Life Among the Believers
Acts 2.42-47
NPC Table Dedication Sunday
Rev. Matthew M. Fry

As we continue to experience The Word of the Lord together, Let us Pray. Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light. Send out your light and your truth, O God, and let them lead us. Amen.

Hear now The Word of the Lord as it comes to us in Acts. Listen. Acts 2.42-47.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The Grass Withers, The Flower Falls, but The Word of The Lord endures forever…Thanks be to God.

Acts is an interesting account in the Bible. It is one of the few books, if not the only one, that attempts to actually be what we would consider a traditional historical account. Most of the rest of the Biblical books are trying to tell a story and trying to include interpretation about what that story means. But the books of Acts is different in that it aims, at least in part, to be an account of what the disciples did shortly after Jesus left the scene. There is some interpretation in that account, but less than in other Biblical books.

This is why you get simple verses, like the first on in today’s passage. “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Right after Jesus left, they choose a disciple to replace Judas. Then there is Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit descends as a whirlwind. Then Peter gives a moving sermon, found in verses 14 – 36 of the second chapter. After that, the disciples receive some converts into their fold. Then we get this section which is the first day to day account of what life as a disciple was like. If you follow the account in Acts, you have one big event after another until you get to the passage read today.

That’s kinda like my life. When people ask me how it’s going, or what is going on, I always tell them the big stuff. Especially when people ask what is going on at church. And one of the big things that has been in the works for about the past year has been this table. I’ve written about it in the Newsletter. I’ve talked about it with people, shown pictures to folks, and handed out wood samples. It has been a big deal. And finally it is here. The next steps are a new Baptismal font and perhaps a new pulpit. This is the exciting beginning of a journey for new pieces of art that celebrate our ministries of Word and Sacrament. And that is a big journey. But it is important to me that we talk about the day to day life of the thing.

This table is at least three things. It is the reminder of saints past who dedicated themselves to teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. It is the assurance of folks who experienced what the rest of the passage reads, “Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and good and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

Another thing that this table is, besides a reminder of saints past, is that it is a reminder of our lives together. We devote ourselves to teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. When the committee that was charged with meeting with the artist we used to create this table, we told him that we wanted to project a family image, where sharing of lives and caring about each other deeply is important to us. Where coming together as well as sending out are both displayed. And the committee looked at several renderings, and choose to work with one, and gave our artist some new directions, more ways to play with one of the renderings, and then picked out this look. We specifically choose Michael Gilmartin as the artist because we wanted something that different people would see different things in, or that you might see something different in it today then you saw the first time you looked at it, or might see something different in 6 months that you hadn’t seen before. While it will be something that will continue to be fresh, it will have the constant of being a reminder of who we are as a community and as a family. But it is meant to intentionally be an affirmation of the present as well as of the past, including the understanding that the past has shaped who we are in the present.

And yet another thing about this table is that it is an affirmation of the future. No matter what the future holds for this church, I can’t imagine not wanting to have a community family atmosphere, or not wanting to affirm being gathered together and being sent out. This table is meant to hold in one hand the past, and in the other hand the future, as it sits in the present. An affirmation of the traditions with which we have been entrusted, and an affirmation of the fact that we play a role in handing those traditions to generations to come. That is why we went first class on this thing, all the way. Didn’t cut any corners. Had in mind some furniture that would be here long after we have all died and are all sitting at table in the Kingdom of God.

The reasons behind this is that we gather as a people of God around these things, the table, the font, and the pulpit. We devote ourselves to teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. As such wonders and signs are made manifest. People of different backgrounds, of different jobs, of different languages of origin, of many other differences, come together as an expression of God’s family. And that is something that deserves some awe and admiration.

When in Acts we read the first account of what day to day life was like, when details about where they hung out, the temple, and where they ate, at each other’s homes with glad and generous hearts, come out, what we find is an amazing community that is capable of living an awesome life, together.

When we look at our past, at what has been passed down to us and preserved for us by the saints who have been Norcross Presbyterian Church, that is also what we see. We see a group of people who shared life together, who ate together, who gathered at each other’s homes, and who spent much time together at church. Therefore wonder and signs were done by them.

When we look at our present, that is what we see. We share life together as a community family. We eat together, in this very room, or in each other’s homes, or in restaurants around town. We share our lives with glad and generous hearts. We spend lots of time in the church. We devote ourselves to fellowship, which is an understatement. And we break bread.

And when we look out into the future, when we look at the young people and the very young people in this church, that is what I see. They are going to carry on the traditions of fellowship, and of breaking bread, of prayers and meeting in church. And when we have joined the company of the saints, we will look upon them from heaven, and we will smile.

Amen.

Benediction

In short, this table celebrates folks who have been witnesses for the Lord, both past, and present, and future. You want to be a witness? I’ll be a witness. Let us give thanks to God for the witnesses, past present and future, by being a witness, for my Lord.