Acts 2:44-47
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This reading gives us a description of the earliest Christian gatherings. This is Post-Easter, Post-Ascension, Post-Pentecost, when the Jesus-followers were gifted with the Spirit and then left on their own to figure out “what next” for themselves -- when the institution we know as “church” was just being established (although no one then would have understood what they were doing in that language or that context.)
They came together in their excitement at hearing the stories of Jesus. Whether they had followed Jesus for three years already or they had just heard the Good News for the first time last week, they wanted to be with other people who shared their excitement and had other stories to tell. They wanted to live together as Jesus had urged them to do. They wanted to care for each other. And they wanted to tell the world about everything.
It has been 2000 years since these first gatherings and those once impromptu meetings now cover the earth. And in those 2000 years they have undergone many, many changes. Some remain small and communal while others have become large, ritualized, and somewhat impersonal. Some focus on community, some focus on the written word, e.g. the Bible, some put their focus on a eucharistic meal.
Some are all about the music, whether classical or rock, some are about a flashy arena-style “experience” creating excitement and endorphins. We each choose the style that we are most comfortable with – one that matches our own idea of “following Jesus.” I, myself, stumbled into the Disciples of Christ because after spending most of my life to that time in a communion- centered denomination I needed communion every week to feel that I was truly experiencing church.
As long as the message is true and the caring is honest it probably doesn’t make too much difference where or how we choose to worship if it fits us and draws us into community. But – the thing I just said about the message being true and the caring being honest – that is important because if either of these is missing then that is the wrong place for us to be.
So what is it that makes a church? That may sound at first like a pretty easy question but it most definitely is not. Yes, assuming we are talking here about Christian churches then we can say that a church is a group of people who follow Jesus. That’s pretty basic but to take that question to the next level can immediately get very complicated. If it were simple there would only be one church, one denomination, but as it is there are over 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. 45,000 ways of following Jesus. And new ones being added all the time.
Not to pile on the Methodists – they’re just the ones in the news this week so the ones that caught my attention – but starting next month there will be a whole new Methodist church split off to do its own thing – which apparently is to not have to deal with LGBTQ+ people anywhere around them. (sigh). We just keep splitting apart and making more and more divisions – each division convinced theirs is the right way.
This thing that we call church has always shown itself capable of beautiful things – love and compassion and hope and service. But it has also proved to be capable of division and gate-keeping and – unfortunately -- violence and death.
How can something begun from the love of Jesus go so far astray? Too many churches seem to be built in the image of those who build them instead of the image of Jesus. I know of many churches – our own included – that work at being the people Jesus calls us to be – who try to be true to Jesus’ call. And following that call means helping with the “things” people need in their lives – things like food and shelter. But it also means so much beyond “things“ – it means welcome and respect and caring --- both for the neighbors we can see and those far away. It means not just claiming Jesus as our own but being willing to join ourselves into the greater family of God’s children everywhere.
This word “church” means more than the building we gather in or the people who gather here with us. Church is a concrete reality and a philosophical ideal It is a dream with so many meanings and layers. Next Sunday I’ll be on vacation, but starting the following Sunday – the 22nd -- we’re going to begin to delve into the realities and the ideals of what church is – and what it can be.
And maybe find out how we arrived where we are today starting from that place where all the believers were together and told their stories of Jesus – where [according to our scripture today] they sold possessions to give to anyone who had need...where they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God.
So I’m going to ask you to do some thinking over the next two weeks about just what it is you mean when you say the word “church.” And also where you think we could do better – and how to do that – and why. We’re going to talk about it the next time we come together, so be prepared.
And those of you meeting with us from a distance and not in-person, you can send your thoughts as well. There’s ways to contact me on our web-site and our facebook page. I hope to hear from you.
They came together in their excitement at hearing the stories of Jesus. Whether they had followed Jesus for three years already or they had just heard the Good News for the first time last week, they wanted to be with other people who shared their excitement and had other stories to tell. They wanted to live together as Jesus had urged them to do. They wanted to care for each other. And they wanted to tell the world about everything.
It has been 2000 years since these first gatherings and those once impromptu meetings now cover the earth. And in those 2000 years they have undergone many, many changes. Some remain small and communal while others have become large, ritualized, and somewhat impersonal. Some focus on community, some focus on the written word, e.g. the Bible, some put their focus on a eucharistic meal.
Some are all about the music, whether classical or rock, some are about a flashy arena-style “experience” creating excitement and endorphins. We each choose the style that we are most comfortable with – one that matches our own idea of “following Jesus.” I, myself, stumbled into the Disciples of Christ because after spending most of my life to that time in a communion- centered denomination I needed communion every week to feel that I was truly experiencing church.
As long as the message is true and the caring is honest it probably doesn’t make too much difference where or how we choose to worship if it fits us and draws us into community. But – the thing I just said about the message being true and the caring being honest – that is important because if either of these is missing then that is the wrong place for us to be.
So what is it that makes a church? That may sound at first like a pretty easy question but it most definitely is not. Yes, assuming we are talking here about Christian churches then we can say that a church is a group of people who follow Jesus. That’s pretty basic but to take that question to the next level can immediately get very complicated. If it were simple there would only be one church, one denomination, but as it is there are over 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. 45,000 ways of following Jesus. And new ones being added all the time.
Not to pile on the Methodists – they’re just the ones in the news this week so the ones that caught my attention – but starting next month there will be a whole new Methodist church split off to do its own thing – which apparently is to not have to deal with LGBTQ+ people anywhere around them. (sigh). We just keep splitting apart and making more and more divisions – each division convinced theirs is the right way.
This thing that we call church has always shown itself capable of beautiful things – love and compassion and hope and service. But it has also proved to be capable of division and gate-keeping and – unfortunately -- violence and death.
How can something begun from the love of Jesus go so far astray? Too many churches seem to be built in the image of those who build them instead of the image of Jesus. I know of many churches – our own included – that work at being the people Jesus calls us to be – who try to be true to Jesus’ call. And following that call means helping with the “things” people need in their lives – things like food and shelter. But it also means so much beyond “things“ – it means welcome and respect and caring --- both for the neighbors we can see and those far away. It means not just claiming Jesus as our own but being willing to join ourselves into the greater family of God’s children everywhere.
This word “church” means more than the building we gather in or the people who gather here with us. Church is a concrete reality and a philosophical ideal It is a dream with so many meanings and layers. Next Sunday I’ll be on vacation, but starting the following Sunday – the 22nd -- we’re going to begin to delve into the realities and the ideals of what church is – and what it can be.
And maybe find out how we arrived where we are today starting from that place where all the believers were together and told their stories of Jesus – where [according to our scripture today] they sold possessions to give to anyone who had need...where they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God.
So I’m going to ask you to do some thinking over the next two weeks about just what it is you mean when you say the word “church.” And also where you think we could do better – and how to do that – and why. We’re going to talk about it the next time we come together, so be prepared.
And those of you meeting with us from a distance and not in-person, you can send your thoughts as well. There’s ways to contact me on our web-site and our facebook page. I hope to hear from you.
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