Sermon for Mothering Sunday 2nd March 2008
Today our Associate Vicar, John Itumu, preaches based on the reading from Acts 5: 1-11
God the Holy Spirit
This is the third teaching in our Lent series about the holiness of God. We begun by looking at the holiness of God the Father, followed by God the Son and today God the Holy Spirit. And what a distressing story! Can you imagine witnessing the death of a church couple know within three hours of each other on a Sunday morning!
The setting of the story is after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It was a time when the young church – the community of believers in Jesus Christ was gathering momentum.
But what did it mean to be called a believer?
We read from Acts 2:42ffd
They (believers) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. One of the things that characterised a believer’s life is described by the word fellowship.
What did it mean to fellowship? Well, they they were together – sharing meals, worshipping God – just being together. This togetherness however went a step further than we might understand it. It opened their eyes to each other’s needs; put another way, they allowed themselves to see the needs of one another. Acts 2:45 …they (even) sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need…
As I thought about, I realised how possible and easy it is to be together – eat, laugh, relate with someone yet be miles away from the issues that burden them, their struggles, their fears…
It is equally easy for us to smile back at people when they ask how are you because we do not expect that anyone would be bothered with our issues, struggles, fears. That is our world. Even from within the church family – we do not often expect that our needs will be met by the other members. And quite unlike this early Christian community – sometimes described as primitive – we will usually not even need to sell our property to meet the needs of those in our fellowship. We have enough to give away.
These first century believers however, held their goods at the disposal of others, whenever a need arose. They expressed their love to the giver of all things – God, by attending to the needs of their neighbours. One man called Barnabas had just done exactly that.
And it is this very positive character of the church’s communal life that takes a different turn in the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They desired to gain credit for a greater personal sacrifice, than they had actually made. They sold their land and offered only part of the proceeds passing it off as the whole amount.
And Peter asks Ananias in verse 4 - Didn’t the property belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? Someone once commented that this story appears to present the workings of the Holy Spirit almost in a magical fashion. It is very dramatic – Ananias collapses dead, closely followed by his wife who backs the lie.
And Peter says to Ananias, You have not lied just to human beings but to God; you have lied to the Holy Spirit…
This is how a leading theologian (Wayne Grudem) describes the work of the Holy Spirit:
‘..to manifest the active presence of God in the world, in our lives and especially in the church.’
We read in Exodus that a ‘holy ground’ surrounded the burning bush on Mount Sinai when God appeared to Moses. In the OT holiness is connected with God’s revelation and presence which evokes awe and fear before the divine. It is this holiness of God that guarantees the validity of what Moses has to say to the Israelites after meeting with him. This presence of God is often described as the ‘glory of God’.
In the NT - gospels, Jesus manifested this holy presence of God everywhere he went; the healings, miracles, his words, arguments, even at age twelve while he debated with learned Jewish teachers in the temple – nothing like that had ever been heard! He lived, was tempted like we do, but never committed a sin (Hebrews 4:15) He was holy.
And now after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is now the primary manifestation of God (the active presence of God) the Father and God the Son; this relationship is called the Trinity. The Holy Spirit who is a member of the Trinity is Holy, just like God the Father and God the Son. Holiness is the sum total of his being. The adjective ‘Holy’ is used more times to describe God than all others put together, we heard from Cameron three weeks ago.
If the work of the Holy Spirit therefore is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, then this active presence of the Holy Spirit of God is what Ananias and Sapphira are up against. The Holy Spirit of God will not tolerate deceit. The Holy Spirit of God is holy just as God the Father and God the Son. He is one being. It is to this reality that Peter draws Ananias’s attention to when he says: you have not lied to a human being but to God the Holy Spirit.
‘…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…’ (GNB – do not make the Holy Spirit of God sad) the apostle Paul warns the Ephesian church in Eph 4:30. Jesus himself while teaching his followers how to pray said;
Do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray standing in synagogues and street corners to be seen by others..;. such ostentatious behaviour that lacks sincerity, God abhors.
The desire to want to be seen by others as ‘very generous’ so completely overwhelmed Ananias and his wife that they purposed to deceive. Theirs was not a sincere desire to share with the needy, or to boost the common-good kitty of the church but to show off their generosity (to fatten their own ego!). No one was being forced to sell their property. The giving was completely voluntary. Peter attributes their action to the inspiration of Satan – he tells him, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…
This story transports us to a different world, a realm where sin is taken seriously, a realm where God shows severe judgement for sin. Did I say judgement – that alarmist insensitive word? Yes, God’s judgement. For that is what Ananias and Sapphira receive for their sin of dishonesty. From the Old Testament the attitude required of human beings by God was faith; a readiness to accept whole-heartedly the demands of a holy God. The opposite attitude was to question whether God really intended a certain demand. This challenge was described as ‘putting God to test’; a very serious offence. (Deut 6:16)
And it is to this that Peter draws their attention to: how could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Some commentators explain the cause of this couple’s death as heart-attack out of shock while others say that it was Peter’s curse. One thing is however clear - God the Holy Spirit is at work! Our holy, perfect, sinless God! This deceit was not directed to Peter but to the Holy Spirit in whose name all these gifts were being surrendered to the church. Incidentally there is a parallel of this story in Joshua 7 when Achan suffered similar consequences for dishonesty. This time however his children, animals and all his property was burnt. That is again unsettling.
