First Presbyterian Church
Nurturing Truth in the Family
Sermon for April 23, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Prepare our hearts, O God, to accept your word. Silence in us any voice but your own, that hearing, we may also obey your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Listen for the word of God as we read it together from Psalm 133.

1 A Song of Ascents. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

This ends our reading from God's word.

This psalm doesn't seem amazing until we look at it closely. That precious oil was expensive, and took a long time to make, and many people working together to make it.

And the dew of Hermon is moisture in an arid land. Every bit of rain is treasured when we're in a drought. No rain is taken for granted when there is little water.

Unity in a family is something to be savored and saved and treasured and worked for.

Our reading from Acts speaks of brothers and sisters in the faith getting along and working together, doing what they can to get rid of poverty. Jesus spoke a great deal about the poor. He cared for them, and encouraged his disciples to do the same. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Acts 4:32 – 35.

32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

This ends our reading from Acts 4:32-35. Joy and sharing was the community's response to the resurrection. Let's listen to the anthem for another response.

Anthem

Life in the early church was not always joyful and peaceful; human beings continued to sin, even the brothers and sisters who were following Jesus. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Acts 4:36-5:11.

36 There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means "son of encouragement"). 37 He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

5:1 But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2 with his wife's knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 "Ananias," Peter asked, "why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!"

5 Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6 The young men came and wrapped up his body then carried him out and buried him.

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price." And she said, "Yes, that was the price." 9 Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."

10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

This ends our reading from God's word.

The biggest question for me was who killed Ananias and Sapphira? It looked like their shame and fear at being found out is what killed them; one commentator suggested that Ananias suffered a fatal heart attack from the shame of being publicly unmasked. 1 I suppose the same thing happened to Sapphira. That makes sense to me. We might suspect that perhaps the Holy Spirit harmed them, but the text doesn't say that.

The brothers and sisters weren't selling off their family residences; they were selling off their land investments. Even Barnabas, the Levite, had property—the Levites weren't supposed to own property; they were supposed to dedicate themselves to temple service. But Barnabas had land, and sold it to help the needy brothers and sisters. The economy was unstable and the political climate was rocky. Selling may have been a good financial move. They made their investments for a rainy day, and the rainy day was here. The people in the community, by sharing as each had need, were taking care of each other.

That narrator tells us “Everyone” sold their investments and gave the proceeds to the community; and then tells us of the couple who didn't: Ananias and Sapphira.

The problem is this couple wanted people to think they gave a higher percentage of their wealth than they actually did. The baffling thing is that giving was voluntary. Why would anyone pretend to give everything, when no one was requiring them to? I suppose Sapphira and Ananias just needed to be thought of as more generous than they actually were. But that kind of dishonesty does not help a community.

I served a church where the grand piano in the sanctuary was always out of tune. The climate was very hot in the summertime – routinely above 100 and the church's air conditioning wasn't turned on during the week, so the piano had a lot of temperature changes to withstand. The church wanted to switch it with the downstairs piano, which was newer and held a tune better. One elderly woman was against it; she liked the looks of the grand on the chancel in front of the church. She thought she should have veto power because she bought the piano forty years ago. She was an unhappy woman, quick to judge others and slow to examine her own motives. The church cared for her, but had learned how to stand up to her. The pianos were switched, even thought she had purchased it. She had gone to the music store with the piano fund money. Members had been donating to the piano fund for years. She gave the store the money and “bought the piano.” There were some old-time members who remembered that, and she knew it, but she still told me she bought the piano.

Some people think following Jesus is all about appearances.

But appearances can be deceiving, and deceit is not good for a community. And the book of Acts is a record of the first Christian communities; how the churches formed and worked, and what some of their problems and solutions were.

It isn't easy living and working with the same people. Families don't always get along. It might be good and pleasant when kindred live in unity, but it isn't common.

We parents have seen our children fight. So far my favorite comment from a child not getting along with another is “But he hit me back again first! ”

It's much sadder when kids have to watch their parents fight. Sometimes people get married with the idea that they are supposed to make each other happy. Sometimes they don't take responsibility for working on their own happiness.

It's hard when we see people we love hurting each other out of fear or pride or stupidity. We can see so clearly how they should treat each other. But all we can do is pray for them, and treat them honestly and decently. We can give them advice when they ask, but we have to be prepared for how hard it is for us when they don't take it, and keep on being destructive.

It's hardest when we see parents abuse their children. Abuse is different than discipline. Discipline teaches children how to behave. Abuse leaves children hurt, afraid, and confused; it doesn't teach them anything but fear. There's a difference between sending a child away from the table until he or she can behave and making children go for a day without any food. Abuse is withholding bathroom privileges or preventing a child from sleeping safely through the night.

