Sermon 04/13/08 (Acts 2:42-47)

“The Real Church”
Acts 2:42-47
Rev. Désirée H. Gold
St. Mark’s United Church of Christ, Baltimore, MD
Sunday, 13 April, 2008
Fourth Sunday of Easter
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 I spent this past week reading the Baltimore phone book. ...Okay, fine... I didn’t read the whole thing! But the “Churches” section itself is 16 pages!! There’s the United Church of Christ (of course), Church of Christ, Church of God in Christ, “just plain” Church of God. There’s African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, United Methodist. (Don’t even mention all the Baptists!) There’s Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church in America. There’s Eastern Orthodox. Greek Orthodox. Orthodox Coptic. There’s Catholic. Several varieties of Lutheran. Seventh Day Adventist. Unity. Wesleyan.

Depending on how you count it (and which phone book you use), there are 69 Christian denominations, just within Baltimore! The number is likely higher, since not all of the denominations I named above have their own section in the yellow pages. Some churches in the phone book call themselves “nondenominational,” or “interdenominational,” and I’m not sure if all the ones I counted identify themselves as Christian, or if there are other denominations that would identify themselves as Christian. But even if I (or the yellow pages) missed a few, anything close to 69 denominations is mind blowing! More than seventy different ways of worshiping Christ, just within one city! And, of course, most of those denominations have several congregations within Baltimore, and each of those congregations likely worships Christ in slightly different ways. We all name ourselves Christians, but we have, in some cases, very different ideas about what “being Christian” means.

Our current denominationalism seems a far cry from the description of the early church that we have heard this morning from the book of Acts:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and
signs were being done by the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the
proceeds to all, as any had need.
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple,
they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and
generous hearts, 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."

Granted, Luke’s description in Acts paints an idealistic picture. It is doubtful that even the earliest days of Christianity were as perfect as Luke makes them sound, that there was no greed among believers, that they really always “ate their food with glad and generous hearts,” or that they spent their every moment awe-struck at the wonder of God. And, even in those earliest days, while there may not have been formal denominational lines, different Christian groups did exist and practiced their discipleship in different ways. However, literal or not, this depiction of the earliest Christians paints a picture that is worth remembering. While ideals may not ever be met to exactness, they give us something to reach for, a goal to which we can aspire.

We may differentiate ourselves from the Evangelical Bible Church, and from Church of St. Paul the Apostle African Methodist Episcopal Church down the street. We may spend a sometimes significant portion of our time complaining rather than praising God (we all experienced some consternation when the power went out during Holy Week). We may be American capitalists who think “holding everything in common” sounds too much like “Communism.” We may spend a great deal of time worrying about our own church budget and not as much time giving all we have to those less fortunate than we are. We may be just plain caught up in the modern world. It is precisely for those reasons that we need to hear the words of this morning’s scripture. We need to remind ourselves of the simplicity contained therein -- a simplicity which we may never be able to meet, but to which we can aspire. Perhaps we can even make some changes in the direction of that simplicity.

For example, could we spend a little more time in Christian fellowship with one another? We (and, yes, I include myself) have been known to run off after grabbing a bite to eat at “Fellowship Hour,” in order to make it home to do all those things that consume our time: watch the game, do laundry, take a nap. ...Could we perhaps remind ourselves of the importance of gathering together as people of faith, rather than the “importance” we place on a football game or a weekly chore?

We “break bread together” formally once a month during Holy Communion. Could we see every opportunity that we have to eat with one another as a holy “breaking of bread”? When we are munching on cookies at Fellowship Hour, could we begin to see that as holy time, not just social time?

And our prayers? Could we begin to hear the prayers raised up on Sunday mornings as not just a list of names? Could we lift up prayers to God, not only in those “official” moments -- in church, before a meal, before bed -- but every moment? “I made it home safely. Thank you, God.” “That sunrise is beautiful. Thank you, Creator God.” “John has a runny nose this morning. Please be with him.” Prayer with every breath we take.

What about holding things in common, and distributing what we have to those in need? I have long been of the opinion that Communism is deemed evil because in every experiment it has been accompanied by tremendous greed. But the communal life has millennia of Christian history. What would happen if we began truly sharing with one another? ...Not just sharing a book or a piece of jewelry with a fellow church member or other friend...but sharing what we have with even those we do not know? What would happen if we gave everything that we do not truly need to those who do need it?

These days we throw a TV dinner in the microwave, eat quickly, often alone, and for the sole purpose of fueling our bodies. When was the last time we savored our food, truly ate it with “glad and generous hearts”? And what would happen if we did?

Perhaps if we found ways to reach closer to Luke’s ideal, we would indeed find it in us to praise God more often than we do. And perhaps we would have greater success in “having the goodwill of all the people.” Not all of them, of course. But by living the Gospel, rather than just preaching it, we could change not only our own lives but the lives, the hearts, of those around us.

We worship in different churches and call ourselves different names because we come to God in a myriad of ways. Fine. God created us in God’s own diverse image. But the words of Acts lay it out clearly. Regardless of who we think Christ is, regardless of what name we use for God, regardless of whether or not we dance joyfully in worship or believe that dancing will lead to sin, we are all called to give to the poor, to praise God, to break bread together, and to live a life of prayer.

Now let us pray.