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    Apr 08, 2018

    The Power of Words

    The Power of Words

    Passage: Acts 4:32-35

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Series: Signs of Resurrection

    Category: Resurrection

    “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”  With great power. 

    Can you imagine what it would take for you to give over everything you had to the community – not just taxes, not just time, but everything?

    It took them awhile.  Pentecost was 50 days after Easter Sunday, and if you will remember, the disciples were huddled in a room in Jerusalem on the morning of Pentecost, waiting.  Just before he ascended, Jesus had promised they would receive power, and they were obediently waiting.

    The story we just heard is from the fourth chapter of the book of Acts.  As I said, it took them awhile. 

    “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”  With great power. 

    That testimony was so powerful that the fledgling community of believers began to share everything, and those who had property sold it.  They found power in and through the community that knew the Risen Lord.

    No one wanted for a thing because they shared everything in common.  They ate and worshiped together and found enormous strength and power in their shared love for Christ and in their expression of faith in him.  This part of the story doesn’t say a lot more, but it makes me wonder:  What would it take to be that connected as the Body of Christ today?  And What kind of powerful force would the church be if we found that kind of connection to each other?

    When I was growing up at Brooklyn Heights UMC, there was a strong connection among the church members.  Lifelong friends were made.  I still see those people as family – not because of blood but because of what we shared.  Was it great that we felt like family to each other?  Well, sure.  But more importantly – of utmost importance – was what drew us together: our commitment to Jesus Christ.  It was Jesus that made us family.  And there was no question as to what drew us together.

    One of the expressions of that bond was the ministry to families when someone died.  It was that congregation that taught me that preparing meals for bereaved families is important.  The church gave them a place to share a meal and stories and laughter and tears at tables set in God’s house.

    I’m so grateful that our congregation here does that too – not everyone does, these days.  You’ve done that for a long, long time. 

    This passage has made me ponder whether we remember why.   Is it just because we think it’s a nice thing to do?  Do people who have a deep history here think it’s a perk of being a member of the church?  Is it that we see the church as family? 

    You hear me say it often, if not every month.  The Table of the Lord does not belong to us.  It is Christ’s table. We come together at Christ’s table for celebration and for sorrow.  We come to Christ’s table to remember and celebrate Christ’s love and grace and sacrifice and gift.  We are drawn to the table of Jesus Christ with our sisters and brothers – drawn to the Body that nourishes us.  That’s why we offer table communion after funerals.  That’s why we simply must make it possible to come together in this place instead of a restaurant.  Because the meals served in the Asbury Hall are not just meals.  They are tables of grace.  And it is in that coming together, the Body of Christ is empowered to be the hands and feet of Christ.

    The power of shared meals at Christ’s table comes from the host – from being part of the Body of Christ, not simply because we are doing something nice or because we are with people that we know as friends – or even because we call them family.  It is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the love, the grace, the sacrifice, the forgiveness – that make our table fellowship important.

    The second question that was evoked for me in this passage is, What is our powerful testimony – the kind that makes people what to know Jesus?

    Consider your testimony, remembering that words have power.  What do you say about your church and about your faith?  Does your testimony have the power of Rev. Clem’s that we heard about last Sunday, when she testified to that reporter that her faith was NOT crushed but that her faith held her in her time of devastating grief?  Does your testimony build up or tear down?  Does your testimony witness to the power of God or do you tend to talk about whether the choir sang or the brass played poorly – or even that they played or sang well? 

    The apostles’ testimony had power because they knew why they were witnessing.  They knew that they were witnessing to the power of God in Christ Jesus.  They knew why they gathered in community.

    And did you notice what happened in the community?  It wasn’t enough for them to gather in front of their 75” flat screens with their friends and relatives.  It wasn’t even enough to share in family meals.  They needed to worship together.  They needed to hear the sacred stories.  They needed their connection to each other.  The power to heal and to forgive and to bring others into the Christian community came from their witness to Jesus Christ.

    Yes, friends, there is power in words.