Resurrection Through Community
Acts 2: 42-47
The new believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds[a] to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home[b] and ate their food with glad and generous[c] hearts, 47 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.
I don't know when I first encountered this reading from Acts, but it must have made an impression on me because I remembered it in my grade 10 social class when the teacher was talking about different types of government: communism, capitalism, fascism and so on. I raised my hand and said, communism sounds a lot like the early church, everyone shared what they had, so everyone had what they needed. My poor teacher, who was an atheist, wasn't quite sure what to say.
I still believe there is a strong similarity between pure communism and the early church. Both are very idealistic and don't necessarily work out as planned in reality, but they are beautiful visions of what is possible when people work together and truly look out for each other's needs.
This short passage from Acts is like a basic primer of how to build Christian community: study the Bible, get together in fellowship, break bread together and pray.
Theologian Gary Hansen says, “This is the earliest listing of what came to be called “marks” or “notes” of the church – characteristics beyond the confession of Jesus as Lord that identified the church as the church.”
These four things are the cornerstones of the early church and they are equally important and relevant today. The author of Acts makes it clear that each aspect is of equal value. So let's look at these 4 essential aspects of Christian community.
The first is “devotion to apostles' teachings.” For us today that means studying the Bible and other faith teachers. We do that as a community through sermons and study groups and any church group that has a place for faith discussion.
It's not really a surprise that this would be an essential building block of faith, but what's interesting is the emphasis on doing it in community. Couldn't we just all do our own thing and study at home? Well yes, a lot can be done on our own and it's important to do our own personal faith work. But we also need our community of faith.
For one thing, studying God's word together keeps us from only looking at the parts of the Bible or faith in general that we like. On our own, we'll focus on what gives us comfort, what makes us feel good, most of all we'll focus on what we agree with. That's one of biggest problems with faith work that's only done as individual, it's too easy to stick with what matches your own thinking.
Part of my role as minister is to push us to look at the parts of the Bible and aspects of our faith that are more challenging – parts about things like loving enemy and who is your enemy, putting the needs of the many ahead of personal needs, working for justice, accepting other points of view and other ways of understanding God and so on.
Our faith community also holds us accountable. It asks us tough questions as individuals and as a community: where, how are we putting our faith into action? Are we remembering those on the margins? Our social justice committee has been doing this role with the minutes for ministry over the past two weeks, reminding us that the covid crisis isn't just about us, there is a whole other set of challenges facing people in developing countries and we have a role to play in supporting them.
The devotion to teachings side of being a community of faith gives us a starting place and a goal for our faith. It both guides us and challenges us, giving us a glimpse of the accumulated wisdom and faith of millennia of faithful people.
Fellowship is next. It's a big part of who we are at Comox United. On the surface groups like knitting group, the men's shed, singles suppers, games night might look like they aren't connected to faith, but they are. We gather so we can get to know one another at a different level, in a different way. We can have conversations that are different from the ones after church. We come to know one another as individuals, not just another person in the pew or a fellow committee member.
That's how we develop our love for one another, through eating together, laughing together, knitting and building together. It's hard to share deep sorrows with people you have never said more than Hello to. True connection is built through time spent together in a variety of ways.
Again theologian Gary Hansen puts it so well: “With devotion to fellowship, people are made to feel at home, growing close enough for genuine rejoicing, encouragement and support.” This time of isolation is truly teaching us the importance of fellowship, isn't it? I have received many e-mails from people telling me how much they appreciate these worship videos, yet almost every message ends with, but I sure miss seeing the people of the congregation and just talking with them.
Number 3, the breaking of bread, is sharing meals and more. Breaking of bread is also communion, which is a sacrament, a visible and physical sign of the unseen presence of God. When we share communion, we experience the presence of God through the bread and the cup, but also through each other. You can't have communion alone, the very name tells us that it's something we share together.
That said, it doesn't matter if you are physically alone when we have communion today. You are sharing it in Spirit with everyone else who is watching our service. That's what the breaking of bread is about, experiencing the presence of the risen Christ together and it happens in many ways.
Finally, last but not least, there's prayer. Our community of faith connects us to one another in ways that are unlike any other group we are a part of. And being United Church people, you're probably part of many groups! In our faith community we don't just care for one another, we pray for each other, holding each other in love before God.
We seek direction and guidance from God as individuals and as a community. When making difficult decisions, at Council or any committee meeting or as a congregation, we begin and end with prayer. Prayer isn't just formally addressing God, it is any time we open our hearts and minds to the presence of God. Praying for one another individually and praying together for our community and for our world is a powerful way of inviting God into our lives and our world.
Although really, it isn't about inviting God - God is already there - so much as it is making room for God to move.
All of this is closely linked with resurrection. Those early believers experienced resurrection, new life, new beginnings, in their community of faith. They felt the beginning of something new so profoundly that they cut physical ties with their old lives, selling everything off so could live in community. We may not be taking that kind of dramatic step, but we still experience resurrection through our community of faith.
I think of several people at this church who have told me they found acceptance and community for the first time in years in our family of faith, and for them it was a sort of rebirth.
I think of the LGTBQ person who discovered at Comox United that they could be gay and Christian, and there was resurrection in their life.
I think of the person who didn't believe in God as old man in the sky, and thought they could therefore never be part of a church, but who through our church discovered new ways to understand God and live out their faith.
I think of communities who have worked together to bring about resurrection for their family of faith. Here in 1988 when 90% of the congregation left over the United Church's decision to ordain gays and lesbians, the 10% who were left rebuilt the church into the congregation we know and love today.
I think of Brechin United in Nanaimo, tearing down their building and in its place, putting affordable housing.
Today through the wonders of the internet, our church family has expanded to include people across the country and even around the world. We cannot gather in person, but our family of faith is still alive and well and we are nurturing each other. That's resurrection.
May our family of faith continue to be a place where we can grow in faith, as individuals and as a community, and may we experience resurrection together through the process.