Easter 4 (A) + God and change + 5.3.20
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| (Trinity by Rublev) |
M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Acts 2:42–47; Psalm 23;
St. John 10:1–10)
“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 (Acts 2:46-47a).”
As I read this passages this week, I was struck by the impact
of the changes that must have been happening in the early church as the
believers were living out their new faith and how that must have changed
everything for them. They gained so much as they lived in community but they
also lost things – those who chose to share wealth literally lost some of their
wealth in order to be wealthy in other ways. And those who chose to be
Christians at odds with family wishes may have broken relationships.
These new believers were not necessarily all poor. They were
likely from different backgrounds and while they found the same salvation in
Jesus I am sure their experiences were wildly different. But they were part of
a huge individual and societal shift as they embraced Jesus and Christian
community.[1]
These shifts and changes made me reflect on the changes we
are experiencing now. It is fascinating to hear on the news about how the
changes that we now feel are temporary may affect long term changes for the
future. On the radio this week, there were discussions about whether we have
now reached our peak oil demand already. Could it be that despite all the times
that we felt powerless to change our actions for the sake of the earth we are
now living through a moment of potential regeneration, a second chance to save
our planet? Could the Holy Spirit be redeeming even this?
However in saying that I do not wish to make light of the
suffering that surrounds us. This week I heard about several people that lost
people close to them, across the diocese and across the country. I heard from
people who have not been able to work and are at that point of deciding between
feeding their families and paying other bills. From the couple of people in
need who reached out to me the first several of weeks of this experience, to
this past week it feels like a huge rise in need. There is indeed great
suffering. And then every day there are other small losses. When you can’t go out
and hug someone you love. When someone you know loses their job, especially if
it happens at your workplace. Or when someone gets sick.
But despite these challenges, I do feel that this time is
teaching us something. If we listen. It
is teaching us to celebrate small “wins.” – those times when you feel like “I
got this” or “I know how to respond” even if it is momentary.
We are being drawn into a greater appreciation of nature. Apart from worship, nothing has recharged me as much lately as going to the beach in a socially distanced manner and looking at the waves and letting the water lap at my feet. Perhaps for you it is a walk to a park in your neighborhood or another body of water. If you are like me, getting into nature, even if it is your own back yard, is healing.
We are being drawn into a greater appreciation of nature. Apart from worship, nothing has recharged me as much lately as going to the beach in a socially distanced manner and looking at the waves and letting the water lap at my feet. Perhaps for you it is a walk to a park in your neighborhood or another body of water. If you are like me, getting into nature, even if it is your own back yard, is healing.
We are also being invited to grieve as needed. We should weep
with those who are weeping. Allow yourself a moment of prayer after reading or
hearing about someone who has died or lost someone before moving on to the next
thing (as best you can).
We are all in this together. This has been such a buzzword in
recent weeks that I almost recoil at it. Because no we’re not. We are not all
the ER nurse or the person who has lost their work and is struggling to
survive. That is not my experience. I have a relatively blessed experience by
contrast. But in a way as Christians we really are all in this together.
Because as Christians we do hold all that is important in
common. Perhaps not literally all our possessions (even later in Acts we learn
that not all of the possessions were in common with Ananias and Sapphira). But
we do share of our treasure – material –as well as spiritual insights – and
that makes us richer in community. The church has gone through trials before
and God will redeem even this.
We cannot all be together in person. But we hold in common:
- the presence of Jesus- our Good Shepherd- guiding us
through the challenge of this moment.
- the love of God our Creator – which embraces us even as we
cannot all physically embrace.
And
- the grace of the
Holy Spirit which will strengthen us as we move through loss and into the
promise of new life.
Amen.
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