The Rev. Paul J Cain
Acts 4:32-35
Of One Heart and Soul
Second Sunday of Easter, 19 April 2009
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Tell me if you’ve heard this story at church before. An arrest. A trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Senate…and then a release? No, that doesn’t sound like Jesus on Holy Week. And you’d be right. This morning’s First Reading records the reaction of the Christians after Peter and John were released from custody. They had healed a man who had been lame from birth and were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. No wonder this text shows up as a reading for the Easter Season!
Peter and John were released from custody, but only after they were warned not to preach about Jesus. As you might guess, they totally ignored that command and rightly obeyed God rather than men.
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Nearly two thousand years have passed since these events. Some of the younger folks gathered with us don’t remember the Cold War and the international threat of Communism. And for some strange reason, socialism is increasing in popularity even in the
Why did these early Christians share the way that they did? They did so in response to the Gospel of the Lord. Worship is not primarily entertainment. In fact, what we do here in the Divine Service isn’t the most important part, either. We call this the Divine Service because here the Divine, God, serves us. He gives us His Word and His Gifts. Our worship of Him is a tiny response to His great Gifts.
“Our Lord speaks and we listen. His Word bestows what it says. Faith that is born from what is heard acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praise. Music is drawn into this thankfulness and praise, enlarging and elevating the adoration of our gracious giver God.
“Saying back to him what he has said to us, we repeat what is most true and sure. Most true and sure is his name, which he put upon us with the water of our Baptism. We are his. This we acknowledge at the beginning of the Divine Service. Where his name is, there is he. Before him we acknowledge that we are sinners, and we plead for forgiveness. His forgiveness is given us, and we, freed and forgiven, acclaim him as our great and gracious God as we apply to ourselves the words he has used to make himself known to us.
“The rhythm of our worship is from him to us, and then from us back to him. He gives his gifts, and together we receive and extol them. We build one another up as we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Our Lord gives us his body to eat and his blood to drink. Finally his blessing moves us out into our calling, where his gifts have their fruition.
“How best to do this we may learn from his Word and from the way his Word has prompted his worship throughout the centuries. We are heirs of an astonishingly rich tradition. Each tradition receives from those who went before and, in making that tradition of the Divine Service its own, adds what best may serve in its own day--the living heritage and something new” (Lutheran Worship, “Introduction,” p. 6 Norman Edgar Nagel).
The book of Acts also records the first Christian Pentecost, Peter’s sermon, and the response to it. Acts 2:41-47 (ESV) says: 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
People heard God’s Word. The Holy Spirit created faith in them and they were baptized. And then they went to church: teaching, fellowship in the breaking of bread, and the prayers. And doesn’t that sound a lot like this morning? It should! This text is one of the reasons Lutherans worship the way that we do.
The response of Christians today to what we hear and receive on Sunday flows through our lives all week long, just as it did in the first century, again in Acts Chapter 2: 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
In response to the Gospel, Christians are responsible for inventing institutions we take for granted as being part of civilization. (Paraphrase of Alvin J. Schmidt, WORLD magazine interview about How Christianity Changed the World). The intellectual Greeks and practical Romans had no hospitals. There was a pagan void. Hospitals were first introduced in the fourth century by Christians, motivated by Christ’s words, ‘I was sick and you looked after me.’
Jesus gave women dignity and freedom unknown in the ancient world. Today, look at how women are treated in parts of the world with few Christians or little Christian influence and you will see the impact of faith in Christ here in the western world.
The early Christians welcomed all into their fold, regardless of race, sex, or ethnicity. In time, contrary to the biblical perspective, socialists and communists defined equality as economic policies. This led to coercion, depriving individuals of basic freedoms in pursuit of a utopian, economic equality…
Christianity prompted the outlawing of slavery.
The first experimental scientists, beginning with the 13th century, were all confessing Christians. They related their scientific findings to biblical theology. Not until the 18th century, when many scientists bowed to philosophical materialism, were Christianity and science [falsely] defined as incompatible.
To summarize, the world would be a very different place without Christianity and the faith-filled response of Christians to the Gifts of Christ in the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) is a good summary of this morning’s sermon: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…”
When we share the mind of Christ, that means we are in agreement with Him by being in agreement with His Word. We read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word—and take it to heart, too! True Christian unity is found in humbly surrendering our own opinions to Christ and His Word, or, when God’s Word hasn’t spoken, considering others before ourselves and how we may glorify God and extend His kingdom.
The Gospel of Christ is a bright ray of hope in a dark world. The Christian response to the forgiveness, life, and salvation found only in the Gospel of Christ is a bright ray of hope in a dark world. These early Christians give us a godly example to imitate according to the vocation we hold in common with them, that of baptized Christian, eagerly and regularly receiving the Lord’s Gifts.
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
“Our Lord speaks and we listen. His Word bestows what it says. Faith that is born from what is heard acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praise.” In Christ Jesus we are also of one heart and soul. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus Amen.
