From the Pastor |
Last week we heard the end of Peter’s very first sermon given on the Day of Pentecost. What a sermon that was too. Peter… a simple and sometimes rash fisherman from Galilee… stood there, speaking to a huge crowd of people… letting them know that once this man named Jesus comes into your life, you can forget about everything you thought you knew. Up will be down and first will be last and if you think you know how things will turn out in the end, think again; because, once his love begins to fill your heart, anything is possible. Anything!"
And then that “anything” began to happen. We are told that three thousand people were added to their number that day. 3,000! Our reading from the Book of Acts gives us a description of what happened with all those people who joined with the Christ’s followers. In response to what they had heard Peter say and what the apostles continued to teach, they started meeting together daily… not because they HAD to… not to run a business meeting or to pass the budget, but because they actually wanted to be together. “What's mine is yours” seemed to become everybody's motto! The early Christians… those people who chose to believe in and follow Jesus… formed a community. Holding things in common, giving away what you didn't need, and meeting together out of a gladness and generosity of spirit that simply filled your heart… Talk about Absolute craziness! It would have given their stockbroker apoplexy! Today… if we saw them we would probably call them a "cult" or maybe “Hippies”… or worse (given the political climate… “Socialists”! But honestly… it is what we are called to do… to live together IN COMMUNITY! The Gospel of John tells us that just prior to his arrest and crucifixion… Jesus spent time praying… that all who would come to believe “may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me...” (John 17: 20-24) Paul refers to us all as the ONE BODY of Christ. United. Together. Loving, sharing, caring! However, it seems that the idea of truly living in community simultaneously attracts and repels most of us. We long for the life-affirming benefits that a community can bestow… but we resist the demands that community makes on us. This is probably because we recognize that we have a lot to lose in such a situation. We are tempted to dismiss these verses as quaint or unrealistic, even as we long for this kind of love and unity in our lives. But God calls people to salvation through Christ; in doing so, God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, unites those same people and has created a vast worldwide community. And the truth is… we NEED IT! We NEED unity… we NEED community. We NEED a place where we can belong… a place where we can learn and grow in our faith… a place where we can go to feel safe… understood… to find strength and help in times of need… and where we can offer the same to someone else. Peter’s letter tells us why… “For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” [1 Peter 2: 19-20] Or as I have heard it said… simply because “bad things DO happen to good people.” Suffering happens… not because we deserve it… but because… that is life! There is tremendous suffering in the world. Followers of Christ are certainly not immune from it… we are not spared all the pain and suffering… the heartache and illness… And in this life… sometimes we even suffer for doing what is right… for what we believe… Living lives of faith is not easy. Many times… it makes us different, and we, as people of the 21st century, face many challenges to our faith every day. And this year… 2020… has tested us all. We are much more isolated and alone… we live with the fear that we, or someone we love might contract this virus… we watch every day as the numbers continue to climb… those infected… those who have died… those who are unemployed… those who are in need. The numbers continue to climb… and we cannot even gather in our house of worship. The one positive that I have seen come out of this? Even though we cannot gather… even though many of us are truly alone… I have witnessed a true sense of community. Our county, towns and villages are coming together to help one another… churches and community groups have rallied together to serve on another. Even in our time of social distancing and isolation… we are experiencing a sense of community that has been sorely lacking in our country… our state… our towns and neighborhoods… even in our churches. It takes a community working together, supporting and caring for one another… to see us through these scary times… AND it takes a community to hold on to faith… to hold on to the belief that God is working to bring grace and peace, mercy, love and new life to every person in the midst of all the suffering and heartbreak, cruelty and hypocrisy of this world. Although he had done nothing wrong… Jesus suffered and died for you… for me… “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds [we] have been healed.” [1 Peter 2: 24] This is what we believe… this is our faith, and faith is something that thrives and grows in the sharing. Our faith community serves as an extended family for us. It’s our support system, encouraging, guiding and strengthening us as we continue our journey of faith. Our world focuses so much time and energy on our divisions, but we, as followers of Christ, are called to look past all those things that might divide us and embrace our connections; to find in them the resurrection life that Christ promises. The reality is that Christian faith has always been a community endeavor. We see that from the earliest days of the church… the Christian Community. The effect of such a community is that through sharing they were supporting and encouraging and strengthening each other’s faith! As someone once put it, “The resurrection is not a fact to be believed, but an experience to be shared.” Our faith simply cannot flourish if we think we have to be spiritual “lone rangers.” Faith flourishes in a community. There is something about faith that it needs to be carried out “in the presence of all God’s people” (Psalm 116:14) in order to thrive. I like the way Henri Nouwen puts it: “Christian community is the place where we keep the flame of hope alive among us… That is how we dare to say that God is a God of love when we see death and destruction and agony all around us. We say it together. We affirm it in each other.” This current Crisis has helped us find and reaffirm our commitment to being a true community of faith. To recognize that Christian fellowship and community is a key aspect of the Christian life. To realize that we are connected to one another… connected by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. You are connected to one another… connected to every follower of Christ who is a member of this church… to every follower of Christ in every church… in every city or town… in every house, apartment and park bench... around the world! Through our connection, we are called to love one another… to support, encourage and care for one another. The ministry of God's reign that Jesus began during his life and secured by his death, resurrection, is not merely a thing of the past or some faint hope for the future. It is only together, in community, through fellowship, love and sharing that Christ’s life and saving grace can be fully known. So please… take time this week… reach out to your brothers and sisters in Christ and see how they are doing. Pick up the phone or send a card or email… if you are in need… reach out to your family of faith… Let us help one another… care for and support one another… share the love of Christ with one another and that love will grow and overflow… spilling out… over to others.
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Yeon Shin
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