The Fourth Sunday of Easter

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The Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 13, 2008

Acts 2:42-47, I Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

One of the things I have grown to appreciate more and more about the Christian faith is the tension it calls us to live into. We have a very fine example of that tension today: the tension between community and individual.

In our Gospel and the epistle we hear the importance of being called by name, being known as a child of God, one of the flock of God who know the voice of our Good Shepherd. Jesus uses the image of shepherd and sheep a lot, because it was familiar to those around him, but not so familiar to us, or at least to me. But we know what it is like to be known by name and to be called by name. We know the parable of the lost sheep out of the 99 and that the shepherd seeks out and finds the one sheep. Again, seeking, finding, caring for the individual. We are baptized by name. With infants we give the child a name in baptism. We are called by name and known by name to God. Christianity is a very personal, intimate, close religion.

Likewise we are a communal religion. Christ calls us into community. He called a community of men and women around himself as he began his ministry. We are called to be with and serve one another in his name. Remember back on Maundy Thursday and how we served and were served by one another in the washing of feet. We are called into community in his name.

Luke gives us a rather idyllic picture of the early church in our reading from Acts. I’m not sure I totally buy into the soft focus, pastel colors, and smiling faces he presents in this passage. Yet, I am sure this was a glorious time for the community. I also know that they lived under Roman rule, under Jewish suspicion, and with continued uncertainty as expressed in Paul’s early letters. But this reading does give us insights into the importance of community, of being with, sharing with, supporting one another in the name of Christ.

We are baptized as individuals, called by name into the household of faith: called into the household of faith, the community of Christ. It is a both/and tension of individuality and community to live into the Christian faith.

As mentioned earlier to my allusion to Maundy Thursday, we are called to serve, and allow others to serve us, in community. It is not a one man—or one woman—show. We are in this together.

I greatly value the voices I hear in the various committees and the vestry of St. Stephen’s. You each bring perspectives and insights that are important to me and to the community. We need your voice in our common life as community.

In Acts we heard how they held all things in common. This was a very early experiment in what 1800 years later was called Christian Socialism, holding all things in common. It did not last long in the primitive church. It did not last long in the 19th century. It was even tried out here in the west by a group called the Mormons. But, we still hold many things in common: our faith, our responsibility to community, our sense of Christ in our midst.

We do not hold all material things in common, yet like the primitive church described by Luke we spend much time together, we break bread together, we share our food with glad and generous hearts as we praise God and seek the goodwill of all people. We are not that far removed from the people Luke describes. Here at St. Stephen’s this is lived out in a very special incarnational way during our Worship on Wednesday.

We do not hold material things in common, yet we hold to a common need and vision to support one another. In our day we call this stewardship: the stewardship—sharing—pof our blessings with each other.

I said at the beginning of the year that we are entering this year with a deficit for our parish budget. Right now we do not have as much money coming in as we anticipate going out for our ministries and programs and we have adjusted some line items as necessary. Sad but true.

So I invite you in the spirit of our Acts and Gospel readings to look at how you can help support this portion of the flock of God in West Valley City.

If you have made a pledge, I have two words: Thank you! I now ask you to consider adding to it to help support our ministries.

For those of you what have not pledged, I have two words: Please do. If you have not made a pledge, then bright blue pledge cards are available on the table in the gathering space. It is never too late to help us hold up this community in word and deed and finances.

I invite you to share in our common life by giving to our common life as a community. We need your presence, your prayers, and yes, also your money in order to keep this a viable and strong community.

Jesus said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. For me that abundance means abundance in spirit, abundance in feeling the presence of God in our lives, the abundance of grace, the abundance of fellowship, and the abundance of sharing what we have to support the work of the reign of God in this place at this time.