Epworth United Methodist Church

Epworth United Methodist Church
Rev. David Weekley, Pastor
Acts 2:42-47

April 13, 2008

All Things in Common?

Tell me if this has ever happened to you: you are in a public place, maybe a line at the bank, or even having a quiet dinner with your significant other in a restaurant when your experience is spoiled because some inconsiderate person answered an obnoxiously tune ringing in his/her pocket and is now engaged in a long cell-phone conversation at a decibel level no-one within 50′ can ignore.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you had in your possession some kind of gadget, an electronic jamming device that would allow you, without the other person knowing it is you, to instantly shut down that cell phone?

Well, don’t abandon hope- you may soon actually be able to purchase such a device at your local electronics store.

A recent “Wall Street Journal” article called, “Revenge by Gadget” revealed a host of these types of gadgets; it’s a new sub-industry in electronics that is busy inventing and producing gadgets designed expressly to neutralize rude and obnoxious behavior.

Here’s a partial list of some inventions that are already currently available:

· A $50.00 device that quiets your neighbor’s barking dogs by answering their bark with an electronic squeal humans can’t hear, but is painful to canines. It is disguised as a birdhouse so the dog owners won’t know what you’re doing.

· A luminescent screen that fits into the rear window of your car, flashing your choice of five messages, along with matching emotion faces, to the driver behind you. Messages include phrases such as, “Back off” and “Idiot”

· A $20 handset that enables you to shut off blaring television sets in places like doctor’s offices and restaurants.

· A jacket that, when activated, shocks anybody who touches the person wearing it. This is becoming increasingly popular among women riding public transportation who are tired of being groped on the subway.

These are just some of the devices currently available for retaliation against obnoxious people.

It’s difficult to predict what kind of human interaction these types of devices will lead to, some of it may backfire: many actions that are retaliatory in nature do.

A few years ago I had a sign hanging in the back of the van I then drove that said, “Why am I the only person on this planet who knows how to drive?”

I thought it was funny, until I was yelled at, gestured at and run off the road by people mad at what I thought was a funny sign!

This experience, as well as reading the gospel, and watching the news serves to remind me what an angry, graceless age we live in, and how quick we are to assert ourselves and our “rights” over and against other people.

Our culture, and the Church within our culture, is a far cry from Luke’s description of specifically Christian community:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ‘Day by day they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day God added to their number those who were being saved.” [Acts 2:42-47]

Christians in the Church, at least in America, very often seem to have little in common, let alone all things in common.

Aside from very unique and intentional forms of Christian communities such as Koinonia Farms in Americus Georgia [model for ‘Habitat for Humanity'], most people who consider themselves Christian do not devote themselves and their lives to Bible study, church activities, and worship with Communion every day.

Although I have met a very few number of people in my life who were managing to live a lifestyle that allowed them to give most of their income and resources to their church, most of us are happy to find creative ways to include the Church in our giving budget.

Finally, most American Christians I know think it is a near miracle to get to church at all; few make it even once a week, let alone ‘day by day’!

Of course, expectations were different when Luke was writing.

These early Christians expected the world to end very soon; they really had no need to think of long-range planning, or to believe there was any need to keep possessions private and separated any longer. From this perspective, it only made sense to do your best to take care of everyone’s needs until the return of Christ.

This was the early church, the original model; we know how much change the Church has endured through the ensuing centuries.

From one body we have split into more than 400 denominations, divided by petty arguments over human interpretation of Scripture, economic competition, social status, and cultural norms.

On any given Sunday you could attend a half dozen churches and come away with a half-dozen interpretations of what it means to be a Christian in the world today.

This made me wonder.

Do you think if Jesus would recognize this place as a Christian church, a community of people dedicated to following his teaching and example if he were to walk in here today?

Why, or why not?

How about if he stopped by later this afternoon, or tomorrow?

[Move to newsprint and record answers]

These are some really good answers.

The truth is, as Christians we do not hold all things in common; whether we are talking about beliefs, practices, or material goods.

Most of us do not anticipate a quick and/or sudden end to the world, and so we have learned to plan, to invest, to purchase our resources and guard them until we pass them on to family or friends.

Because our culture and society are based upon individualism and materialism we spend a lot of family and personal time engaged in activities that reflect these values, e.g. competitive activities such as sports, and acquisitive activities such as shopping. We tend not to focus our resources and energy on creating equitable and sustainable communities. Most people I know do not spend the majority of their time involved in spiritual matters.

Still, we do gather together, and we do believe the words to the hymn we sang just a little while ago, “We Are the Church” are true.

And there is one thing we do claim to hold in common: we believe in the Risen Christ, and it is from this belief that we act, that we act as individuals and as a Christian community.

From this perspective it is important that we not divide life into compartments where each section has different and sometimes incompatible principals of behavior.

Since coming to Epworth as your Pastor, I have been attempting to piece together the history of this congregation. From the first time I entered this sanctuary and saw this window [point towards "bridge" window] I wondered what it represents in regard to following Jesus.

Then I found this large workbook, “Crossroads Strategic Planning for EUMC from October of 1996.

In it I discovered how our motto/slogan, “Bridging east and west, inspiring spiritual growth” was developed. [Describe briefly]

This window and slogan are ways we attempt to remind ourselves who and whose we are, and how we want to live in relationship with one another and with the world.

And while we do not spend all of our time together, or share all of our resources and time, there are things we do do together to try to express our values and our beliefs as Christian people.

[e.g.: FISH, Habitat for Humanity, Bible Study, Education/Fellowship for children, youth and adults, witness in the world- peace, social justice, evangelism- inviting family, neighbors, and friends here to discover who Jesus is and how following him really can change life.]

Over a century ago, in 1897, around the same time Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church was established, Charles Sheldon wrote a novel, “In His Steps” [which is itself a verse from the Bible, 1 Peter] that tells the story of what happened in the lives of church members after they committed themselves to make decisions in their workplaces and personal lives by asking themselves what Jesus would do in their situation, and then trying to do that.

The results were life-changing for both the members of that congregation and the community they lived in.

While the book was fiction, the idea for it came from the author’s personal experience.

Charles Sheldon had been a social worker prior to becoming an ordained minister in Topeka, Kansas. While a social worker, he once disguised himself as an unemployed printer.

As he walked the streets of Topeka, he was shocked by the indifference among many people he knew considered themselves Christian toward those in need.

This made him sad but it also led him to imagine how different the world would really be if Christians did not allow themselves to compartmentalize their lives, and, instead allowed the gospel to be equally applied in every situation.

The result was the book, “In His Steps.”

No, we do not hold all things in common; sometimes I wish the world were arranged this way- I think it would be a much more peaceful and less stressful place.

However, we hold the most important “thing” of all in common- Jesus Christ.

And may this common foundation continue to lead us into words and acts of caring, compassion, and Christian commitment to justice so that all who come here experience not only a bridge between east and west, but, a bridge linking heaven and earth.

In Jesus’ name. Amen!