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Rector’s Reflection—May 2012Alleluia, Christ is risen!! After making our way through Holy Week, we are now on the other side of Easter. What is it the hymn says? “Death is conquered, we are free. Christ has won the victory.” Alleluia!! It’s all good! No more laboring under the crushing weight of the Law. No more having to worry about ghastly penalties. Nope. Jesus died for us. We’re FREE! Alleluia!! So how odd to have this reading from Acts as the first lesson we hear after the Easter flowers have faded and most of the eggs have been found: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” No private ownership? Revenue from the sale of land and houses turned over to a collection of former fishermen and a tax collector? That’s the toughest stewardship campaign I’ve ever heard of. Maybe we were little hasty with that “we’re free” thing. (And if the idea of giving everything to the group is disturbing, read the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Now that’s disturbing.) It’s easy to get all excited about Easter amidst fancy clothes, incense, flowers, and great music. It’s easy to forget that the empty tomb wasn’t the end of the whole Jesus story. As the disciples discovered the next day, when Jesus casually strolled into the upper room totally unannounced, there were consequences surrounding the Easter event. They were now responsible for getting this new creation off the ground... and this reading from Acts provides the answer to the question, “What’s next?” On second thought... maybe the Law wasn’t that bad. I’ll have to admit, if there was ever a time to invoke the “that was then, this is now” excuse for ignoring Scripture, this is probably it. However, you know I never accept that cop-out. But are we all supposed to become communists? No. It seems that the main purpose for this communal life was the care of the poor, and if you read Paul’s writings, you know this communal living arrangement didn’t catch on even back then. Some of the earliest fights within the church were caused by this communal system of sharing resources, therefore other strategies for serving the poor had to emerge. I know that there will be some sermons preached this Sunday, especially in the USA, that will include scathing indictments of capitalism and greed (I know because I have heard them) that will send some parishioners home feeling inadequate, guilty, or just plain angry. Of course there are abuses in capitalism and greed is never a good thing, but I don’t read this passage that way. Instead I appeal to my Human Beings 1.0 hypothesis: we aren’t different from the early church of Acts. We still try to care for the poor as one of our most important responsibilities, and our faith is still expressed in a church community. Most people I know are generous because they learned generosity from Holy Scripture, and community must still be important or people wouldn’t keep seeking it in church week after week. No doubt this is a tough passage, but Christianity is tough. Christianity constantly puts us at odds with the secular world – the one we have to live in. Christianity constantly challenges us to struggle with the temptations to look after ourselves first and to take care of our own house and leave our neighbors’ problems to our neighbors, but the great power and the presence of God’s grace that was in the early church is still here... and that gives us the means to meet the challenge. Susan+ Click here to read from past Son Rises.
The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Hattiesburg, Mississippi is a church community united by a joyful, caring spirit and a commitment to outreach to Hattiesburg and beyond. Ascension values the unique resources, skills, and talents of all individuals and welcome their use. At the Church of the Ascension we celebrate God's love through worship, education, mutual support, and outreach to our church family, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the larger community. We nurture the continued growth of our spiritual community. |
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Last Modified: May 1, 2012 |