Isn’t it impressive that Luke does not cover up the interior life of this young Spirit-filled community. It just confirms to us the apostle Peter’s words - that our enemy, the devil, Satan roams about, seeking who to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) It can happen to any community of believers, even those who are enjoying God’s enormous favours and blessings like this early church. You and I could easily be Ananias and Sapphira, regardless of the length of time we have been members of a Christian community.
It should also remind us that sin is serious – and has consequences. The Holy Spirit, whose work is to manifest the active presence of God, is holy, and He will not tolerate sin.
I have been awakened by this reminder about a God who sees the dark corners of my being; a holy God who sees us, just as we are. But I am also encouraged by the fact that God the Holy Spirit wants to be involved in our lives, to change us. In the Old Testament, which is the history of the nation of Israel, God the Father is constantly reaching out to the Israelites with the words, be holy because I am holy. Years later, Jesus’ ministry is concerned with the restoration of the marginalised, outsiders like Samaritans, the impure, the sinners, everyone is being welcomed to enter God’s kingdom through repentance. Today, God’s Holy Spirit is with us; he sheds light into the dark corners of our hearts where deceit and lies, un-forgiveness, greed, malice, bitterness reside. Before his presence, all acting needs to stop. We can be ourselves, because he sees us as we are. He sweeps these corners clean; but only with our permission.
That demands a personal response and one that will change your life. I know it is more comfortable to come as we are, do church, leave as we are and go for Sunday lunch – after all its Mothering Sunday! But today I invite us all to re-examine our hearts - those deep spots that only you know and to willingly give them up for cleaning. This is not to make anyone feel guilty, but you know what I mean. We stand before the Holy Spirit of God, the only one who can discern your heart and mine – and the only one who offers cleansing services, for free and forever. Amen
God the Holy Spirit
This is the third teaching in our Lent series about the holiness of God. We begun by looking at the holiness of God the Father, followed by God the Son and today God the Holy Spirit. And what a distressing story! Can you imagine witnessing the death of a church couple know within three hours of each other on a Sunday morning!
The setting of the story is after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It was a time when the young church – the community of believers in Jesus Christ was gathering momentum.
But what did it mean to be called a believer?
We read from Acts 2:42ffd
They (believers) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. One of the things that characterised a believer’s life is described by the word fellowship.
What did it mean to fellowship? Well, they they were together – sharing meals, worshipping God – just being together. This togetherness however went a step further than we might understand it. It opened their eyes to each other’s needs; put another way, they allowed themselves to see the needs of one another. Acts 2:45 …they (even) sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need…
As I thought about, I realised how possible and easy it is to be together – eat, laugh, relate with someone yet be miles away from the issues that burden them, their struggles, their fears…
It is equally easy for us to smile back at people when they ask how are you because we do not expect that anyone would be bothered with our issues, struggles, fears. That is our world. Even from within the church family – we do not often expect that our needs will be met by the other members. And quite unlike this early Christian community – sometimes described as primitive – we will usually not even need to sell our property to meet the needs of those in our fellowship. We have enough to give away.
These first century believers however, held their goods at the disposal of others, whenever a need arose. They expressed their love to the giver of all things – God, by attending to the needs of their neighbours. One man called Barnabas had just done exactly that.
And it is this very positive character of the church’s communal life that takes a different turn in the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They desired to gain credit for a greater personal sacrifice, than they had actually made. They sold their land and offered only part of the proceeds passing it off as the whole amount.
And Peter asks Ananias in verse 4 - Didn’t the property belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? Someone once commented that this story appears to present the workings of the Holy Spirit almost in a magical fashion. It is very dramatic – Ananias collapses dead, closely followed by his wife who backs the lie.
And Peter says to Ananias, You have not lied just to human beings but to God; you have lied to the Holy Spirit…
This is how a leading theologian (Wayne Grudem) describes the work of the Holy Spirit:
‘..to manifest the active presence of God in the world, in our lives and especially in the church.’
