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Acts 4:32-37
On the weeks after Easter, the scriptures we usually hear in worship are the post-resurrection appearances of Christ. And you will probably hear one of them next week. But in the lectionary, that three-year cycle of readings many churches follow, we also are given a scripture each week from the book of Acts. The book’s full title is, of course, The Acts of the Apostles, and it tells some of the stories of the early church. Hear this one from Acts 4:32-37
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. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
This text has been the focus of some disagreement among theologians and general readers alike. I’ve read that some people see it as promoting a kind of “Christian communism.” Of course, communism is an authoritarian state that denies basic liberties, which the early church was not. It has more accurately been described as Christian socialism, and our reaction to that statement tells us more about politics than about this scripture! One author I read this week calls this passage “good stuff” and says “it has been characterized as either a rich call to a serious Christianity or a dangerous call to a life of socialism. . . .Let’s look at it again and try to divest ourselves of our ideological blinders, however difficult that may be.”[1]
“Luke’s depiction of communal unity and sharing would certainly have appealed to prevalent virtues in antiquity — whether the principles of historic Israel (‘There will be no one in need among you,’ Deuteronomy 15:4-11), Greek ideals of friendship (‘Among friends everything is common,’ Aristotle, Eth. nic. 9.8), ideal philosophical communities . . . or the practices of hospitality [of the time].”[2] Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and philosopher of Jesus’ time, describes one’s possessions as belonging equally to one’s guest. In addition, “Many Christian writings express strong convictions about the importance of sharing material goods, especially on the part of wealthy believers with those in need (2 Corinthians 8-9; 1 Timothy 6:7-10, 17-19; James 2:1-7). This conviction does not diminish quickly in the ensuing centuries. And so, given ancient virtues and Christian convictions, Luke’s audiences likely found the idealism of Acts 4:32-35 more appropriate than surprising.”[3] The early Christians shared all things in common and made sure nobody was in need? Well, of course! That’s the right and reasonable thing to do. On the other hand, later instances in Acts and the Epistles show us that “such singularity of heart did not mark every chapter of the church’s story.”[4]
The answer to the question of why it worked there is the same as the answer to the question of why this scripture appears in the lectionary on the first Sunday after Easter: Because to the people in this community, this is what it meant to serve the risen Christ. This was their reaction to the resurrection. It’s like the people said “Hallelujah! Now what?”
This is their “now what.”
Now we take care of one another.
Now we share what we have so that no one is in need.
Now we free one another from the fear of insufficiency,
because when we are set free from fear, we are free to soar . . . and to love. Their generosity toward and with one another was also a sign, a witness to the world around them, that they were living into the power of new life.
So “is this kind of Christian community an impossible dream or a resurrection reality? I guess the answer depends on how willing one is to dream and take grand leaps of faith. My suspicion is that there are hints of this kind of Christian community already at work around us.”[5] Consider the Lutheran church that wanted to raise money to help fight Malaria. The chair of the committee made paper mosquitoes and “infested” the church with them. She asked for a donation of $10 to remove each pest. Once people realized that a mere $10 could provide a treated net that would save a life, the funds rolled in and they quickly exceeded their goal.”[6] They raised $595, which may not seem like a lot to us, but for a struggling church of 36 people, that was big.
If you want to see big, let’s look at the issue of medical debt. Millions of people in the United States are saddled with medical debt they are unable to pay. The debt hangs over their heads and limits their futures. But medical debt can be bought. The hospitals and other medical centers are happy to get any money on these unpaid debts so they will sell the debt for pennies on the dollar. So across the United States, the United Church of Christ started doing just that.
The UCC’s medical debt project began with a 2019 buy in Chicago, where church donations abolished $5.3 million in debt for 5,888 families on the city’s South Side. In January 2020, the effort moved to St. Louis, where $12.9 million in medical debt was eliminated for 11,108 households in that city and St. Louis County. Last summer, nine California congregations in the East Bay Area wiped out $7.4 million in medical debt for 3,539 households across the state. In October, a collaborative effort by 122 United Church of Christ congregations, four Associations, and more than 100 households in the Southern New England Conference abolished $26.2 million in medical debt in two separate buys. Recipients were families in seven states in and around New England and first responders across the country who benefit from RIP’s Helping COVID Heroes Fund. In November the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, which has only 53 churches, bought up and cancelled $5.2 million in medical debt for 3,234 households. As of last November, $57 million in medical debt has been abolished by United Church of Christ churches, associations, and members. All of this is done through an organization called RIP Medical Debt, and they send out a letter to each benefiting family, naming contributing congregations and organizations. It reads: “You may never enter the doors of one of our churches, but we are the United Church of Christ and we love you. … Most importantly, you are beloved by God and your debt has been forgiven.”[7] Imagine getting such a letter.
Or imagine that you are a grandmother raising your teenage grandson. You didn’t have much money before he moved in, and you sure don’t have any extra after feeding a teenage boy. But that boy is in the high school choir, and he loves music. Music is in his soul. And he has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the opportunity to go to New York city with his school choir and see a live show on Broadway. There is no way you would ever be able to give him such a gift on your own. You couldn’t even get him to New York, much less buy a show ticket. But the trip is highly subsidized by the music boosters, and it only costs . . . $525. There are opportunities to do some fundraising to lower the price, but they’re during the work hours for your second job, and as much as you want your grandson to get to go on that trip, that once-in-a-lifetime trip, you can’t come up with $525 any more than you can sprout wings and fly him to New York yourself. But the school knows about the First Congregational Church and Community Crisis Ministries, and before you know it, the school counselor writes to tell you: it’s been covered. The remaining cost will be paid by people you have never even met. Imagine how that makes your grandma-heart feel!
Now imagine you’re that teenage boy. It’s the day before your choir leaves for New York, and you are so excited you can’t sit still. But you’re also a little nervous because what if there are unexpected costs, things that everybody else will just know, so nobody bothered to mention? And then they call you down to the office to tell you that a lady from that church came running in at lunchtime with an extra $100 so that you can have spending money to buy souvenirs. Imagine you’re that kid. Imagine you’re the person who gave that money . . . because you are.
This is just one of a thousand stories of people you have helped through your donations to Community Crisis Ministries. It is more than charity and more than generosity. You get to be part of our church’s response to the resurrection. This is part of our response to the risen Christ, to the good news of liberation.
Christ is risen! Hallelujah! Now what?
Now we strive to live in community, being of “one heart and soul” with everyone.
Now we give generously so that no one is in need.
Now we change lives.
Now we allow ourselves to be changed.
[1] Holbert, John. https://www.patheos.com/progressive-christian/holding-all-things-in-common-john-holbert-04-09-2012
[2] Troftgruben, Troy. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-acts-432-35-3
[3] Troftgruben.
[4] Troftgruben.
[5] Blezard, Sharron. https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/04/impossible-dream-or-resurrection-reality/
[6] Blezard.
[7] https://www.ucc.org/ucc_members_congregations_abolish_5_2_million_in_medical_debt_for_kansans_oklahomans/