Acts 2:42-47

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 through 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, as 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 the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to eating and praying together”. That’s how our first reading begins. Who is the “they”? They are the crowd of people gathered around the disciple because of a violent wind, flaming tongues, and hearing different languages spoken on Pentecost. Peter stood up to address the crowd and gave his first sermon, which must have been pretty good because, as our reading from Acts last week noted, three thousand people were baptized and added to the community. If that happened today, we’d say that’s pretty miraculous.

However, it’s what happens next that's really impressive; these three thousand people committed themselves to doing life together. They learned, ate, and prayed together. They shared all their possessions. They sold whatever they owned and gave the money to anyone who had a need. Daily they shared meals together and celebrated all that God was doing. And they had compassion and kindness toward one another.

And remember this wasn’t 3000 people from the same place with the same background who thought the same or had the same cultural practices or anything like that. They were strangers from over 14 different countries. Undoubtedly some were old, some young. Some wealthy, some not. The real miracle isn’t that 3,000 people were baptized. It’s that 3,000 people responded to the gift of grace by doing life together despite all their differences, that’s the miracle. With all our divisions, divides, and individualism of today, something like that is unfathomable for 30 people, let alone 3,000.

It’s fair to wonder, are we given this description of the early disciples as a command, as instructions on how we ought to live? If so, this picture painted of life together repels us more than does compel us… for lots of reasons. Maybe when we were young and idealistic we thought living such a way was possible, maybe even desirable. But now we have families or we’re set in our ways. We are comfortable with our routines, our privacy, our preferences. And we recognize all the sacrifices and accommodations and demands it would place on us.

I mean, if we're honest, We can’t even imagine living this way with our own families in our own homes. We're far too busy with work, and practices, lessons, games, recitals, more work, etc.

Who has time for daily meals together, let alone prayers and teachings and fellowship.

Moreover, we don’t trust other people enough to live like this. Just a couple weeks ago, Tom Orr and the Wired Word class discussed a Wall Street Journal poll that found communal values like religion, community involvement, or having children have all significantly trended downward in the last 20 years. Reflecting on why, David Brooks of the NYT wrote

“My fear is that we’ve entered a distrust doom loop: People are so untrusting of their institutions and their neighbors that they are unwilling to reach out, to actively renew their communities, and so the dysfunction will continue, and the distrust will increase, and so on and so on.”

But perhaps most of all this picture of life together repels us because we feel convicted by it, or at least I do. Deep down, I know I should live more like this, that I should share more meals, open my home, give money to meet the needs of my neighbors, share what's mine with an open hand, and have goodwill toward all people. Maybe i’m not the only one…

However, I don’t believe these verses are rules or specific instructions that Christians must follow. It’s not, if we live this way, Jesus will love us. Notice that all these people were baptized first, then they lived this way. They received God’s grace and love and acceptance first and then because of what they experienced, they committed themselves to doing life together in this way so others may experience what they did.

This way of living shows us what life through the power of the Spirit could be like. It represents the best of what God’s people are capable of. But it doesn’t last long. Soon people in the community will defraud one another, they’ll hold back their resources, they will treat each other unfairly, and after Acts 5, the church is never described with such rosy language.

These verses, this idealized picture, is not meant to be a discouragement, but rather an inspiration: look at what life together could be like, a life full of welcome and hospitality, justice and mutuality, of service and community. Some intentional communities take these verses very seriously and try to follow them to the letter, like the bruderhof communities or houses of hospitality from the Catholic Worker movement.And while not the same, but at our best, we experience some of that life together here: We break bread together, we learn and celebrate together. We provide for each other's needs and the needs of our neighbors: whether that's through our monthly mission focus, our food pantry, or our support to Fondwa, Haiti. We pray, we worship, and we tell others about the God whom we confess.

And it’s no accident that you are a part of this community, at this time and place. In fact, you didn’t choose to be a part of this church. But you’ll say, “Cogan I tried a lot of places before coming here and intentionally chose this place.” To which I would respond, it was the Holy Spirit at work in you that led you to say, “this is where I want to be a part of the Body of Christ.

This is where I heard and still hear the good news of the Gospel: that I am forgiven and loved and grace is mine no matter who I am or who I love or what I’ve done. This is where I am called to do life together with others who have experienced the grace of Jesus, too.

Now to be sure this isn't the only place where this sort of stuff happens. And Life together here isn’t always ideal. Like those early followers, we mess up, we make mistakes, we don’t always agree. But like Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book, Life Together,

“even when sin and misunderstanding burden our life together, is not the sinning sibling still a sibling…? Will not their sin (or mine) be a constant occasion for me to give thanks that both of us live in the forgiving love of God? Thus the moment of disappointment with my brother becomes incomparably beneficial, because it teaches me that neither of us can ever live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and Deed which really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ.”

What's so powerful about these disciples’ life together was their desire to give of themselves so that others might experience grace just as they did. And what else does the love of Jesus feel like than a good meal with even better company? A celebration full of joy and festivity? Or having your needs met or debt paid by someone else’s sacrifice? That’s the call we have as a community, as a church. To give of ourselves and do life live together in such a way that draws others in so that they too experience grace, no strings attached.

As we approach commitment Sunday, more than any dollar amount you commit to, or any role you volunteer for, or any talent you share, commit to doing Life Together. As one writer puts it, “God does not need possessions and has never been impressed by their donation. God wants people and draws us into that wanting.”

