“REsurrection Community”

Fifth Sunday in Easter

May 7, 2023

Acts 4:32-37

Matthew 8:18-27

Children’s Message:

Have you ever ridden in a boat? It’s a lot of fun, isn’t it? The wind and waves spraying on a hot day. Maybe you’ve gone fishing. Has anyone ever been on a cruise? When you’re on a boat in a lake, you try to stay on shore when storms come up. You don’t have that option on a cruise. If a storm comes up, you ride it out. But it’s a pretty big ship, and it’s not usually a big deal.

But the disciples weren’t in a big ship. They were in a fishing boat. And the storms that roll in over the Sea of Galilee can be really big and scary. So, imagine being in a smaller boat. No motor. You’re trying to row against the waves and wind. And the boat starts sinking. And you don’t have a life vest on. And you really might drown. And Jesus is sleeping near the back of the boat! How is that even possible?

What do you do? Well, if Jesus is in the boat with you, you wake him up. And that’s what they did. And he calmed the storm, and they were safe. But storms come up a lot in our lives. People get sick, school gets hard, bullying gets worse. And then what do you do? Hopefully, you can ‘wake up’ a trusted adult. But you can also pray. Prayer doesn’t always change the situation, but it can help calm the storm inside your heart. What storms are going on for you right now?

Let’s pray. Dear God, when our hearts hurt with storms and chaos, help us trust that you are always with us. Calm our storms and keep us safe. Amen.

Message: Resurrection Reality changes our direction, pointing us to each other.

I was in a Faith Partners meeting yesterday morning, and the organizer asked us how things have changed for our ministry and for our congregations since the pandemic? What immediately came to my mind was how disconnected we’ve become—that we’ve gotten out of the habit or routine of spending time together. Many in our community have shifted to primarily worshiping online. It’s more convenient. You can work it into your own timeframe. And if you’re physically unable to be here on a Sunday morning, it’s a lifeline.

I get it. As an introvert, I kind of liked being told to stay home. It was a relief. It was only as we truly gathered inside, in our space, all together that it hit me how much I needed you. How much we needed each other.

But as restrictions lifted, it was like we were making up for lost time—overscheduling ourselves, holding parties and funerals that had been postponed indefinitely. It was too much all at once. It was exhausting. I think we’re still exhausted and wary and just plain out of sorts. But the reality of the situation still stands—we desperately need each other. It’s in our nature. It’s wired into our brains and our hearts and our souls. It is a fundamental part of being created in the image of God. We are creatures of community.

And yet, we operate under the guise of being individuals. We emphasize individual rights—often over community responsibility. We strive for our individual comforts, even if it means someone else is denied what they need. We work hard to protect ourselves from obligations that might pull us out of our individual comfort zones—even for the sake of another.

But here’s the thing. We are a resurrection people. Resurrection Reality changes our direction, pointing us to each other.

The early church described in the book of Acts is a prime example of this. They shared everything. They sold their individual possessions so that they could care for their community, as a whole. They knew that they would have everything they needed as long as everyone shared everything.

It sounds idealistic. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t something that is sustainable. Or maybe we are just afraid to lose something? But maybe that isn’t the point.

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about Shaine Claiborne and the community he helped start in Pennsylvania called the Simple Way. They got started in 1995, inspired by this story in Acts and the very real challenges of homeless people finding shelter in an abandoned Catholic Church. The city was going to force them to leave, but they found a way—a way to live as a community, a way to share resources, a way to work together, to rely on each other, to hold each other up. They found a Simple Way to live and thrive.

It’s not easy. It’s not convenient. And they continually struggle against systemic challenges. The neighborhood they live in is the least desirable in Philadelphia. It is a food dessert—where the only grocery options are found in convenience stores and fast food establishments. It’s low-income, with little to no medical clinics of any kind. Violence is on the rise, as is homelessness. But they haven’t abandoned their neighbors. They haven’t abandoned each other. They plant community gardens and work for legislative answers and keep carrying each other through the difficulties. Because they know that they belong to each other. We belong to each other.

We are resurrection people. Resurrection reality changes our direction, pointing us to each other.

On Thursday morning, I attended the Mayor’s interfaith prayer breakfast. And something that Mayor Baird and guest speaker Jerry White both said keeps rolling around in my head. “We can’t survive alone. We can’t thrive alone.” Simply put, there is no such thing as a community of one.

Theologian Willie James Jennings refers to the book of Acts as being all about the disrupting presence of the Holy Spirit. Like Genesis—like gospel lesson—God moves over chaos to create order. The Holy Spirit moves over the storms of our individual lives to create community, order, and new life. This is the reality of the resurrection. The Holy Spirit digs into our broken lives and changes us—turns us around—points us in a new direction. Points us to each other.

The early church took the method the empire used to create boundaries between people, and they destroyed that method. By pulling together, they destroyed the barriers created by money, status, and privilege. You can’t hold those things over someone if you no longer have them. The people of the church willingly gave them up so that the whole community would see itself as ONE. One people. One purpose. One God. One movement. One hope. All centered on the resurrection promise of abundant life through Jesus Christ.

They turned down the power and privilege offered by the empire’s ideas of peace and order and instead recognized the peace and identity found in a crucified God. They lived a scandalous message in a scandalous way. Because they believed—we believe—that this God does not divide us. Not by race, religion, denomination, gender identity, body type, health status, economic status, or anything else. Those are all human divisions. Divisions meant to create contempt and competition rather than true community.

But it is only in true community that we find ourselves and recognize the risen Christ in the heart of one another. We are a resurrection people. Resurrection Reality changes our direction, pointing us to each other.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE