April 29, 2007

Acts 9:36-43
“Holy Work”

I was almost going to toss out all of the assigned lectionary texts for today because none of them inspired me, when a little tug in my brain caused me to look again at the Acts text. I’m glad I did, because after considering it further, I realized that it is a perfect text for a day that the Board of the church would be considering both the new slate of Diaconate, Trustee, and Elder nominees AND the possibility of hiring an Associate Pastor/Youth Director.

The texts offered in our lectionary, between Easter and Pentecost, are always either post-resurrection appearances of Jesus (“Quintessential Moments” in the words of last week’s sermon) OR descriptions of how the early church was shaped. In either case, it is clear that we should take special notice for here are some of the defining texts for our life as the 21st century church. For those of us in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we should be particularly attentive, as our tradition was founded on the principle of trying to live out in our congregational life the simple essence of the early church. One of our founding slogans was, “Where the scriptures speak – we speak. Where the scriptures are silent – we are silent.”

Now, what Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, Walter Scott, and the other founders of our denomination did not take fully into account was that the texts we have in the Epistles are a bit of a mixed bag. There is no single unified understanding of what the church should look like, and not every social, political, or even religious circumstance could be anticipated. This is on top of the difficulties of translating the text into modern languages. Nonetheless, we find an amazingly powerful and simple view of who and how the followers of Christ should be after the living Jesus walked among them.

Today we meet Tabitha, also known by her Greek name of Dorcas. What do we know about her? Well, she was a disciple of Jesus who was devoted to good deeds and acts of charity. Tabitha lived in Joppa, a seaside town on the Mediterranean in Judea and was a seamstress who made clothing: tunics and such. And she was clearly loved by others, especially the widows of the community.

What happens? She takes ill and dies. Those who knew her and loved her heard that the apostle, Peter, was evangelizing nearby, and they sent for him. Sending the mourners out of the room, Peter healed Tabitha, and raised her from the dead. All were amazed, overjoyed, and inspired; so much so that others were brought to the faith by this healing.

Now this is a beautiful and modest story about one of the chief disciples of Jesus and his work in the fledgling church. But what caught my eye was the realization that all the players in the story are, for all intents and purposes, lay people. I think you can see in this story examples of followers of Jesus serving as Diaconate, Elders, and (if you stretch it just a tiny bit) even Trustees.

To start, let me say what is first and foremost on my mind: I think it is no accident that on the day that the General Board will be considering the momentous decision of whether or not we are going to be creating the position of Associate Pastor/Youth Director, we will also be receiving the nominations for our lay leadership. This serves as a graphic symbol of the balance our church believes must be maintained in order for the church of Jesus Christ on earth to be both effective and faithful. The church is not just its clergy, the pastors, and it is not just its board, the lay leaders. The church is all baptized believers who stand as equals before God and one another, humbly seeking to do God’s will in this place and in this time.

I see Tabitha as the epitome of a Deaconess. She is a disciple of Christ devoted to good deeds and acts of charity. Deacons and Deaconesses, the plural of which is the Diaconate, are the front line servants of the church. They are the hands on good-deed-doers and charity-donors. It doesn’t say exactly what Tabitha did to earn her these distinctions, but we are given a hint in the fact that her death was mourned by widows, by name, and her resurrection was celebrated by widows, by name. Perhaps she had a very special ministry to widows. Other Diaconate who might be found in the New Testament include Cornelius, Phoebe, Prisca and Aquila, and perhaps even the slave, Onesimus.

I see Peter as the epitome of an Elder. He, too, was a disciple of Christ and was clearly out in the community preaching the word of God. He is called upon to offer an act of healing, which he does. The Elders of the church are the spiritual leaders, proclaiming Christ in word as well as deed, discerning the vision of the church, settling disputes amongst the members, and offering the healing presence of Christ through visitation and prayer, taking communion to shut-ins and anointing with oil. Other Elders who might be found in the New Testament include Stephen, Barnabas, perhaps Euidia and Syntyche, Timothy, and, of course, Paul.