Commit to showing up, to doing meals together, to trusting each other, to praying for and with one another, to meeting the needs of your neighbors, to drawing other people in

because you want them to experience the grace of Jesus just as you have.

Deuteronomy 8: 7, 11-18a

“[T]he Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills…. Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God….’”

Today, my message is about money. Hopefully that fact isn’t coming out of left field for anyone. We’ve tried to communicate with all the means at our disposal that today is the day we make our financial commitments to Cross of Grace’s building fund, one of the two primary funds this church uses to accomplish its day to day ministry operations.

Even if you knew money would be today’s topic, what you might not have known was WHY money is today’s topic. Maybe you assumed we would talk about money today simply because the church wants your money. Well, the answer is more nuanced than that. The primary reason money is today’s topic is because our relationship with money is a matter of discipleship. How we understand finances and what we do with them lays bear our true hearts and can lead us closer to, or further away from, God’s kingdom.

Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, the topic of ownership is constantly addressed in the words of the Lord, which Moses communicates to God’s chosen people. The Ten Commandments are bookended with warnings against ownership. The first three — prohibitions on worshiping other gods or physical idols, and not misusing the name of God — reinforce the idea that the divine is unable to be constrained, pinned down, boxed in, or manipulated. In other words, God cannot be owned. Rather, God, the creator and redeemer of all things, is the true and only owner of every good gift in our lives.

Also recall the commandment to observe Sabbath, in which God commands a day free from buying or selling. It is a reminder to enjoy God’s good gifts free from the fear of not having enough as well as the desire to accumulate more. The commandments end with prohibitions on stealing and coveting.

Clearly, the human drive to own things, people, or even God’s self, is a spiritual problem rooted in humanity’s fallen nature.

Today’s reading from Deuteronomy also addresses ownership. In it, Moses relays the Lord’s message to the Hebrew people that they are to remember the Lord’s provision when they enter the promised land, and not think they have earned their place there. The promised land was not to be divided up and owned; instead it was a gift from God to be enjoyed and stewarded. It was a lesson the chosen people were instructed in as they wandered the wilderness in anticipation of the promised land. Each day of wandering entailed relying on God’s daily provision of manna and quail. Moses makes it clear that pride in earning or ownership is incompatible with remembering God’s provision. When we say, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me,” we forget the Lord. And when we forget the Lord, we begin to worship and form our lives around other things. The final verses of Deuteronomy 8 warn that this culminates in our destruction!

So, give your money to the church, lest you be destroyed! Amen.

Ok, just kidding there. Well, not really...

Our relationship with money is a discipleship issue because there are two opposite forces pulling on how we view and use money. One is sinful — that is avarice or greed; the other is virtuous — that is generosity. All vices or virtues are cultivated by everyday, seemingly insignificant actions that become ingrained as habits over the course of months and years. What we do with a single dollar each day is as important as the occasional “big” financial decisions we face in our lives.

The heart of greed is the fear of not having enough (i.e., not trusting in God’s promise of provision). Also, greed feeds on our tight-fisted grip on money as something that we have earned for ourselves and own with no responsibility for our neighbor.

The heart of generosity, on the other hand, is the ease and enjoyment in giving things away because they have so little to do with who we understand ourselves to be. We give freely of our finances because our identity is not wrapped up in our net worth or the accumulation of more for ourselves, particularly at the expense of others.

Greed results in enslavement to stuff that leads to worry, insecurity, and a desire for more.

Generosity results in freedom from anxiety as well as justice.

The practice of giving away a portion of your income off the top with intention (as opposed to giving away what, if anything, is left over) is called tithing and it is one of the most ancient and powerful tools in our discipleship toolbox.

Today you have the option to write down a number on a commitment card. That number will be some portion of the finances you will receive this year as compensation for your hard work. You might even refer to it as your “earnings.” It’s hard to part with something you earned. But when you understand that everything in your life is a gift rather than something you have earned or own, you are free to give it away as a gift. That number you write down, regardless of its amount, will be gratefully received and recognized by this church as an incredible and generous gift.

The first thing the church does with your gift is to designate a tithe of 10% as a gift for others. We spend 10% to support the work of our friends in Haiti as well as our friends at Roots of Life in Noblesville. It’s an off-the-top tithe that is done with joy and trust that our gift will continue to multiply exponentially. This is a practice that has been a part of the congregation from its beginning, which means it has become a holy habit of generosity.

And then there is the aspect that is most obvious and accessible to us — this building. This building is not the entirety of our ministry, but it is an important place. It is where my children have been raised in the faith...yours too, perhaps. It is where friendships are formed, beautiful music is shared, disputes are resolved, God’s word is wrestled with, and new ideas for humble service are explored. It is a place where laughter reverberates through the halls, tears are shed, and goodbyes are said. It is a place where all are welcome, where God’s grace is pronounced, the saving water of baptism is poured, and where we are aware of the divine presence in bread and wine. All of it made possible by your gifts, freely given, without condition or constraint, because of the faithful generosity of countless people over the last two decades.

I’ll end here with a clarifying comment. Our annual stewardship drives are not an exercise in accumulating more for this church. We do not seek more for this church out of fear that God could fail to deliver on God’s future promises for us and so we need to have money in the bank, just in case. We do not seek more for this church because we need to keep up with the other churches in our community that are constructing new bigger buildings. We do not seek more for this church because we think the next thing we will buy will make the church complete or whole.

The reason we encourage your spiritual practice of tithing because engaging in this practice is the best way to form generous hearts. And also, thinking back to Deuteronomy 8, we don’t want to see you destroyed!

Amen.