We’ve seen a fascinating thing in Australian politics in the past few weeks. John Howard has gone from being the man of steel to being more like a quick change artist. Suddenly he’s on the back foot trying to maintain his popularity against the threat of Mark Latham. And what was the issue that caused him to stumble? It wasn’t lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction. It wasn’t a rebound in public opinion on refugees. It wasn’t the crisis in our health system or access to tertiary education. No, it was politicians’ superannuation packages. It was the question of the haves and the have nots in our society; of wealth and poverty; of a sense of unfairness over incomes. So why does an issue like that cause such concern when our treatment of refugees or questions over misinformation about military intelligence or shortfalls in the provision of health and education don’t seem to make a difference? Well, let me suggest that it’s all to do with money. Money and its distribution is so often the touchstone of a society, the issue that sets people apart or that gets them excited.
And so it was in the early Church. As Luke continues with his description of the highlights of the early weeks of the Church this is something that stands out for him. So much so that he mentions it in his summary of the life of the church in chapter 2 and now in ch 4 he comes back to it with one particular example, followed, sadly, by its counterpoint; by a sobering reminder of how easily we can be corrupted by the love of money.
After Peter and John were released from prison, you’ll remember, the church joined together in prayer that the Holy Spirit would strengthen and empower them. And in response to that prayer they began to speak boldly. But the work of the Spirit doesn’t stop with words. Rather it flows into action. We read they were of one heart and mind. There was a fundamental solidarity of love among them that showed itself in the way they related to one another.
Now I was thinking about how this compares with our congregation. We’re probably not that different to them. You can imagine they would have had a fairly broad range of backgrounds and interests. Some of those differences may have cause a certain amount of strain between some of them. Certainly in ch 6 we discover a level of tension between the Greek and the Hebrew widows. So what does this mean here when we read that they were of one heart and soul? Does it mean they all had the same idea of what was the best way to do things; what was the right way to worship; what was the best way to pray; what style of music they should use in their worship?
No. Of course not. They were normal human beings. But they were human beings who were filled with the Holy Spirit, so they realised that the differences they had were secondary to the unity that came from being in Jesus Christ. Now I think this is a real challenge to us. We’re already a fairly diverse congregation and as we continue to grow there’s every chance we’ll continue to become more diverse. That means we’ll need to ask God to enable us to be of one heart and mind. To bear with one another even when others are annoyingly different from us.
But the challenge is even deeper than that, because it strikes at the Achilles heel of economics. Notice that their sense of solidarity led to a radical realignment of their attitude to each other and especially to their possessions. So we read they shared everything they had so there was no needy person among them.
Let me read you what one commentator has written about this behaviour: "We must have hearts that are harder than iron if we are not moved by the reading of this narrative. In those days the believers gave abundantly of what was their own; we in our day are content not just jealously to retain what we possess, but callously to rob others.... They sold their own possessions in those days; in our day it is the lust to purchase that reigns supreme. At that time love made each man’s own possessions common property for those in need; in our day such is the inhumanity of many, that they begrudge to the poor a common dwelling upon earth, the common use of water, air and sky." Does that sound contemporary? Well, do you know when it was written? It was written in 1552 by John Calvin (Calvin, The Acts of the Apostles, Vol I). Not much has changed has it? Except perhaps that our personal economic well being is even more important to us than ever.
So here’s a challenge. How generous are we being in the way we distribute our wealth to others: to the poor; to the Lord’s work here at St Theodore’s; to missionary and aid organisations around the world?
Now before we go any further it’s important to note that the sharing of possessions here is entirely voluntary. This wasn’t an early form of Christian socialism. As we’ll see in a moment, until the moment they handed their money over it belonged to them to do with as they liked. There’s no sense of obligation in the act of giving other then that which arises from our love of God. Rather we get the feeling this is an act of freedom, as people bring their money and lay it at the disciples feet. The disciples don’t take it from them, it’s freely laid down. The Holy Spirit was at work in them convincing them that they and their property belonged deeply to Christ and therefore to one another. So deeply that they gave spontaneously and willingly so that the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ could be met. They shared God’s heartfelt concern that all might flourish in his creation and that among his own people there’d be real care for those in need. So they no longer claimed that their things were their own, that is, restricted to their own private and personal use. Instead they willingly shared what they had with each other.
As Calvin says, this is quite a challenge to us isn’t it? It goes totally against our sense of personal autonomy, of personal ownership of property, even perhaps against our sense of identity? Is it true perhaps that some of us get our sense of identity from what we own, what we earn, what we control, from our bank balance or our share portfolio? Perhaps this explains something of their willingness to share: that they’d suddenly come to the realisation that their sense of identity was bound up in Jesus Christ rather than in what they owned; that their solidarity with Christ’s body, the Church, was of more value than their property portfolio. What’s more they realised that their security lay in Jesus’ death on the cross, not in their superannuation fund. So they were willing to sell what was probably their major form of investment for the future in order to share with others.
Well, having given us this radical picture of life in the early church, Luke now takes the opportunity to introduce someone who’ll feature in the spread of the gospel, particularly through his association with Paul. His real name is Joseph, but his character was such that the apostles gave him another name, Barnabas. That is, ’Son of Encouragement’. He’s just one example of what’s been happening, but perhaps because of his standing in the community, his reputation for being the encourager, his generosity stood out. He sold a field and laid the proceeds at the apostles’ feet.
