The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 7, 2017

The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 7, 2017 April 27, 2017

The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 7, 2017

Bruce G. Epperly
Psalm 23
I Peter 2:19-25
Acts 2:42-47
John 10:1-10

Today’s reading could be titled, “The Shepherd of Abundance” in which the preacher may choose to focus on the vocation of shepherds as seen in the Psalm and Gospel along with the generous spirit of Acts 2. According to these scriptures, the work of the shepherd is to ensure the well-being of the flock so that the flock might fulfill its own unique mission in providing warmth and sustenance to others. This isn’t about lambs led to the slaughter or fattening to prepare for rack of lamb supper, it is about the interdependence of divine care and faithful mission. God’s shepherding – and ours, too – is not about manipulation but transformation, not about using another for our purpose but bringing out the best in the other for the expression of her or his gifts of service and love.

“I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” This was one of Jesus’ mission statements, and it needs to be ours as well. Abundant life needs to be at the heart of our concept of God, rather than sin or punishment. God wants you to thrive as part of God’s own thriving in the dynamic interdependence of God and the world. Although Jesus is affirming that while there are pathways that lead to destruction, he is more significantly proclaiming that God the good shepherd seeks only the best for his sheep. The good shepherd wants us to flourish, to live joyfully, and grow into full humanity. In our humanity, we become God’s glory and bring life and love to the world.

There is a pathway that leads to abundant life and we catch a glimpse of it in the words of Acts 2. In this honeymoon time of the church, the Jerusalem community is filled with the spirit and the spirit motivates their life together. Perhaps, the author of Acts is using some hyperbole here but the world he describes presents an ideal human community, the beloved community, the body of
Christ, toward which we strive and which is so different from our individualistic, self-interested, win-lose, competitive world. Dare we imagine such a world, such a church, and would we even accept it or join such a community, which saw our personal lives part of a greater story which claimed our time, talent, and treasure? If we imagine less, we will settle for the unsustainable, economically unjust, and ecologically devastating in which we currently live.

While Acts 2 is not a recipe for populist income redistribution or changing our tax policies to favor the middle class and working poor, it is clear that the passage challenges us to see the welfare of others, economically and spiritually, as important as our own. Care for the vulnerable is at the heart of biblical ethics and should be a factor in government policy as well as individual generosity.

In twenty-first century individualistic America, these words are countercultural even in the church, but we need to address them, and then struggle with how we can live them out in the free market and in the life of the church. Our politicians speak of “America first” and “walls” to exclude others. While caring for our community and nation is important, such rhetoric only exacerbates a “me and mine” mentality and morality, reflected not only in uncritical nationalism but also lack of concern for one’s fellow citizens. Phrases such as “it’s my property” and “it’s my money” abound, even though none of our largesse is ultimately self-generated, despite our best efforts, but depends on a supportive environment. In contrast to independence thinking, the Acts community lives by interdependence, relationship and generosity. This generosity is not accidental but part of a theological and relational reorientation. With a new vision comes new and surprising behaviors, grounded in spiritual practices. Economic transformation is grounded in spiritual transformation.

First of all, the Jerusalem community devoted itself to faith formation, through theological reflection, prayer, and worship. What we believe matters and it’s connected with how we live our lives. The Acts community saw God as life-giving, breaking down barriers, including barriers of economics and property, and calling us to new life through the resurrection of Jesus and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Prayer as an act of connection with God and others was as real as breathing, and every moment was a call to prayer. They prayed and broke the bread of life together, celebrating Christ’s supper as often as they gathered.

Second, they were filled with awe, expecting great things from God and their community. They believed abundant life was possible for everyone and that God was moving in their lives, giving them power to love, heal, and welcome.

Third, they shared with one another: while they may not have sold their property in its entirety, they made their largesse available to their neighbor. They saw their well-being connected with the well-being of every member of the community. They were each other’s business, not in a gossipy way, but in terms of promoting one another, knowing another’s success contributed to the health of the body and my our health. They sold their possessions to benefit those in need, creating a community in which everyone had what he or she needed. Their neighbor’s need became a moral obligation and spiritual necessity.

This is the most radical aspect of this beloved community. Its members were not possessed by their possessions. As I noted earlier, they saw the well-being of others as important as their own – they took greed off the table; they would not make a profit if it hurt others; they would not accept inequality in community in terms of economics. While some members may have had “more” economically, their largesse was not private property to be used as we wish but subject to the needs of others. We rob from God when our wealth indirectly or directly hurts others.

This is clearly an embodied, spiritual social safety net, and while not necessarily big government, certainly a challenge to any free market, amoral system, whose primary focus in profit. It certainly argues for caring for vulnerable people by any means necessary, insuring without asking questions or setting minimal requirements that all have food, housing, health care, and the ability to work.

Finally, they shared meals gratefully with friends and family. They had glad and generous hearts. Their gratitude opened up a world of unexpected possibility. Gratitude is the virtue of relationship and interdependence, reminding us that none of us is self-made, all of us depend on the efforts of others, job creators need workers, and out of this interdependence, our lives are our gifts to God and one another. From the perspective of Acts 2 our success is judged by how much good we do for others, not the size of our bank account, business profits, and ability to compete successfully with others. This is not a call to mediocrity, whether spiritual or economic, but God’s challenge to seek excellence that benefits our neighbors and create businesses that promote employment and ecological well-being as the primary goal, not corporate or individual wealth.

It is in light of God’s abundance that Psalm 23 and Jesus’ shepherding imagery from John 10 come alive. Abundant living does not depend on a perfect constellation of environmental conditions. Psalm 23 emerges in the context of threat. There are real enemies to our well-being, but we do not lose our souls because God is with us. As John 10 suggests, there are threats to us spiritually and temptations abound, but when we listen to our shepherd, to God’s representative, we will find our way and use our gifts for the well-being of the community.

Abundant life involves doing something beautiful for God at every level of our lives, and insuring that our congregational, business, professional, and economic priorities give something beautiful to God by bringing beauty to our neighbor’s lives. Most of us will be prudent in our generosity: we will still contribute to our retirement plans and pay our mortgages. We will still maintain our homes, and likely will not invite the homeless to live with us, and that includes the pastor. While we need not feel embarrassed at our prudence or see ourselves as inferior spiritually to the “new monastics,” it is important that we look at our resources, trusting God as well as financial reserves, and let our time, talent, and treasure be available for the well-being of our communities and not merely our private comfort and security.


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