May 7, 2017 | Rev. Graham McCaffrey
Scripture: Acts 2:42-47
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42
Have you ever been part of a really exciting and seemingly life-changing event? Have you been at the centre of a craze or a fad as it exploded to epic proportions? I wasn’t around for them, but I know that some of you experienced the power and fervor of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusades – the energy was electric, thousands of people renewing their faith, for many it was a spiritual high where they connected for the first time or reconnected with the life giving Gospel of Jesus Christ. But once the crusades were over, once the auditoriums and stadiums were swept clean the question lingered in the minds of many participants “what now?” What impact does this have on my day to day life, what does my life look like after this highly charged spiritual moment? For many the fervor and the craze of the evangelistic crusade died down and their lives went on just as before.
This happens to churches too. All too often a church can get excited about the latest and greatest program offering the cure all solution to everything that ails it – something which inspires excitement and fervor. I remember when the Anglican Church first introduced ‘Back to Church Sunday’ there was great excitement about the initiative – churches were enthused about the program and many churches planned exciting, welcoming worship services, with parties or receptions for all the newcomers. And initially the statistics were good people came back to church on that Sunday… but the reality is that churches saw very little noticeable growth and with each successive year less and less churches participated, less and less people invited their friends and the excitement of that initial year has at this point practically dissipated with barely anything to show for it.
In the church just three short weeks ago we celebrated our big moment: Easter. We heard the story of the Resurrection of Jesus, of God’s great victory over sin and death. Here at Grace we celebrated Easter with an electric atmosphere, with four baptisms, excellent music, with joy all around, faces new and old. Now three weeks on with the excitement of Easter a distant memory, we might be asking ourselves, what now? What comes next? What does Easter mean for me today, what does the Resurrection have to do with my daily life and perhaps we should just carry on as before.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42
One of the benefits of following the lectionary, the three-year cycle of readings for Sunday mornings, is that for the 7 weeks following Easter, we are treated to readings that continue to have us dwell in the themes of resurrection, new life, faith and trust. Two weeks ago we heard the story of Thomas, last week was Emmaus and Jesus being revealed in the breaking of bread. One of the quirks of the season of Easter is that we don’t have an Old Testament reading, but instead each week we read from the Book of Acts, which chronicles the stories of the apostles and the early church in the years following the Resurrection and Jesus’. In the book of Acts we are presented with the disciples’ answer to the question: what next? What do we do after the life-altering, in fact reality altering event of Easter?
Our reading from Acts this morning follows directly after the account of Pentecost and arrival of the Holy Spirit, an event we will celebrate next month, and we are treated to the immediate response of the disciples. In a way we are treated to the Disciple’s answer to the question “what now? what next?” – The Scriptures tells us that they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. For all the excitement of the resurrection, for all the excitement and fervor of Pentecost the response of the disciples is simply to devote themselves to prayer, devote themselves to fellowship, devote themselves to the apostles teaching and the breaking of bread. There is a certain ordinariness about the disciples response, it isn’t radical action, it isn’t filled with intense religious fervor – instead it is the simple devotion to the faith they had received, the simple but steadfast devotion to the practices of the infant church, a devotion to a way of living that shaped and formed them in the way of Jesus. And in response our Scripture says that the “Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
This is the answer for our questions too. The life of the Church is lived primarily in the ordinary seasons of the year, for every mountaintop experience that we have at Easter or Christmas there are the scores of ordinary days where the task of being the church and living our Christian vocation is worked out. Our response to the Gospel, to the wonderful news we heard at Easter of Jesus’ death and resurrection, is not an earth shattering response, but rather it is the simple daily devotion of the church being the church: the church devoted to the teaching of the apostles, the church devoted to fellowship with one another, the church devoted to breaking bread together and the church devoted to prayer.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42
The Church devoted to the teaching of the apostles: for us that means being devoted to the historic faith of the church, the faith that has been handed down to us from the apostles. The faith that is rooted in the person and Lordship of Jesus Christ, a faith that is rooted in the historic creeds, a faith that is rooted in God’s very Word to us, our Scriptures. We need to be devoted to learning and being formed in this faith even when it is difficult, even when the world around us claims a different truth and derides us for our faith.
The Church devoted to fellowship: for us that means being together. We need to make sure that we gather together not just on Sunday mornings but at other times too, and not just with the people you know! The response of the church to God’s work of Easter is to be with one another – to share joys and sorrows together, to support and care for one another, to eat together and to remember that in all of this Jesus is with us. Is there someone in this church you have never really had a good conversation with? Go see them at coffee hour and get to know them! Is there someone that you know has been here at Grace as long as you, but you just never learned their name? Introduce yourself and take them out to coffee. We must be devoted to fellowship with all our members, not just the few friends we have made in the past. While it might feel uncomfortable, remember that you are doing something sacred, you are fulfilling the church’s devotion to fellowship!
The Church devoted to the breaking of bread: this means a church that is centred and shaped by the Eucharist, by Holy Communion. I say centred and shaped, because while the act of breaking bread at this table week and week out is important, what is perhaps more important is that we as a community become shaped by the Eucharist, that we become shaped by the gift that God gives us in the body and blood of his Son Jesus Christ. Being a Eucharistic community means that we are a people shaped by gratitude and generosity, that we are the very body of Christ offered to the world. Being a Eucharistic community means being a community where no one is in need, where all are equally welcome at the table. In our Acts passage we hear that “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.” Is there someone here in our midst who struggles to buy clothes to wear or put food on the table? Sell something of yours and take them shopping for clothes and food – that is what it means to be a community devoted to and shaped by the Eucharist, devoted to the breaking of bread.
The Church devoted to prayer: this means that at the very heart of the life of this community, is the commitment to prayer. Corporate prayer, and individual prayer. Praying from a prayer book and extemporaneous prayer. Praying for other, and praying for yourself. Praying for our church and praying for our community. Praying with words and praying in silence. Praying together here at church but also praying together at home, at work or even on the bus. The simplest and yet most powerful response of the Christian community to God’s great work of salvation in Jesus Christ, is prayer – where we learn that we are loved by God, and are so filled by his love that we are tasked with sharing it with others.
While we at Grace Church have certainly focused on prayer, I believe it is time for us to bulk up our foundation, to buttress this community with the unceasing prayers of the faithful, to be truly devoted to prayer. To that end I have prepared what I would like to call a “Prayer Audit” – a challenge for each of us to begin intentionally praying for the ministries of this church on a daily and weekly basis. On the sheet that is being passed out right now there is a whole list of the ministries of this church, and some space to add your own if any have been forgotten. My challenge for us all is to choose 2 or 3 ministries of the church and to pray for them: to pray for the spiritual wellbeing of its members, to pray for the mission of the church as exercised by that particular group, to pray that their endeavours would be fruitful. My hope is that each ministry in this church will have 2-4 people praying intentionally for them throughout the year and that our collective prayers will uplift the ministries of the church and help us to remain devoted to prayer, devoted to the breaking of bread, devoted to fellowship, and devoted to the apostles teaching.
And do you know what might happen? The Lord might just take this faithful and ordinary witness and add to it: just as the early disciples saw the Lord add to their number day by day, so too might we see the growth of the Kingdom, the revival of the Church, the continued revival of this church.
Will you pray with me?
1] I am indebted to the Rev. Jonathan Turtle, for his thoughts on the role of devotion in the life of the church used in preparation for this Sermon
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