And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47

 

           The other day it was my joy to watch the Red Sox Home Opener.  Part of the festivities was the giving out of World Series Rings for the championship the Sox won last Fall.  It was the culmination of a fantastic season- almost a perfect season.  But then the music died down and the teams took the field because another season was upon them.  All of a sudden 2007 did not really matter anymore.  It is now a memory. The almost perfect season with the perfect ending is now a thing of the past.  Earlier in the week I saw the UConn women go down to defeat in the Final Four in college Basketball.  They almost had a perfect season too.  Only one loss during the regular season.  Only one loss in the Big Tournament.  But one loss was enough to end the season – a good season – but not quite perfect.  I quickly thought of the New England Patriots. They came as close to perfection as you can come.  No losses during the regular season at all.  No losses in the playoffs – except for one.  It was the Superbowl.  The biggest game of the year.  All they had to do was win that one last game and it would have been perfection. But they lost.  They came as close as you can come to being perfect.  But in the end perfection eluded them.

     I look at Acts 2 today and if I can be bold I see about as perfect a Church as you can get.  Certainly it is an ideal one and a model for every congregation on earth.  It was the first Church that ever existed.  Ignited by Pentecost and the fire of the Holy Spirit this Church in Jerusalem seemed to be flawless in the picture you and I see of her today.  If ever there was a congregation that made a Pastor and a people say, “Boy I wish we could be like that” it would be this gathering of God’s people.

     They were a people who were devoted to the Word of God.  They clung to the teachings of the Apostles who themselves had heard it from Jesus.  In fact, it was easy to do that because the Apostles were still there in Jerusalem .  What a Church that could claim St. Peter as her Pastor or St. John or St. Matthew.  “Hi Folks. This Monday we’re starting a new Bible Study on overcoming doubts – and it will be led by Thomas.  This Tuesday our Stewardship committee meets with St. Matthew leading a discussion on how to pay your taxes and be financially faithful.  The annual congregational fishing trip will be led this year by James and John with help from their Dad Zebedee.  But all kidding aside this church was into the Word of God and they were into spending time with each other in fellowship.  It says that they were a Church that had potluck dinners all the time where they broke bread with each other. They were a church devoted to prayer.  Miracles took place on a regular basis at this Church at the hands of the Apostles who received their power from God the Holy Spirit.  This church was incredibly generous.  I think you know that I very much believe in the blessings of tithing.  Well this Church was ten times better than a tithing congregation because these folks gave 100 percent of their possessions to God – and then they gave it all away to the hurting and the needy – no one went hungry in this congregation.  They had worship celebrations every day of the week, not just Sunday and Wednesday, and they joyfully went to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate our God and their salvation from Him.   They were happy and praised God all the time.  There never existed a negative moment in the life of this congregation.  Everyone in town liked them because they had a good reputation.  And their statistics were booming because every day thanks to the Lord they were either baptizing someone or confirming someone in the faith or welcoming new believers into their midst.

     How I wish we all could be like that!!!  But we live in such a different world from theirs – and how could you possibly match what this Church had?  Of course there is a point to that but it doesn’t stop me from wanting our St. Paul ’s to be all things to all people.  In fact, I am delighted to let all of you know that in order to reach all people and be the ideal perfect congregation for the year 2008 in Northwest Connecticut, St. Paul ’s has instituted some new policies.  In order to remove the excuses of those who say they like to sleep in late on Sundays because it’s their only day of rest St. Paul’s will now place cots and warm blankets down the aisles on both sides.  For those who like to use their Sunday mornings to read the paper free copies of the New York Times will not be distributed by the ushers with the bulletins.  For those who say they can worship God on the golf course St. Paul ’s has contacted an architect this week to install an indoor driving range and a landscaper to install a putting green on our front lawn.  For those who prefer to go fishing on Sundays we will now stock the baptismal font with brook trout each and every week.  For those who like good old fashioned sermons we will now have fire and brimstone messages with electrical whoopee cushions to help you squirm in your seats. But to accommodate those who think the Church is judgmental we promise to only speak about five of the ten commandments from now on and we’ll leave out the sixth one entirely.  For those who like only traditional music today the closing hymn will be: “Hark, what yonder bovines  raise their lowing to heaven’s heights?” But to accommodate those who can’t stand liturgical music the closing hymn next Sunday will be the contemporary: “Wow, what cows are these that moo all day- moo moo moo moo moo?”  And for those who feel that the walls would cave in if they ever darkened the doors of Church the trustees will now be passing out complimentary hard hats to all worshipers upon entering St. Paul ’s.

     And yet try as we might I somehow do not think we will reach the level of Acts 2: 42-47.  In fact, I look at this passage from God’s Word and I am tempted to say, “Where is this Church? Does it still exist – somewhere?”  I do look at so many congregations both in our denomination and in others and all I see is dejection, struggling saints, and flocks that are convinced the best days are behind them.  Just this week I spent some time with a Pastor who is having some hard times.  And to hear him say, “I just can’t get beyond the anger and the discouragement and the disrespect.  I wish I could.  I know it’s wrong.  But I can’t” – that is heart breaking.