I guess it would be like one of you selling your holiday house down at Lorne and giving the proceeds to our building fund, or cashing in some of your superannuation to help fund our children’s and youth ministers. It’s clearly a notable donation.
By the way it’s interesting that in chapter 1 we read that with the money he got for betraying Jesus, Judas bought a field. And here, by contrast, Barnabas sold a field that belonged to him and laid it at the Apostles feet as a sign of his allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Well, that’s not the only contrast in this story is it? Because having given us this wonderful account of the generosity of the first Christians and especially Barnabas, Luke suddenly brings us down to earth with the contrasting story of Ananias and Sapphira. Ananias and Sapphira have no doubt heard about Barnabas’ offering and they decide to do something similar. The trouble is they can’t bring themselves to part with such a large amount of money.
Do you know what that’s like? In a moment of excitement you agree to give a sizeable donation to some charity or perhaps even to a Church but then in the cold light of day you begin to weigh up the impact it’ll have on your savings, or on your next overseas trip, or perhaps on your children’s school fees. And so you try to think of ways to get out of it, or perhaps you simply ignore it.
Well that’s what happens with Ananias and Sapphira. They agree to say they’ve given it all but secretly they hold back some of it for their own use. And the result is disastrous. They both end up dead. It seems a harsh judgement. They’re not given any chance to explain or to make amends. They just fall down dead.
But notice why they die. It might have been because they were greedy and held some of the proceeds back. That would certainly have been to break the tenth commandment. But that isn’t the issue is it? Greed and covetousness is certainly an issue we need to watch out for. But it isn’t what became Ananias and Sapphira’s downfall. In fact up until the moment when they laid the money at the apostles’ feet they’ve done nothing wrong. Peter says to them "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal?" If they wanted to hold some of the proceeds back they were free to do so. As I said before there was no sense of obligation or compulsion about this gift. It was a free will offering. It was no different to what we take up during our Sunday services, or what people transfer through their bank account. No-one needed to know what the proportion was that they were giving. It was simply laid down at the apostles feet.
But what Ananias and Sapphira did was to lie about it. They claimed to be bringing the lot when in fact they were only bringing part. And to make it worse they weren’t just lying to the apostles, they were lying to God. They were trying to make themselves out to be generous supporters of God’s people when in fact they were holding back what they thought they needed out of the proceeds. I imagine they hoped to receive the same sort of approval as Barnabas; that they wanted the prestige due to the sacrificial giver. But they didn’t deserve it did they? Because their generosity was tainted by dishonesty.
And Peter sees through them. The Holy Spirit gives him a message for Ananias. "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!" He sees, behind this lie, the work of Satan, the father of lies. He points out that his sin is directly against God. In fact the word he uses for ’keep back’ is a word that’s used elsewhere for people who take goods that have been dedicated to God and keep them for themselves. (e.g. Achan at the battle of Jericho in Joshua 6&7). That’s how serious it is. It isn’t just greed. It’s promising to give God something then holding some of it back. It’s like stealing what belongs to God.
Later in the year we’ll be looking at 2 Corinthians. You may remember that last year we read in 1 Corinthians 16 how Paul encouraged the Corinthians to set aside the amount they’d promised each week so it’d ready when he came. Well, in 2 Corinthians 8 Paul reminds them of their pledge and the need to complete it before he gets there so they won’t be embarrassed or caught out. Perhaps he had this incident in mind when he wrote that warning.
Many of us here have filled in pledge forms to give to God’s work at St Theodore’s. Others have agreed in their own minds to support that work. Some have been meaning to do something about it for a while but haven’t quite got around to it. Well, these verses are given to us first as an encouragement, to see how a Church can behave together when its members are committed to one another as fellow members of the body of Christ and to be generous with our possessions. But they’re also given as a warning not to hold back what we’ve promised to God. Not to pretend to support his work while we’re actually serving ourselves.
This first part of ch 5 is probably not one of your favourite parts of Scripture, but it is an important part of Scripture. It’s one of those highlights (or low lights if you like) that Luke has included for our benefit. So let’s take it to heart so God will be pleased with us as he no doubt was of Barnabas rather than be angry with us as he was with Ananias and Sapphira.
Well, how will that look in practical terms? What might we do that would help us to share our wealth with others? If some of these suggestions seem a little radical, that’s the whole point! The response of the first Christians was totally radical because they’d experienced such a radical change in their world view. Our danger is that the Christian worldview no longer seems radical. We actually have to work at realising just how radical it is. Well here are some suggestions for you.
Look at your annual income and work out what proportion of it you’re going to give to God’s service. Set a twelfth of that amount aside each month by direct debit or credit card payments so it’s the first thing that goes out of your account each month.
Go to a financial planner and work out what your excess income is and invest it for the long term in a fund that gives away all its income to Christian mission and service
Give an extravagant one off gift to a mission agency.
Think about your regular giving to Church in terms of what you can deliberately cull out of your life.
Leave the church a big bequest after you’ve provided for the legitimate needs of your family or dependants.
Above all, think about the heartfelt desire of God to be generous and to build a people who are like Himself, concerned for the very real needs of others. Pray about these things and talk to one another about how we should put them into practice in a radical way. And may we too become sons and daughters of encouragement like Barnabas.
For more sermons and for study notes go to www.sttheos.org.au
