Focus on the Flags

April 30, 2000, Second Sunday of Easter

A sermon by Rev. Dr. John K. Luoma

In the frontier days of America, one of the worst communities in America was Logan County, Kentucky. There were constant clashes between those who wanted a law-abiding community and those who wanted to live by their own rules. Then, in the summer of 1799 a religious revival occurred and the entire community was transformed. Because of God's grace, a dramatic change took place. But that change was nothing compared to the change that took place in the followers of Jesus following the resurrection. Out of disorganized, dispirited community came the most confident people ever assembled.

The book of Acts describes the community in this way: "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. From these brief verses we learn what the church is called to be and the source of power that enables us to be what we are called to be.

First of all, we are called to unity. William Barker tells a story of disunity in a church that he happened upon in his travels in Tennessee. On the front lawn of this church was a sign that read: Left Foot Baptist Church. He passed by that church many times and finally his curiosity got the best of him. He had to stop in and ask how they got their name. The split had occurred over the practice of foot-washing. One group in the congregation insisted that the left foot must be washed first. When they did not get their way, they withdrew and formed their own congregation.

The historian Ron Davis recounts an even more significant example of disunity. He tells us what the church in Russia was doing on the day the Communists took over the government. The largest Christian denomination in the country was locked in a bitter controversy. What was the issue? Was it about ways to carry out their mission under atheist rule? No, the issue was this: what size candles should burn in Russian churches? Should they be eighteen or twenty-two inches long?

In The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis describes the way the Devil keeps the church dispirited and disorganized. In an imaginary conversation between the Devil and one of his demons, he describes his strategy. Says the Devil, "The church is a fertile field if you keep them bickering over details. But one thing you must prevent-don't let them look up and see the banners flying, for if they see the banners flying you have lost them forever."

How happy Satan is when we lower our eyes from the victorious banners of the Resurrection and make what is secondary primary. This was not the case in the days after the resurrection. They were of one heart and mind, because they focused on the victory won in the resurrection.

And not only was their unity amongst them, there was uncommon generosity. There was not a needy person among them. People sold land and houses, gave it to the church, and it was distributed as any had need. The power of the resurrection touched even their purse strings. And, as we all know, when the purse strings are touched we know that commitment to Christ is real. As Martin Luther said, there are three conversions. The conversion of the mind. The conversion of the heart. And the conversion of the pocket book.

Talking about giving and the church, Stephen Olford tells the story of a circus strong man who earned his living by displaying his incredible strength. He would conclude his act by a simple but impressive feat of strength. He would squeeze an orange dry and then challenge anyone in the audience to squeeze even one drop out of it.

Rarely was there a challenger and when there was he was unsuccessful. But one day someone did volunteer. His sheer presence on the stage made everyone chuckle, for he was a thin, short little man. Undaunted, he took the shriveled orange in his hand and bracing himself slowly and firmly squeezed for all he was worth.

The atmosphere was electric. Every eye was upon him and then, to everyone's surprise, especially the strong man's, a drop of juice formed and dripped to the floor. The crowd broke into a wild cheer and the strong man invited the little man to share with the crowd how he had developed such powerful fists. "Nothing to it," he said, "I'm the treasurer of the local Lutheran Church."

Personally, I think that is a pretty good description of the calling not just of church treasurers but also every Christian. We are called to squeeze everything we can out of our lives for the service of God. One thing we know for sure: we are not going to be able to take anything with us. The only lasting memorials we leave are created by what we give away.

So, in the early church there was great unity and uncommon generosity. But what was the source of it? It was focusing on the victory of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus that gave them power. They knew that one day God was going to bring all things together in Jesus and even now God was at work bringing unity and healing. They knew as they trusted in the risen Jesus that power would also be poured into their lives.

How important it is to keep in mind in all our activities that the primary goal is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. The primary goal is not that everything appear perfect and that nothing ever go wrong or that we appear successful in the way the world talks about success.

A Lutheran pastor tells how he lost sight of this in his Easter worship last year. It was the first worship experience in a new mission congregation. He found the experience particularly depressing because everything went wrong.

1. Adult size chairs were to be set up for them in the school where they worshipped. Instead, when they arrived, kid size chairs had been set up.

2. That same morning the florist called to tell them he had forgotten to take their lilies out of the refrigerator. They hadn't bloomed. There would be no lilies.

3. Then, when they somehow managed to get the service going and he got to the reading of the Gospel, his Bible mysteriously disappeared. He had to paraphrase the Easter story.

When it was over he felt that Easter worship was a failure and that he was a failure. But in the days following, he was surprised again and again by the comments about the service. Everyone loved it. They enjoyed the paraphrase of the Gospel. It was so much better than the familiar reading of the Easter story. They said that the mistakes and bloopers in the service made it seem human and warm.

What does that say? It says we ought not to get caught up in the details. It says we need not worry about being perfect It says focus on the victory God has given us in the resurrection of Jesus. That's the source of our unity. That's the source of our generosity. That's all that matters.
focus on the flags april 30 2000 acts 4.doc 2 04/30/00

Copyright 2000 by Rev. Dr. John K. Luoma

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