I am often taken by the vision of the early church we receive in our scriptures. The Book of Acts depicts a group of people centered around community in Christ doing the work of helping, healing, and nurturing one another and their surrounding community even as they navigated hardship and faced obstacles in the form of imperial power. Acts 2:43-47 offers us a glimpse of a community in which all things are held in common, wherein sharing is the nature of connection, and all have what they need because all give what they can. It’s beautiful. That said, much of what we know about the early church comes from texts written some time after the events they depict. For instance, most scholars think the Book of Acts was completed around the end of the first century (sometime in the 90s, probably), which means it was written some 50 or 60 years after the birth of the early church. It’s possible, even probable, that the vision we receive in Acts is an idealized one.
That idealized vision, however, is still inspiring. Perhaps even more so with the knowledge that the reality on the ground was probably a lot grittier than we see in the text. Because, if I am honest with you, just as much as I am inspired by the vision of the early church we see in scripture, I am also intimidated by it. The realities of our world make the kind of radical sharing we see in Acts immensely difficult. For countless reasons, it is easier to choose to hold onto our presence, our food, our money. Sometimes, when I read the above passage in Acts, I cannot help but want to dismiss it, because clearly the world was so different back then, and those differences allowed this kind of community to exist, survive, and even flourish.
Recognizing that this vision is idealized cuts my cynicism off at the knees. It requires me to suddenly come to grips with the fact that, even in our world today, radical sharing is possible. Not only is this vision of the church possible, but it is, I have come to believe, our calling as modern day Christians to live into this vision today. That’s part of why I put this In Common series together. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be talking about this vision of the early church. We’ll explore how they shared: their presence by committing to gathering together despite differences, their Table by breaking bread with one another, and their gifts by holding all things in common for the good of their community and their world. I hope, in these weeks, to inspire our church toward living into this vision.
At the end of this series, on November 22, we’ll have an opportunity to make a commitment to this vision of the church by turning in a pledge of giving for 2027. This commitment helps myself and the Board of Stewardship effectively plan for thriving ministry in the next year. I hope you’ll join us for this series, but I especially hope to see you in worship on November 22, as we take on this vision and live fully into the call to hold all things in common, sharing like the early church.
See you Sunday, friends.
In Grace,
Rev. Tim
