December 11, 2024 – A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community

“Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 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. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” Acts 2:43-47

“Churches get leveled and relationships are severed, all because we didn’t want to do the messy, costly work up front of sharing everything and admitting that maybe we’re all family precisely because of our junk, that we’re all in equal need of mercy, and that God is more benevolent and patient than we ever are with one another.” (Pavlovitz, John. A Bigger Table, Expanded Edition with Study Guide: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community (pp. 52-53). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.)

“We are family. I got all my sisters with me. We are family…come on everybody sing….Everyone can see we’re together, As we walk on by

(And) And we flock just like birds of a feather, I won’t tell no lie

(All) All of the people around us, they say “Can they be that close?”

Just let me state for the record, We’re giving love in a family dose”

Oh the words of the song “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. Can they be that close? It seems the early believers from our reading in Acts 2 were just that close. They worked together, offering their collective belongings and money for the good of the community and the ministry of Jesus. These points suggest that where G-d is especially at work and where G-d’s presence is especially experienced, such giving and sharing is the natural Christian response.

I like to think that our churches still function in a similar way, though it does look very, very different. The only groups today who give all of their belongings and money to a so called “divine purpose” are members of cults. Jim Jones and the People’s Temple is a good example. I do not mean this as an indictment but merely as a recognition. But where there is such a calling to share openly and with generosity, our response should be one of celebration rather than suspicion.

What we should be sharing in a communal and individual manner are our own experiences of G-d’s grace and mercy and love in and among us. What message do we send to the world about G-d by our own attitudes and deeds concerning how many possessions we need to accumulate? How can our own lives better reflect what G-d has done for us and the living presence of Christ in our midst?

Pastor Dave