Abundance

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
April 7, 2024

2 Easter B 

          In the early days of the pandemic, I found myself obsessed with toilet paper.  Never mind that I had just been to Costco before the shut-down and had a 30 roll case of blue Charmin in my linen closet along with whatever was left from the previous case.  Never mind that, in the beginning, we thought the pandemic would be over by Memorial day.  Never mind that there are only two people living in our house and 30+ mega rolls of toilet paper should really last a while.  I think perhaps I had heard too many stories from Don’s mother about using the pages of the Sears and Roebuck catalog when she was growing up during the Depression to even think about running out of toilet paper.  So I spent hours surfing websites looking for toilet paper that could be delivered to my house, even though I had plenty.  Perhaps you have your own stories about toilet paper, or hand sanitizer, or masks, or even chicken from those rather scary days.

          Contrast my mentality of scarcity with the mentality or theology of abundance in the reading from Acts this morning.  In the days following the resurrection, all of the believers were of one heart and mind and everything, including toilet paper if there was such a thing, was held in common.  No one was in need of anything as everyone sold what they had and gave the proceeds to the apostles who made sure everyone had what they needed.  Granted, plenty of people at Christ Church and in Hudson shared what they had with those in need during the pandemic, and even I shared toilet paper from time to time, but the early Christians in the book of Acts take sharing to a whole new level. 

          Then there are the disciples in John’s gospel this morning, who are  scared and in hiding.  Let’s be clear here that the problem is not the Jews.  The problem is the fear.  Even after Jesus appears to the disciples, minus Thomas, breathes the Holy Spirit into them, and sends them out, one week later they are still in hiding.  When Jesus appears to them again, what he doesn’t say is as important as what he does say.  He does not say “What are you doing here? I sent you out!”  What he does say to the still frightened disciples is “Peace be with you” then he offers to let Thomas touch his wounds, which seems quite intimate and vulnerable.  He meets the disciples where they are, no judgement, and we know that eventually they do leave that room and go out into the world.

          On the one hand, the reading from Acts, while quite lovely, seems utterly unrealistic in our 21^st century world.  As followers of Jesus, we are not all of one heart and soul about many things.  We are highly unlikely to sell all that we have and allow the church to distribute everything to those in need.  On the other hand, the disciples in John’s gospel are hardly a model for faithful discipleship as they hide behind a locked door and fail to leave even after Jesus gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit and sends them out into the world.  So how are we to live in this world in which Jesus is risen if neither example of discipleship this morning is really helpful?

          I believe these readings are more helpful than they might appear at first glance.  Two things from the passage from Acts stand out.  First, what the early believers were of one heart and mind about was probably not every little detail of human life.  Psalm 133 begins by reminding us “Oh, how good and pleasant it is when the faithful live together in unity.”  The early believers lived in unity and were of one heart and mind about Jesus.  Jesus was the focus of their lives, not their possessions.   As Christians, we are called to have Jesus as the focus of our lives, not our possessions, or our accomplishments, or our activities.  If Jesus is the focus of our lives, everything else we do or own looks different whether in the first century or the twenty-first.   

Secondly, listen to the language in this short passage.  We hear phrases like “the whole group,” “everyone,” “no one,” “everything,” “all” and “not a needy person.”  Those are words of abundance.  What does a church of abundance look like?  A church of abundance is one where everyone does all that they can, gives all they are able to, and puts the needs of each other first.  No one thinks “my small bit doesn’t matter” and they spend a few minutes each week calling people who haven’t been in church for a while so that everyone knows that they matter.  Everyone reads the emails and newsletters sent out by the wardens, vestry, or staff AND responds so that the leadership of the parish feels supported.  Everyone offers their gifts, time, and talents willingly, cheerfully, and early and often, so that the ministry of the church continues to grow and thrive as the ministry of the early church did.  There are so very many ways to live into being the church described in the book of Acts and meet the needs of each other while keeping Jesus as the heart and soul of the congregation. 

Even though the disciples in the reading from John are in hiding this morning, we still learn much from the story about how to follow the risen Christ.  Throughout the gospels, we hear the words “Do not fear,” usually from an angel.  Followers of Jesus do not act out of fear but out of trust that Jesus will meet them where they are, as Jesus does on Easter evening and a week later.  Jesus meets Thomas where he is, needing to know that the person standing before him is, indeed, the risen Christ.  Jesus calls us to trust that Jesus will meet us wherever we go and whatever we do, including venturing into a new chapter at Christ Church.

Both the gospel story and the reading from Acts call us to put Jesus at the center of our lives, trusting that when we do that, we will be a healthy community focused on Jesus rather than anything that divides us, that everyone will be cared for in deep and genuine ways, and that we will find Jesus waiting for us wherever we go and whatever we do.  That is a promise.

                                                          Amen.