     I believe with all my heart that Churches just like ours can be Acts 2 congregations.  But I’m going to let you in on one of my fears.  Last week if you were here you heard Vicar confess that he was worried about the Hong Kong trip that he and some of our saints are now on.  He told us all that he knew he should not worry – but he did.  Well in a way I’m glad he’s not here today because I don’t want him to see me admitting my fears and worries to you all – but I’m going to tell you something.  I have always worried that somehow I will never measure up to what the Lord needs or what this Church I love needs in a Pastor.  Please do not think this comes from a poor self-esteem.  I actually have a very good self-esteem.  But I love this St. Paul ’s and you people here.  And I look at Acts 2 and I say, “They had St. Peter as a Pastor. They had St. John and St. Andrew and St. Philip.  All St. Paul ’s has is me.”  There is an old prayer Martin Luther used to pray before he led worship.  He fell to his knees before the Lord and he confessed, “Lord, if it was all up to me I would have wrecked it long ago.”  I relate to Martin Luther a lot.   You people are the best on earth and you deserve the best.  This isn’t false modesty.  This is a guy looking at Acts 2 and saying, “How do I … we… ever measure up to that?”

     And Jesus comes with the words only the Lord can give us and He takes away our fears.  It’s right there in Acts 2.  Did you see how it ends?  It ends with the words, “And the Lord added…”  It was always the Lord who did it, not the Apostles and not the people.  The Lord was in charge of His Church.  And by His grace He made them everything He wanted them to be.  What He saw there through His eyes of love was a Church that sparkled before heaven- and He sees the same thing in us.  Because God always looks at this Church through the eyes of Jesus – and like a man gazing upon his bride – an image which the Bible does use by the way for Jesus and His Church – all the Lord can see is something beautiful.

     We need to see that in our own lives too.  I do not know what you all thought when you read Acts 2 today with our Elder.  But maybe in your heart you looked at these Christians and then looked at your own heart and you concluded, “I’ll never be like them.  I’ll never be the Christian I am supposed to be.  I’ll never measure up – ever.”  And I give you the same words Jesus gave me about our congregation and our ministry.

     He sees something else in you.  He looks at you through the cross on which He redeemed you.  What He sees is righteousness and holiness.  God the Father declares you to be righteous for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ.  And when God declares something – when God speaks – reality happens.  When God said, “Let there be light” – there was light.  When God said, “Let there be land” there was land.  When God says, “I declare you righteous in my sight” – that’s what you are.

     The other night at our Monday Bible Study we read Jesus last prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John’s Gospel.  It was really Jesus’ last words He ever said to His followers – only a few hours before He died on the cross.  In those words He prayed to His Father He spoke about His followers and not just the twelve who had been with Him for three years.  He also included all of us through the centuries who would come to believe in Him.  And Jesus spoke about His disciples and you and me with such glowing terms.  He said that they kept His word.  He said that they believed in Him.  He said that He was glorified in them, that they kept His name, that they were sanctified by the truth.  He said that His joy was fulfilled in them.

    And I’m going, “Who are you talking about Lord?”  At that very moment He said these words one of the twelve was on the way to gather a mob of soldiers to arrest Him after betraying Him.  One of them was about to deny Him three times.  The other ten were about to abandon Him in the garden and leave Him to face judgment and death alone after they fell asleep while He prayed.  If I was praying that prayer do you know what I would have said about the disciples?  If I were Jesus I would have said something like, “God, please take these faithless slimebags and consign them to the lowest rung of perdition!!!”  But Jesus saw something else.

     He sees something else in you.  His love for you means that He looks with eyes upon you that see holiness and goodness and righteousness.  You fill His heart with joy, just as this congregation does.  I do not have to worry about not measuring up as a Pastor.  We do not have to worry about not measuring up as a congregation.  You do not have to worry about not measuring up as a child of God.  You are in Christ Jesus – and in Christ Jesus you are everything that the heart of God wants and desires.  Does He hurt when you sin? Yes.  And you are forgiven at such a cost – gladly paid by your Savior.  Does He have hopes for you of what you might become in Him someday?  Yes.  He has plans for you and you will be in them in the tomorrows He gives you.  But the next time you feel like beating yourself up with guilt or with a desire to heap insults upon yourself for all the failures you think you have been you remember what the Lord has said to you this day.

     I do not know if you and I will ever see a Church quite like the perfect one of Acts 2.  But in my heart of hearts – St. Paul ’s comes pretty close!!!  And you know what?  As good old Martin Luther once put it – if it were all up to me I would have indeed wrecked it long ago – But it is not up to me and we are not alone in our ministry as a Pastor and a people.  Jesus is with us and He measures up and we are in Him.  The Red Sox – they may be less than we could ever want.  UConn? – maybe less than we could have wanted this week.  The Patriots – less than we wanted.  But you are more than what God the Father could ever have wanted in His child.  For you are in Jesus. Amen.