Easter 4, 2005.17th April.
Acts 2.42-47, Ps 23, 1 Peter 2.1-10, John10.1-10.When you hear the reading from Acts that we have had this morning, do you feel compelled to compare that fledgling church with what we have now, not just our own parish, but the whole church, worldwide? And if you do, do wonder what went wrong? I know I do. But these comparisons are rarely helpful, as so much has changed in those intervening 2000 years so as to make a comparison irrelevant. And one might say that for a very small church in the beginning, that was itself an offshoot from the Jewish religion, and still within its structure, this sort of short lived utopian life is to be expected.
But what we do have here in this reading that is relevant to us are some clues as to what the characteristics of a church could and should be. Let’s have a look at them, and then I’ll leave you to reflect on a comparison yourselves as to whether we have those marks of a good church here.
This early church was a learning church. It was a community that was serious about the growth in faith of the people. They wanted to know more. They didn’t just listen to the apostles teaching, they devoted themselves to it. They studied, they got right into learning. To grow a church, to grow a Christian, an informed faith is needed. Experience in faith is a great teacher. But often we need more. We need to learn more to be able to give an account for the hope that is within us. Learning can help build that hope, can give it a firmer, stronger, more grounded base on which it can be built. Learning can also help us find the words and the means to express that faith. It can help us understand the basis for the faith, it gives us the intellectual knowledge to go with the feelings. Sharing as a community in learning experiences will build the community as a whole, as well as building up individuals. Any increase in the faith of one person is an increase in the faith of the whole community. So, you see, its all good.
This early church was a church of fellowship. It had the quality of togetherness. They spent time together as a community. That’s a key part of being a Christian. It’s impossible to be a Christian alone. A solitary Christian is an oxymoron. Maybe that’s why new age people don’t go for Christianity, because it requires a commitment to community, not just to ones self and one’s guru. It requires embracing a communal view of God, not a singular. And even God, even the Holy Trinity, is in itself fellowship. God is community. And we know that Jesus didn’t call people to follow him as individuals. He called them to a community, a family. So we are called to fellowship. Even a nice cup of tea or coffee after church, catching up, a bit of socialising, is very important to the Christian community. Very nearly as important as the service itself. Because in fellowship, in community, we grow. Our interactions, both positive and negative are all formative. We learn, hopefully, how to live as Christians by being in fellowship with other Christians. We support each other, we laugh together, cry together, share each other’s lives. Absolutely essential stuff.
The people of the early church were in awe. They were in awe of the power of God, the signs and wonders that were happening about them. Now when was the last time a miracle happened in this parish? Three years ago? Five? Ten? Never? Well, every day miracles happen. Its all dependent on what you’re looking for in a miracle. The time at Hallett Cove, with Jacob, at sunset, and dolphins were feeding, jumping out of the water, that was a miracle to me. That was something to be in awe of. A friend of mine, a parishioner at the Good Shepherd died last week. He was young, 55, and died of motor neurone disease. His life was a miracle, the amount of work he did for people like the orphans he spent all of his holidays working with, and the rest of the year raising money for. His life was a miracle. And something to be in awe of. We are so bedazzled by the amazing technological advances of our world that we fail to be in awe of anything anymore.
This early church was a place where things happened. Again, the signs and wonders. And again, it is a matter of perspective. Is a sign or a wonder only some sort of charismatic gift? Is it a miracle healing, done in a southern American accent? In some churches, if anything at all happens, like someone breathing, it’s a miracle. But there are things happening here quite often. And part of our planning will be to plan strategically and prayerfully things that might happen here, signs and wonders of fellowship and Christian community. People are attracted to places where things happen. And the more people that come, the more potential there is for things to happen.
This early church was a sharing church. There was in intense sense of responsibility for each other amongst these early Christians. They were the social security system for their community. There were no unemployment benefits, or sickness pensions, or sole parent payments, or aged pensions. They looked after their people who were in need by themselves. We have some social security systems in place as part of the government structure, although admittedly the government seem to do so grudgingly and the pensions and allowances seem to be worth less each year. And it’s in this shortfall that groups like churches work, and that is where our community outreach happens, the food for Noarlunga, and the Monday lunches, things like that. And the assistance we give each other in this community. We look after each other, we are called to, it’s in our nature.
This early church is a worshipping church. They spent much time in the temple. But it’s not just about spending time at worship in a temple or a church. Worship happens everywhere, not just between the hours of 8am and 12noon on Sunday mornings in Christian places. It sounds like many aspects of the life of the early church were acts of worship, the sharing and caring. And it’s no different now, even on an individual level. I mean, I had the greatest sense of worship when I went for ride on the bike after church a few weeks ago. It was on the road between Clarendon and Meadows, and I had this feeling here, in my heart. It was joy, worship, gratitude, and I couldn’t help praising God for the wonderful feeling. We can all do this in our lives, in those special times doing things we enjoy, as well as when we are together in our beautiful church. Its just a matter of expanding our concept of worship.
Above all, that early church was a community that people wanted to be in. It was attractive because of its qualities described above. This is what I hope we are aiming for. The vision that I am working towards, a vision without form as yet, is for this parish, this community, to be a place that people can’t help but be drawn to. A place of life, worship, community, sharing. The form to this vision will come from all of us, in the parish planning process. We will all, I hope, pray about this, listen to God, and allow the Spirit to move us and inspire us. I invite you, if you haven’t started already to pray for the discernment and vision. Have a think about where we fit with these qualities of church. And how we might do better if you find we are lacking. Above all, think and pray about how we might better fulfil our mission to be Christians in this local community and to bring others to Christ. Then perhaps, day by day, the Lord will add to our number the many who are being saved.
The Lord be with you.
