April 30, 2000
Second Sunday in Easter

LECTIONARY READINGS
from the Revised Common Lectionary

Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31

[ Read the texts at the Vanderbilt Divinity On-Line Library ]
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The Real Miracle of Easter

It does not happen every week.

But this week it did.

The lectionary texts bring together four of my very favorite scripture passages.  For Christian people, these readings are about the most powerful event in all of history and about the result of the most powerful event in history.

In some ways, the response is as remarkable as the event itself.  The event is of course, Easter.  The response is the amazing community life of the earliest Christians.

***

Before we look more carefully at the scripture readings for today, I want to tell you about another amazing -- almost miraculous event.

While out to dinner last January, I went to the restroom and happened to meet a colleague I had not seen for some time.  Promising to get in contact, we exchanged cards and in the process of becoming engaged in our conversation, I absent-mindedly laid my wallet on the counter by the sink. And promptly forgot it!

I did not think about my wallet until it was time to pay the check.  Reaching for my back pocket, I was hit with a sense of alarm as the image of the wallet sitting on the counter in the restroom of a public restaurant came to me.  It was more dutifully than expectantly, I went to see if it was still there.

Then the miraculous event.

There it was!  Right where I had left it.

Now -- why is that such a surprising thing?    You know the answer to that. Human nature is such that we put alarms in our cars, our homes and anywhere else you might find things of value you don't want stolen.   One of the discussions that occurs with some regularity in churches is along the line of this question, "Isn't it too bad we have to lock our churches?"

A number of years ago, that discussion came up in a church I know and a very strong elder insisted that it wasn't right to lock churches and that people should be able to come in and pray any time they wanted.  After some heated discussion, he won out after reminding everyone how strongly he supported the church's budget.  They agreed to "try it" for a while and let people know they could come in and pray at any time of day or night.  (The pastor bit her tongue when she wanted to point out that it was difficult enough to get people to come out and pray on Sunday.)

What do you suppose happened?

During the first week of the "test," the computer and all its accessories disappeared from the church office.  The elder was good enough to replace it, but at an emergency meeting of the church board, the doors were locked once again.  A sub committee was appointed to look into an alarm system for the church.

Human nature is such that we expect theft, greed and corruption.  You know the saying, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts ___________ ." (absolutely)  Bank robberies and grand theft no longer make the headlines unless the robbery is a multi-million dollar one.  A young woman employee in a fast food restaurant who returned a lost wallet containing two thousand dollars did make the news in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  It was a newsworthy event precisely because it ran counter to what we expect of human nature.

There are examples of generosity and good will available to all of us, but when a whole community is able to care for one another and share equally with one another -- without exception -- well...  that's coming close to a miraculous event.

***

This is exactly what happened in the earliest church in the days and weeks immediately following the resurrection of Jesus Christ.   The scripture reading from Acts spells out the miraculous occurrence of Easter:

"With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all."  (v.33)

And then our scripture spells out the miraculous outcome of Easter:

"There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned land 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."  ¹

Think about this phrase:  "There was not a needy person among them!"  If this could be honestly said in our church, it would be the most incredible witness to the truth of Easter there could possibly be.  It would have more impact than our statement of faith and gain more attention than any Yellow Pages ad!

The life of that early Christian community was the real miracle of Easter -- at least when it comes to the transformation of human nature. What an incredible, beautiful thing when people in the church care so much for one another than no one remains needy.  The Psalmist put this in terms of, "How very good and pleasant it is when kindred dwell together in unity."

How awful it is when the community of faith is a place where some can say, "My cup runneth over," while others have no cup.  Nothing breaks the heart of a pastor more than to go from a funeral where the family had to have county aid to secure a burial plot,  to a lavish wedding where the flowers alone cost over a thousand dollars.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a stunning, beautiful truth of our faith.  It is the cornerstone of the apostles' preaching.   The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope as no other event in all of history gives hope.

But how much more beautiful that amazing truth when the miraculous occurrence of Easter fills the hearts of God's children and brings about this miraculous outcome of Easter:

"There was not a needy person among them!"

***

The epistle reading from the First letter of John and the lesson from the Gospel of John point to two significant realities that are a result of the resurrection of Christ.

[1]  It is the resurrection that makes these words from First John possible:

"...truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ."

In other words, the resurrection makes the possibility of a relationship with God a certainty.  Because Christ lives, we can relate to him, not as a hero from the past we might admire, but as One who is available to us here and now. 

[2] The closing verse of the gospel reading points to the certainty of Jesus' words to his disciples in the Upper Room: "...because I live, you also will live."  [John 14:19]  It is one thing for the followers of Jesus to hear these words before his death.  They must have been hopeful, even stirring words.  The disciples were troubled and anxious on the night Jesus spoke these words.  No doubt the words were of some comfort.

When someone we love very much shares words of comfort like, "i will see you again," before they die, it does give us comfort.  But,  it was absolutely transforming for the disciples to recall the words after the resurrection!  The words were no longer a matter of hope, but a fact of life.  The Gospel of John then seeks to pass this transforming news on to us by saying:

"But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." [20:31]

***

Here then is the reality that can lead to the real miracle of Easter.  Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.  Because of that we know; [1] We can have a relationship with God right here and now in this life and,   [2] We can be sure that we will share in the resurrection life of Christ.