We read in Exodus that a ‘holy ground’ surrounded the burning bush on Mount Sinai when God appeared to Moses. In the OT holiness is connected with God’s revelation and presence which evokes awe and fear before the divine. It is this holiness of God that guarantees the validity of what Moses has to say to the Israelites after meeting with him. This presence of God is often described as the ‘glory of God’.
In the NT - gospels, Jesus manifested this holy presence of God everywhere he went; the healings, miracles, his words, arguments, even at age twelve while he debated with learned Jewish teachers in the temple – nothing like that had ever been heard! He lived, was tempted like we do, but never committed a sin (Hebrews 4:15) He was holy.
And now after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is now the primary manifestation of God (the active presence of God) the Father and God the Son; this relationship is called the Trinity. The Holy Spirit who is a member of the Trinity is Holy, just like God the Father and God the Son. Holiness is the sum total of his being. The adjective ‘Holy’ is used more times to describe God than all others put together, we heard from Cameron three weeks ago.
If the work of the Holy Spirit therefore is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, then this active presence of the Holy Spirit of God is what Ananias and Sapphira are up against. The Holy Spirit of God will not tolerate deceit. The Holy Spirit of God is holy just as God the Father and God the Son. He is one being. It is to this reality that Peter draws Ananias’s attention to when he says: you have not lied to a human being but to God the Holy Spirit.
‘…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…’ (GNB – do not make the Holy Spirit of God sad) the apostle Paul warns the Ephesian church in Eph 4:30. Jesus himself while teaching his followers how to pray said;
Do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray standing in synagogues and street corners to be seen by others..;. such ostentatious behaviour that lacks sincerity, God abhors.
The desire to want to be seen by others as ‘very generous’ so completely overwhelmed Ananias and his wife that they purposed to deceive. Theirs was not a sincere desire to share with the needy, or to boost the common-good kitty of the church but to show off their generosity (to fatten their own ego!). No one was being forced to sell their property. The giving was completely voluntary. Peter attributes their action to the inspiration of Satan – he tells him, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…
This story transports us to a different world, a realm where sin is taken seriously, a realm where God shows severe judgement for sin. Did I say judgement – that alarmist insensitive word? Yes, God’s judgement. For that is what Ananias and Sapphira receive for their sin of dishonesty. From the Old Testament the attitude required of human beings by God was faith; a readiness to accept whole-heartedly the demands of a holy God. The opposite attitude was to question whether God really intended a certain demand. This challenge was described as ‘putting God to test’; a very serious offence. (Deut 6:16)
And it is to this that Peter draws their attention to: how could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Some commentators explain the cause of this couple’s death as heart-attack out of shock while others say that it was Peter’s curse. One thing is however clear - God the Holy Spirit is at work! Our holy, perfect, sinless God! This deceit was not directed to Peter but to the Holy Spirit in whose name all these gifts were being surrendered to the church. Incidentally there is a parallel of this story in Joshua 7 when Achan suffered similar consequences for dishonesty. This time however his children, animals and all his property was burnt. That is again unsettling.
Isn’t it impressive that Luke does not cover up the interior life of this young Spirit-filled community. It just confirms to us the apostle Peter’s words - that our enemy, the devil, Satan roams about, seeking who to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) It can happen to any community of believers, even those who are enjoying God’s enormous favours and blessings like this early church. You and I could easily be Ananias and Sapphira, regardless of the length of time we have been members of a Christian community.
It should also remind us that sin is serious – and has consequences. The Holy Spirit, whose work is to manifest the active presence of God, is holy, and He will not tolerate sin.
I have been awakened by this reminder about a God who sees the dark corners of my being; a holy God who sees us, just as we are. But I am also encouraged by the fact that God the Holy Spirit wants to be involved in our lives, to change us. In the Old Testament, which is the history of the nation of Israel, God the Father is constantly reaching out to the Israelites with the words, be holy because I am holy. Years later, Jesus’ ministry is concerned with the restoration of the marginalised, outsiders like Samaritans, the impure, the sinners, everyone is being welcomed to enter God’s kingdom through repentance. Today, God’s Holy Spirit is with us; he sheds light into the dark corners of our hearts where deceit and lies, un-forgiveness, greed, malice, bitterness reside. Before his presence, all acting needs to stop. We can be ourselves, because he sees us as we are. He sweeps these corners clean; but only with our permission.
That demands a personal response and one that will change your life. I know it is more comfortable to come as we are, do church, leave as we are and go for Sunday lunch – after all its Mothering Sunday! But today I invite us all to re-examine our hearts - those deep spots that only you know and to willingly give them up for cleaning. This is not to make anyone feel guilty, but you know what I mean. We stand before the Holy Spirit of God, the only one who can discern your heart and mine – and the only one who offers cleansing services, for free and forever. Amen
posted by Parish Administrator at 4:54 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home