The Devotion of the Community

Acts 2:42-47     They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by 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. 

Setting the Scene:  As Jesus promised in Luke 24:49 and as Luke the Gospel writer reminds us in Acts 1:8, the Spirit has descended upon the disciples and followers of Jesus.  They have been empowered by the Spirit to speak and hear and teach about God.   Peter has just finished preaching an inspired sermon to the people. He gives a powerful witness to Jesus the Messiah and tells the people about God’s promise to send the Spirit to live within all who believe.  After they hear the good news and believe in the Word, three thousand people have been baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.   We drop in on this early church community right after this powerful episode in which so many people respond.  Now it is time for these new believers to join the community as they learn and grow and deepen their faith together. 

Making Connections:  As you have grown in your spiritual life, what are the spiritual practices that have sustained you and what are the spiritual practices that have challenged you to learn and grow deeper?  

Going Deeper:  After their baptism, the new believers join the community of Christ-followers.  These new believers devoted themselves to things that would draw them closer to God and one another.  The Greek word proskartereo {pros-kar-ter-eh'-o} means to adhere to one, to be devoted or constant to one and to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care, to persevere, to show one's self courageous.    They strive to follow Christ with purity of heart, which Soren Kierkegard defined as “to will one thing.”   As I read him, this “one thing” is to seek after the Good, which he considers to be God.   These followers of Christ were truly committed to communal living with a single-mindedness that we should admire and emulate.    By their life of devotion to God, these first followers of Christ embody the purity of heart that Kierkegard wrote about. 

The biblical text says these Christ-followers were seeking after God through:

• The apostle’s teaching: didache {did-akh-ay'} or doctrine
• Fellowship: koinonia {koy-nohn-ee'-ah} or association, community, communion, joint participation, and intimacy
• The breaking of Bread: klasis {klas'-is} or literally a breaking of … artos {ar'-tos} or a food the Israelites made of flour mixed with water and baked as an oblong or round cake, as thick as one's thumb, and as large as a plate or platter so that it was not to be cut but broken, loaves consecrated to the Lord, the bread used at the love-feasts and at the Lord's Table
• Prayers: proseuche {pros-yoo-khay'} or an address to God, a place set apart or suited for the offering of prayer, a place in the open air where the Jews went to pray, outside the cities, where they had no synagogue

Pondering:   This passage continues to describe even more deeply how committed the people of this early community were to one another.  They shared things in common and took care of one another in mutual love and respect, not only on a spiritual level but on a material level as well.  This is a hard teaching for those of us who live in a highly materialistic world.  “Finders keepers! Losers weepers!” we shout as young children, and we tuck that attitude away in our hearts.   It was hard for those first followers as well … read the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira found in Acts 5:1-11.   Take a moment to read that story and consider your possessions.  Do you possess them or do they possess you?   Open your checkbook or look at your credit card statement.   How do these tools tell you what is important in your life?   Are there any places that you need to make changes in the way you use and share your material gifts with others?

Communal living is not easy, but in the power of the Spirit, people can live in koinonia fellowship together.  They can be a part of intimate small groups, learning about God through study and knowing God in prayer.  In the power of the Spirit, people do learn to share their material wealth so that everyone has their needs met.  In the power of the Spirit, people will see and experience the miracles of God.   Are you are part of a small group?  What is the purpose of the time you spend together?  How do you spend your time?  Are you drawn more to learning about God through study or knowing God through prayer?   How have you experienced God through your experience with small groups?  

The community of Acts 2:42-47 is a community devoted to spiritual formation.   Spiritual formation is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ by the gracious working of God's spirit, for the transformation of the world.   As you consider your spiritual journey, how is God working through the power of the Spirit to form you into the image of Christ?

The text says that “day by day the Lord added to their number …”   Now there is a church model for growth!   The growing community is a community that embodies the greatest commandments:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and spirit AND Love your neighbor as yourself.    How does your community of faith, if you are a part of one, embody the greatest commandments?     A growing community is a community that “wills the one thing.”   What are the signs that you see that indicate that your community is becoming a gathering of people who “will the one thing?”    How could you encourage the purity of heart that this requires?
       
Praying:  Let this prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) become your daily Prayer of Eastertide

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy;
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit that I love but what is holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend that is holy;
Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy.  Amen