a blessing to others by showing God's love and grace to a hurting world thus helping to transform God's creation. By growing in knowledge we grow in our love of God and neighbor thereby being the blessing we have been called by God to be.

The PCUSA Book of Order puts it this way, "The Church is called to be a sign in and for the world of the new reality which God has made available to the people in Jesus Christ." (G-3.0103.a) In other words God is blessing this world in Jesus Christ through the Spirit and the more we know and grow the more we become capable of being blessed and of assisting in God's work of blessing.

The challenge for us then becomes to make an intentional choice to grow (both for ourselves and our children) in knowledge and love of God. If you want to know more about how to do this speak to me, Amy or Cindy and we can help point you in the right direction.

John