Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25
I read recently about a young man and his first experience of church. Jack had been in prison for a number of years for armed robbery and other offenses. After his release Jack and his girlfriend became Christians through reading a Bible that they had received. Every Sunday they would catch a bus to the golf course and spend most of the day there. The bus passed a particular church and the couple kept thinking that one day they should go. That day finally came, and they went into the church, a bit uncertain what they would find. The first person they saw was the policeman who had arrested the young man. It was because of his evidence that Jack had been convicted and sent to prison. The young man didn’t know what to expect. The policeman walked up to him, embraced him and welcomed him warmly. In that one gesture he said to the young man, ‘You’re forgiven and you belong.’
In Acts chapter 2 we see how the Christians were deeply committed to God and each other. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, broke bread, prayed and praised. They shared what they had, supported one another, ate together and met together. Just as God had intended from the beginning.
God’s purpose – restoration
God created us for relationship, with him and one another. When Adam and Eve sinned they not only broke the relationship with God but also their relationship with each other and subsequently with other people. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection came forgiveness and restoration of those relationships.
This is the restoration of God’s Kingdom. It is something the world cannot produce, no matter how many peace treaties are signed or charters drawn up. But when the Kingdom of God is visible as it was then, people sit up and take notice. Not only do they notice, but they are drawn to it. ‘And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’
If we hope to reach out to those in our communities, then we need to reflect community in the church. We need the unity that reaches out to others and says ‘I am forgiven, you are forgiven and we belong.’
Mothering Sunday
Mothers’ Day was originally Mothering Sunday which is about belonging. During the sixteenth century, people returned to their mother church, the main church of the area. This was either a large local church, or more often the nearest Cathedral. In later times, Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother church, usually with their own mothers and other family members. It was often the only time that whole families could gather together, since on other days they were prevented by conflicting working hours, and servants were not given free days on other occasions. Back then it was celebrated on the middle Sunday in Lent. By the 1920s Mothering Sunday was little observed in UK and Europe but it was revived by conflating it with Mothers’ Day which was by then much observed in North America. So in Europe Mothers’ Day is in the middle of Lent while in America and here it is the second Sunday in May.
Mother church for us in Belmont is St. Paul’s, Devonport, which makes Mothering Sunday in the old sense somewhat fraught since they closed it. We could instead say our mother church is the Presbyterian Church but I want to say our true mother church is ultimately the one described in Acts 2. This is our DNA.
Think again of the story of Jack. The welcome he received speaks volumes about that particular church. If we go by the description in Acts 2 that’s church as it should be. That’s as good as it gets. That’s what this church is like. Where a person’s past is set aside because God has forgiven. Where we trust one another to the Holy Spirit while God sorts us out.
Not all churches are like this. It used to be in many churches, possibly in this one some time ago, that as long as people believed the right things and behaved acceptably they could belong. If we were that way now how many of us would belong? I’m not talking about formal membership here, I’m talking about being able to say, “This is my church; these are my people.” What we do now is we include people so that we belong while we get our believing and behaving sorted out (which generally takes a life-time).
Acts 2:42 tells us the followers of Jesus devoted themselves to fellowship. They were together as one. They shared their stuff. They ate together. They worshipped together every day. They prayed together every day. Their lifestyle showed they loved one another. The Church is a collection of nobodies called together to demonstrate the power, authority, love and kingdom of God here on earth. The primary demonstration that we are the people of God is our love one for another. Jn.13:34,35. If our love for one another is not apparent to non-Christian observers they have the right to write us off as the people of God. Tough, but true. Jesus gave them permission to do that.
Many congregations gather together on the basis of common activity – doing things together. If that’s how we operate we’ve missed the boat. Because the Church of God is called together on the basis of common life. The life of God within and the sharing of that life in community. Shared activities will come out of shared life; but life and growth will not necessarily come from activities. For sharing activity we can join any common-interest club or society, but in the Church we must not make activity the basis of our relationships. It’s easy to hide in activities – using religion as a shield against God — doing the Church thing. Maturity, understanding and development must precede activities. Share life, grow together, struggle together, work together, creating a beautiful organism.
That is community and community is attractive. People were drawn to the community of Jesus’ followers and God added to that community each day those who are being saved. This hasn’t changed.
Do you know why people who have a faith don’t go to church these days?
Barna Research Group surveyed internationally and the answer they discovered is ‘because no one invited them’. People of the older generations, particularly, would not attend a function unless they are invited. I’ve not been invited so it’s not for me. It’s not my church, they won’t want me or I won’t fit in. These are people for whom attending uninvited is gatecrashing and they would never gatecrash.
So, if you live in reach of Belmont St. Margaret’s, and you don’t go to church anywhere, I’m inviting you to come join us. You’re always welcome, 10am Sundays. You might even find, as others have already, that this is a community to belong to.