What then, can defeat the power of the Christian's hope?  What small circumstances of life can shake these eternity changing truths?  Those of us who share this amazing faith are bound together with each other and with Christ forever.  We are family.  We are sisters and brothers in a family that has a long, long history and an unending future.

There ought not be a hungry person in God's family unless all of God's children are hungry.   There should not be a needy person amongst our brothers and sisters unless all the family is needy.  It is a scandal that some in the family are without food, shelter and clothing when others in the family live in mansions with unlimited wardrobes.

Surely, the miraculous occurrence of Easter can become the miraculous outcome of Easter, if we will open our hearts more fully to the reality of Easter.

Surely the world will take notice of such a family of faith and take up the ancient words of Tertullian that turned even cold Roman hearts around, "See how they love one another."

The truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is made believable in the transformed life of the believing community -- the church.

Connections in the Text

It is the second Sunday in Easter and the question now is this:  "In the light of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection -- how shall we now conduct our lives?"

The texts today point to a miraculous occurrence and a miraculous outcome.  The occurrence is the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is so extraordinary that even one of Jesus' disciples can not believe it is true, in spite of the fact that his friends told him in earnest that it was true.   The outcome is the bonding of lives as told in the lesson from Acts.  Verses 32 and 33 in Acts 4 make it clear that the resurrection and the group life of Jesus' followers is intimately bound together.

First John affirms that the fellowship of the church is based on the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world -- the One who has borne our sin.  The Psalm contains the familiar verse, "How pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity."  That unity is based on the resurrection of Christ as the Gospel points out.  Thomas is not fully bound together with the others until the experience of the Risen Lord becomes his.  The gospel reading ends with the thought that these things are written so that others may become a part of the fellowship through the faith of the believers.  This is a believing fellowship -- not simply a collection of friendly folks.

Acts 4:32-35

¹ The earliest Christian community did practice a form of Christian communism, but this did not persist and sinful human nature did not allow for the kind of persistent perfection in character that would allow this to become a pattern for the ages.  St. Paul had to scold the Corinthian Church for its greed and selfishness even at the Lord's table.

"When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord's supper.  For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!  (1 Cor. 11:20-22)

This does not, however, excuse the contemporary church from the responsibility to care for brothers and sisters who are in need.   This short passage could send a sharp arrow to the heart of a materialistic culture where the gap between rich and poor widens with each glowing report of the growing economy.  If there is anywhere the gap should be addressed, it is in the fellowship where the central reality of life is not the external culture, but the internal faith of the believing community.

John 20:19-31

Much has been made of "Doubting Thomas", but if you look carefully, Thomas did not ask anything more than the other disciples had received.   The passage begins with Jesus appearing to the disciples with the words, "Peace be with you."  He then shows them his hands and his side with the result that the disciples are glad.

Thomas was not present and tells the others he will not believe unless he too sees the Lord.  Jesus once again appears with the words, "Peace be with you,"  and shows Thomas his hands and side.   The result is that Thomas worships.  (There's a point to be made here that worship is a result of coming to see Jesus Christ for who he really is.)

The story leads to the concluding verses where the author points out that this story about the disciples and Thomas is written so that you may come to believe and in coming to believe might have life in his name.

The Holy Spirit empowers the believing community to become an extension of the ministry of Jesus Christ.  This is the Gospel of John's affirmation of the necessity for the work of the Holy Spirit in the believing community which has somewhat of a parallel in the Book of Acts on the day of Pentecost.

1 John 1:1 - 2:2

The progression of this lesson is:  The revelation of Jesus Christ as the basis for fellowship in the community of faith, the injunction to walk in light of our faith as a principle of fellowship and the forgiveness of sin that is available through the intercessory ministry of the Risen Christ.

Thus, the basis of fellowship is indeed an acceptance of the message concerning Jesus Christ -- but it is also based on an acceptance of the commitment to transformed living.  We are to "walk in the light as he is in the light."  We will indeed need the intervention of our Advocate, Jesus Christ, but, "the talk of faith must also become the walk of faith."

In fact, most of us would be hesitant to us the strong language of the author which goes something like,  "If we say we are followers of Jesus Christ, but do not reflect the character of Christ in our living -- we are liars!"

The reality of forgiveness and the reality of sin go hand in hand.  If we deny our sinfulness, we are self-deceived and we miss the depth of both the "atoning sacrifice for our sins" [2:2] and the "forgiveness" and "cleansing" that are graces of the Christian life.

It is worth mentioning once again that these texts work together in a wonderful way to lift up the basis of the Christian life and the resulting unity of profession and practice in the believing community.

A Call To Worship   (Based on Psalm 133)

No gift alone can change this broken world Lord.  But these gifts, mixed with your love and grace and the commitment of your people can bring freedom and joy to many.  Please accept our gifts as the tokens of our commitment to follow Jesus Christ.  Amen.