And there is this. Sheep know their shepherd’s voice above all of the competing voices calling to them. We hear many voices today telling us what it takes to feel alive. If we are just follow this one - we can have all that we need; if we put our trust in another one we will always be happy. Voices tell us that our spirit’s vitality comes from what we wear, or drive, or eat, or spend, on where we live or work. All of those are important and contribute to our well being and our sense of who we are in this life. But if any of those things become our “shepherd”, if they become that to which we give our soul’s ultimate allegiance, we will miss the abundance of real joy and real vitality for which our spirits hunger. And day by day, little by little we feel our vitality sapped more and more as we just barely hang on.

You may remember that a few years ago that Ricky Martin sang a wildly popular song called, “Living La Vida Loca” - “Living the Crazy Life”. Jesus has come not that our lives would be crazy, but rather abundant, full of all that we need to be vital, faithful people. He has come that we might live, “La Vida Abundancia” - the Abundant Life. This shepherd has come that we might have life in all of its full abundance.

The full life offered to us in Jesus Christ is hospitable, it invites us in, it celebrates our diversity; it invites us all in. It is an inclusive fullness, we can each find the place where God’s good news touches us. It is fullness for every one of us. But it is not a secret whispered only to us as individuals. It is given in community - we experience it when we are together. That’s the point of the lesson from Acts.

We have heard the reading from Acts several times over the last few months. It is a passage that has been preached here before. I have led our deacons and elders through Bible studies on this lesson, and I come back to it when I need reminding of some of the essential functions of the Christian community.

The lesson from Acts comes at the end of the Pentecost story. The Holy Spirit has come, and now the people who were touched by that spirit are responding. They show us what it means to live a life of abundance. Can you hear an invitation for us to respond in the same way? They invite us to imitate them and to find our own abundance. They responded by devoting themselves to learning together and we learn together. The Bible as we know it was not yet available to the early church but they had the apostles and studied their teachings. We study too, as we seek on Wednesdays to celebrate the stages of our lives, and to understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. We read, we talk, we study whenever and wherever we can to find meaning and connection and vitality for our spirits.

Many issues are the same for us as they were for the first Christians. How can I have a real life saving eternal relationship with God and Jesus Christ? What does it mean for me to be a member of the church? How do I live my faith in the world? We study and learn and find the answers to the questions.

Second, gathered for fellowship and we gather for fellowship. The people who gathered to welcome our newer members on potluck game night, the adults who gathered to support our children and youth as they led us through a Seder celebration, those who will be in dinner clubs, people who are faithful in attending meetings, and those of us gathered here for worship know how important it is to participate in the life of this church. Every time the church gathers in prayer, play, worship, and for work, we get to know each other better, we make firmer connections with each other, and our life together is stronger. Wondrous things can happen as we gather, people discover gifts of their own, and the gifts of others, and we can celebrate it all.

When the early church gathered for fellowship, they saw what was needful and helpful for brothers and sisters of the faith. They shared their gifts and their possessions - they were excellent stewards of what God gave to them. Their relationship with each other caused them to be more trusting, more open, more eager to act for the good of all. We see what is needful and commit ourselves to being good stewards of the church and compassionate to the people around us.

Tonight when we gather at the Racial Unity service, we will present a picture of the hope we have for people to unite and worship across racial lines. When BREAD gathers, and in rises up tomorrow night to urge the leaders of our community to find ways to provide access to health care to all of us, we are saying that the church looks beyond itself and sees how it can serve the people.

Third, they broke bread together and we break bread together. We talked last week about the value of eating together - full meals and the Eucharist meal - a meal of thanksgiving, the Lord’s Supper - communion. We can learn a lot by eating and communing together. Eating together is a mark of unity, solidarity, and deep friendship, a visible sign that social barriers that once plagued these people have broken down.

As we share food together, we can develop an appreciation of the diversity, hospitality, and inclusiveness available to us. Hospitality, diversity, and inclusiveness are among the vital issues the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is emphasizing. But even more they are part of what the church is called to do. There are few places besides the church where people choose to be in diverse situations week by week. We do not always get it right, but the truth is that the church is a wonderful place for people who think they have little in common to find kinship and friendship. People who in their daily lives might be at odds because of all of the things that plague us, issues of race, of age, of gender, of whatever you can think of, can find common ground in this place because we all sit before the same cross, we are created by the same God, redeemed by the same Savior, and visited by the same Holy Spirit, eating at a common table as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and at other meals we share.

Fourth, the people prayed together and we pray together. They talked honestly with God about what they needed, in worship and by themselves. They prayed for strength for each day’s journey, for the well being and protection of the church; for each other. Pray daily for this church and for each other. When you do, you will find yourself acknowledging the One who is the shepherd of your life and the author of its fullness.

When the church put their trust in Jesus, the Good Shepherd and when they acted with faith and devotion things happened. Things can happen here now too. God add daily to the number of believers, because they were as William Barclay described them. “They were a church that emphasized learning, fellowship, and praying. Theirs was a reverent church, a place where things happened, it was a sharing, worshiping, happy place and a church whose members others could not help liking.” (The Acts of the Apostles William Barclay, Westminster Press, 1976, p.30-31)

They saw a community of love and hope serving the needs of the people, and they wanted to be part of it. There is no reason for us not to be. We can be a community even more people will want to join us than those who are already here.

We can do the work of being the church and serving the community from our doorstep to the ends of the earth. We really can make this corner one that is identified with serving all people in a way that respects them and honors the God who created us all. We can find what the early Christians found, we can be filled with awe, we can tell the story of our God and our relationship to Jesus Christ, how he knows our name and our needs. We can live the truth that our faith gives our lives meaning and substance. And when we do, the church will grow as it grew then, God will add to our number daily.

I want us to live faithfully and abundantly, in the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit.

As we do, we not only find our vitality as a people who belong to Christ, but we introduce him to others too. And we are all the stronger for it. Praise God who gives us life and protects us through the Good Shepherd.

Dr. LaTaunya M. Bynum
Senior Pastor