Commonwealth

Acts 4:32-35


This scripture has long been one of my favorites.  I like it because it gets to the very essence of the Christian ethic (actually the ethic of most world religions)... care for and love one another.  I also like it because it is subversive to our culture in modern America.  If we read this scripture as a piece of legislation put forth by the Congress, many people would cry out "socialism" and theoretically that is correct.


The concept of putting all your resources into a community pool and taking out only what you need from it so that others who are needy can also pull from it is not a capitalist idea.  But it is a beautiful one. What if we actually lived in a world where we didn't think that getting ahead was the best thing to do, but earning all we could so that we could help others was the best thing to do?  Wow.


John Wesley has a quote attributed to him that I think fits here: "Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can."  Here is a link to a sermon John Wesley preached that addresses this entitled "The Use of Money".  


Another great quote attributed to Wesley is: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” 


Both of these quotes embody the essence of the Acts text for today.  If we are truly to follow in the footsteps of those who 'were of one heart and soul,' who 'claimed no private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common,' then we have to pool our resources, our time, our talents, our energies into spreading the message of Jesus. Not one of us can go it alone. We can't expect any one person in our congregation to be 'the one' who does 'the thing that needs doing.'  We are all in it together.


And that includes developing a mindset surrounding financial outreach... giving of our resources to help those who won't be able, necessarily, to give to us financially in return.  It includes developing a mindset of going out to make a difference in the world, but not for the purposes of getting more people in the seats on Sunday.  


If we truly do become as these apostles did in Acts, giving of our whole selves and all that we have, then the blessings we receive in return, in whatever ways we choose to count them, will fill our cups to overflowing.  And perhaps even our seats and our plates will overflow, too.... 




What are your thoughts surrounding this scripture and how it might 'live itself out' in current times?  Email me or comment below.