( Acts 2, 41-47 ) - [ Deutsch ]
Sermon 7th Sunday after Trinity 23 July 2023
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
A fortnight ago in the family service Agent Cleverus and I already talked about the salt and light people - the first Christians.
We identified 4 principles that were important in the first church in Jerusalem and are still important for us today.
1. Salt people share and encourage
2. Salt people protect and help
3. Salt people know the power of God's spirit
4. Salt people love the light
In the text of Acts, which we have already heard as an epistle reading, these principles are taken up.
They share:
- Bread
- Houses as places of encounter
- Their goods and possessions
Which leads to 2.: they protect and help the poor in their community.
3. They know the power of God's spirit, they are reverent and the apostles work miracles in their congregation.
And 4, the point I would like to take further today, they love the light.
The light refers to the light of God, the message of Jesus' resurrection and the radiance that this message has.
And these Christians pass on the light that illuminates them.
It is said that they found favour with all the people, they were respected.
And God gives this church new people every day who join the church.
I wonder if God could have entrusted the church with so many new members if the church had not been so enthusiastic about its message.
Maybe? We know God's ways are mysterious.
But certainly it contributed positively that the people did not hide their enthusiasm for God, for the Good News of the Resurrection.
They lived it, consistently. The Lord's Supper was an important part of this practice. It is a meeting place with Jesus.
It is a ritual that strengthens people then and now.
The Christians in Jerusalem met daily to pray together, to hear from God, to celebrate the Lord's Supper and to be in community.
I think of it like the load shedding light bulbs I have at home.
I have to regularly turn on the lights when there is electricity, so they light up when it's off. I didn't know this at the beginning and always had very dim lights and was almost sitting in the dark.
The Christians charged their light in the fellowship with other Christians, in the Lord's Supper, in prayer, in what the apostles told. And beyond that, they shone in such a way that they passed on the light and set others on fire with it. Like matches that someone has placed next to each other. The first one has to be lit from the outside and then the next ones set themselves on fire one by one.
Where do we get our light today? Where do we shine so brightly, are so enthusiastic about God's good news, that we carry it to the outside, set others on fire?
Where is our radiance so great that it makes a positive impression on the society around us?
It can happen anywhere in our everyday life.
I experienced this in Germany in 2017 when a refugee shelter opened nearby in an old cigarette factory. Immediately it was clear to the church community that we would help there. Many volunteers were found who helped with the distribution of food, child care, spiritual counselling, German lessons, visits to the authorities, sorting donations, etc..
And after a while, the people started to pray together, they were invited to the church and some found their home there.
Maybe you also know such a story where the light burns so strongly in people that it radiates outwards into society?
In the text of the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostle Luke gives us some tips that are still applicable today to let our light shine and continue to shine outwards.
- Staying in the apostles' teaching, today we no longer have the apostles speaking to us, but we have the Bible and we can stay in the teaching, in worship, but also in the cell group, in private conversations or when we listen to podcasts.
- Living community, that is being an active part of the church, not only on Sundays but every day.
- Breaking bread (or celebrating the Lord's Supper) to strengthen ourselves spiritually.
- Prayers, these can be our own prayers, but also a way of experiencing community. Why don't you try to consciously give space to prayer and, for example, focus on praying together in a cell group?
And in this way we can perhaps give the congregation more radiance, because we ourselves shine brightly.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
