Acts 6:1–7
13th Sunday after Trinity
Pastorin Kornelia Schauf
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Amen
Acts 6:1–7
1 In those days, as the number of disciples increased, a complaint arose among the Hellenistic Jews in the church against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve tables.
3 Therefore, dear brothers, look for seven men among you who have a good reputation and are full of the Spirit and wisdom; we will appoint them to this task.
4 But we will devote ourselves entirely to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5 The proposal pleased the whole assembly, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, the proselyte from Antioch.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God spread, and the number of disciples grew greatly in Jerusalem. Many priests also became obedient to the faith.
Dear congregation,
With today’s sermon text, we find ourselves in the time of the early Christian churches. We hear that the churches were growing. Wonderful. That was the intention. The work of Jesus continues – that was a blessing and a source of comfort.
But as with any other change: Nothing is simply wonderful—rather, it calls on leadership to adjust their strategy and their actions. Although it is indeed wonderful when a congregation grows, Luke reports dissatisfaction. “Grumbling” is the term he uses. Mind you, for the attentive Bible reader, this is a familiar phenomenon. The term immediately brings to mind the Exodus from Egypt. Some of those who had been set free “grumbled” when the journey through the desert took longer than expected.
Luke describes a similar phenomenon. Some of the young Christians, newly redeemed and set free, “grumble.” They are unhappy with what is happening in the church. They had imagined it differently.
For me, this is reassuring: If a church is alive, then there will always be something to “grumble” about.
“Grumbling” is a sign that something is happening. “Grumbling” is a reaction to change.
The question is: who takes responsibility when some are dissatisfied? Of course: those who are entrusted with leadership. In the wilderness, it was Moses. In the growing Christian church during Luke’s time, it was the apostles.
We can also note this: A church needs leadership. And leading a church is not easy, because its task is not merely to maintain and manage buildings and finances. Above all, it must also deal with those who are dissatisfied. The leadership seeks solutions. The leadership is responsible for breaking new ground when necessary.
Today’s sermon text is about a group within the church that feels it is being neglected. It was the Greek-speaking Jews who felt that their widows were not being taken care of. In contrast to the Hebrew widows, who were well provided for. “That’s unfair!” was their complaint. The church leadership, consisting of twelve apostles, heard this and responded. They consult with one another and realize: Our church is too large. There are too many tasks. We can no longer manage this on our own. We need support.
This, too, reminds us of what Moses experienced. Moses, too, reached a point where he could no longer handle his tasks alone. And his father-in-law advised him: Find support. We can also take this away from this story: Growth and development do not happen by burdening those who are already doing so much with more and more tasks. There are limits to what is feasible for every group and every person.
But I like how the apostles handle the complaint: “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God and serve tables.” In other words: they take their role as spiritual leaders seriously.The fact that widows are being overlooked and receiving too little is not, for them, primarily an unfair
distribution of money—that is, a financial problem. No, they realize: we are not taking the Word of God seriously in this matter.
For even in the Old Testament it is written that it is the duty of the community of believers to care for widows. Why widows? Because they lacked social security: Becoming a widow usually meant being poor.
“We are not taking the Word of God seriously!” In other words: We find solutions in God, in His Word, in prayer, and in spiritual fellowship. This spiritual leadership is what distinguishes Christian congregations and churches.
Spiritual leadership affects all areas of a congregation. Whether it concerns buildings, whether it concerns finances, whether it concerns personnel issues, everything is viewed in its spiritual dimension. For example, conflict within the congregation: It is not the role of leadership to take a side and determine who is right and who is wrong. Rather, it is a spiritual task to guide the conflict in such a way that it can be resolved. A compromise can be reached. Or there may be a sign of reconciliation and understanding. There is the opportunity to confess guilt, admit mistakes, and then reconnect with one another.
What matters is living out our faith even in the midst of conflict.
Another example: people’s suffering. It is not merely a practical problem, but often an expression of wrongdoing and injustice. It is a spiritual concern that we not only focus on the suffering of the individual and provide aid. It is also about overcoming fundamentally unfair and unjust structures.
The solution in the Book of Acts is a spiritual one: As the tasks increase, people are sought who can help.
New “offices” are established. The structure of the church changes. In addition to the twelve apostles, deacons are appointed. A new office. A new calling. The leadership lightens its load and creates space for prayer and the study of God’s Word. They seek support and install the deacons by the laying on of hands.
Today we are celebrating a church festival. “Come with gifts and songs of praise!” We gratefully recognize how many members in our church serve in various ministries: serving tea and parking lot duty, reading ministry, children’s worship, music ministry, church council, choirs, birthday visitation, hospital visitation, prayer ministry, gardening, office work, the parish newsletter, and senior ministry, diaconal projects, and missions… All of these, as we are reminded today, are tasks that have a spiritual dimension. No office is more important than another. We are and remain one body—led by Jesus Christ.
The experience of the early church was a joyful one. As long as they are aware that God is their source of strength and that they owe their fellowship to the Spirit of God, the church is alive and something is growing there. The Word of God spreads. The church fulfils its calling and purpose.
The crucial point in Jerusalem—and for us—is not that there are no longer any problems or challenges. There will always be “murmuring” somewhere.
A vibrant church is not one without conflict, but one where the leadership listens attentively and responds to them in the Spirit of God. The apostles do not reply, “Don’t make such a fuss!”
I’d like to address the nature of this “grumbling” with one more thought: Some were overlooked - or at least felt overlooked. This is and remains a problem in many churches. People feel overlooked, and they are, in fact, overlooked. Each of us can ask ourselves: Who do I overlook here every Sunday? Who have I never even noticed? And as we saw in the first church: people were sought out who had the right gifts to care for those who are overlooked.
For us and our church festival, this means: A church is alive where we discover new gifts.
A church is alive when problems are solved lovingly and with a spiritual attitude.
The church didn’t become perfect. But the Word of God spread.
People were seen. In our world, this is one of the most important tasks of a church: Every single person matters.
God never loses sight of anyone. God sees each and every one of us. I believe that this is precisely where a standard for the church lies: It’s good that we have one another.
So let us ask ourselves again and again: Do we have everyone in view? Who do we see—and who might we still be overlooking? Our church is larger than we sometimes think. As long as there is still “grumbling,” something is developing. Our church is very much alive!
For this I thank God with all my heart. Amen.