Children learn that abuse is a normal way to be, so when they grow up, it's seems normal for them to abuse their children. But it doesn't have to be. I know survivors of childhood abuse who grew up determined not to be abusers themselves, and succeeded in raising healthy children. It is possible to stop the cycle of abuse. It means a lot of work and courage. Often it takes confession and therapy and a loving community.

But even when there is no abuse, just good intentions, people can still have a hard time getting along, as those of you who have ever worked on personnel to know. It is possible for intelligent and kind people to have deep disagreements.

Our reading in Acts tells us about the time of need for brothers and sisters in the early church. But even these sisters and brothers living close to the time of Christ's resurrection, even then, they did not always get along, even without deceitful people like Sapphira and Ananias. The brothers and sisters who followed Jesus still had to work at it and talk with one another, sometimes agreeing to disagree, sometimes choosing to work separately, and sometimes to talk and talk and talk until they reached consensus.

That work continues in the church. Some of you know about the Presbyterian Church's Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity. In 2001, the General Assembly tasked twenty people to help the church discover ways Presbyterians can live more faithfully in the face of deep disagreements. One of the deepest disagreements in the church now is whether or not to ordain gays and lesbians to the ministry; Can they be elders, deacons, and pastors or not?

The task force was made up of people chosen for their differences from one another, representing as many groups in the church as possible. We have seen two of the videos the task force produced, using them for discussion in our Lenten soup suppers and some adult education.

They wrote a report for this year's General Assembly to vote on.

I'm going to read to you from their section titled “Spiritual progress.”

“Over the last five years, we have had two remarkable experiences as a group, one of pain and penitence, the other of gratitude and joy.

… in the course of our work, we have become increasingly aware of the conflict and pain in the Presbyterian Church and we have searched our hearts to determine how each of us may have contributed to the church's problems.

We knew when we first convened that the task force was created because the church was struggling. We were asked to consider how the peace, unity and purity of the church might be built up because many had concluded that these elements of church life were compromised and in short supply.

Those of us associated with the Anglo traditions that have dominated the PCUSA came to understand how much alienation and pain we have caused by past oppression of other racial and ethnic groups and by currently maintaining barriers to the full inclusion of those group's members, cultures, and gifts.” (This came out of their realization that they did not produce materials in Korean or Spanish, even though a substantial portion of churches has Korean or Spanish ministries. The task force corrected that late in the process.)

Those of us who identify our views as liberal came to understand how alienating it is for conservatives and evangelicals when their passionate commitment to holy living and upright conduct are labeled rigid and judgmental.

Those of us who identify our views as conservative came to understand how alienating it is for liberals when their passionate commitment to justice and compassion are labeled unbiblical.

Those of us who identify our views as moderate came to understand how alienating it is when those with passionate concerns on either end of the theological spectrum are labeled extreme and divisive.

Many of us came to understand how alienating it is for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons to be so regularly identified as a major threat to the peace, unity and purity of the church.

All of us came to see that the Presbyterian Church (USA) in its current factionalized state that we have all created together by our mutual stereotyping and misuse of power, fails to offer a suffering world a sign of the peace, unity, and purity that is God's gift to us in Jesus Christ.”

They started with penitence and moved to gratitude and joy. They wrote “….all of us have become increasingly grateful for the gift of the church and for the ways that other persons and perspectives make the whole body stronger, …Our experience of Christian faith and life has been extended and expanded. Our trust in other Presbyterians and our respect for different perspectives has deepened. Most of all, our joy in believing has been greatly increased by the work of the Holy Spirit. Our gratitude for the church has grown because of the honesty, humility, and faithfulness of the other members of the task force. As a result, our hopes for the future of the church have been confirmed. In our preliminary report, we affirmed the peace, unity, and purity of the church that are God's gift in Christ. We can give thanks with full hearts for the gift of the church we have already received because we have so intensely experienced this gift in our encounters with one another. … God has called us to be a part of the body of Christ.”

The early church – the one Ananias and Sapphira shortchanged with their deceit – grew rapidly because early Christians knew the importance of having pure hearts and worked at being united and finding ways to live at peace with one another.

Our task today is similar: to reach out to a hurting world and to share our blessings, out treasure, and the good news of Jesus Christ. If we can't do that wholeheartedly, we're serving God only halfway, like Ananias and Sapphira. God knows what's on our hearts, and its high time the rest of our community knows as well. Amen.

1New Interpreter's Bible, X, p. 98, footnote 213.