I see, in the tiny little reference to Simon the tanner at the end of our story, an image of a trustee. Simon offers his home to Peter while he is preaching and teaching in the area. Trustees are charged with using the resources of the people in such a way as to ensure the ministry of Christ is supported and furthered. The early church met mostly in homes, and so much of the support came in terms of hospitality: room and board for the traveling evangelists. In our day, our Trustees oversee the invested monies given over the years by persons who are living and those who put the church in their will. Trustees also oversee our tangible assets, including the buildings, furnishings, and property. Other Trustees who might be found in the New Testament include Ananias, who housed Saul at his conversion, and Lydia, who was a wealthy woman and convert to Christianity.

In addition to seeing images of Diaconate, Elders, and Trustees, I also think we see some other, more general learnings for the church of our day in the Acts text.

One thing that jumped out at me was the fact that several of the leaders of the early church had second jobs. This has been true throughout history. Tabitha was a seamstress, and she devoted herself to good deeds and acts of charity. Simon was a leather tanner, and he opened his home to traveling preachers. We know that Paul was a tent-maker in Acts 18:3 and see that he engaged in his trade while he was preaching and teaching. It is vital that we see both kinds of work as holy and sacred. Both the church work, where we teach and pray and discuss and vote and paint and clean ... AND the rest of our working lives, where we cook and drive and file and make and teach and clean are BOTH holy labor. If the first Christians saw their lives as seamless gifts to God, then we should, also. Martin Luther once said that even the milk maid can give glory to God in her work!

I also notice a compelling sense of the equality of all leadership in the church. And this point needs to be emphasized as we consider another pastoral staff position at Franklin Circle Christian Church. Fundamental to the early church, and to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is what is called the “priesthood of all believers.” This is to say that all of us, by virtue of our baptism, come to God in the same way and with the same influence.

Early on in my time here in Cleveland, I was shopping at Dave’s supermarket around the corner from here, and a new neighbor stopped to chat. Upon seeing the six pack of beer in my shopping cart, he joked, “You better not let one of your parishioners see those!” I asked him why, and he said, matter-of-factly, “Why, you’re the pastor, you can’t be seen with alcohol!” Upon further questioning, he acknowledged that we were not part of a tea-totaling faith tradition and that if he had seen one of you, a member of the church, he never would have even noticed the beer, much less said anything about it. I told him, “Well, you must not know the Disciples of Christ very well, then. For us, I am completely equal with every baptized member of the church. What’s good for them is good for me. What’s good for me is good for them. No one is held to a higher standard than anyone else – pastor included.” He was impressed, though clearly skeptical.

And I believe in this equality, because the moment we begin setting the pastor apart from the people, we risk selling out the church to tyranny and clericalism and we let the members “off the hook” for living as fully called followers of Christ. There were no pedestals in the early church, and there should be none here, today. Jesus is the only one worthy of being put on a pedestal, and even *he* “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbled himself, taking the form of a servant.” (Phillipians 2:6-7) Yes, I am an employee and you have every right to hold me accountable as an employee of the church, but before God, we are exactly the same. Tabitha, Paul, and Simon the Tanner stood before God as equals. So, too, will pastor, deacon, elder, and trustee.

The very same qualities you would look for in a pastor, you should look for in a Trustee, a Deacon or Deaconness, or an Elder. Think about the fruits of the Spirit as a place to begin: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. No one is perfect, and we aren’t looking for perfection, but we do look for folks who are facing the right direction. In all our leadership we seek those who have a commitment to trying to grow and improve in their personal lives and who have a vision of the whole church and can look beyond their own needs, wants, and perspectives.

Finally, I see throughout the New Testament church an emphasis on gifts and graces for ministry, not on “earning” a role or title. While there is a tradition in this congregation, and in many Disciples of Christ congregations, to only choose Elders who have been Deacons or Deaconesses before, there is no scriptural foundation for this. Rather, there is much scripture given to emphasizing gifts for ministry. Some people have the gifts to be Elders who may not have the gifts for the Diaconate. Some people have the gifts for Trustees, but not for the Eldership. So on, and so on.

Now, it is true one may have to mature into one’s gifts, and being called does not necessarily mean one is qualified or equipped, but this can come with education and experience. We should look at each person nominated and ask, “Do they have the gifts and graces for this office” and not, “What offices have they had previously,” nor “Do they deserve this office.” We do not earn our callings in the church, we are gifted with them by God.

Next week, the congregation will have some important decisions to make about future leadership of this church at the congregational meeting after worship, May 6. I pray that the small, simple story of Tabitha, Peter, and Simon the Tanner will have helped us all think more clearly about that leadership.

Amen.
Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2007 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096