A bully in a small town resented the man everyone looked up to as the wisest man in town. He decided to teach the wise man a lesson. He held a chicken behind his back and asked the wise man, "Is this chicken dead or alive?" Of course, if the wise man said, "Dead" the bully would show him a live chicken. If the wise man said, "Alive" the bully would strangle the chicken and show up the wise man by producing a dead chicken.
"Well," said the impatient bully, "Is the chicken dead or alive? Let's hear your answer."
At a much deeper level, that same question is asked of each of us on this first Sunday after Easter. "Is Christ alive or dead? Let's hear your answer." Last Sunday, Easter Day, with an enthusiastic crowd in church, we heard a sermon about Christ's resurrection. In prayers and songs we asserted that Jesus is alive. Today, a week later, we need to ask the question, "For us, is Jesus alive or dead?" The truth, of course, is that whether we believe it or not, Jesus is alive. Whether the living Christ makes a difference to us today is the question behind the question of the truth of the resurrection.
Acts 4:32-35 tells us that Christ's resurrection made all the difference in the world for the early disciples. The resurrection difference could be seen and heard in the peace they felt, the power they experienced, and the purpose that drove their lives from that point on. Note that the resurrection difference was not to be found in a trouble-free life. On the contrary, Stephen's faith in the resurrected Lord meant stones and death. Paul's faith in Christ's resurrection resulted in jail and, according to tradition, being run through with a sword. Peter's faith resulted in persecution and, according to tradition, being crucified upside down because he said he was not worthy to be crucified in the same position as his Lord. The difference was not a trouble-free life, but a life with spiritual peace, power, and purpose.
The question raised by our text is, "What difference does Christ's resurrection make for us today?" The Easter message can be tested with two questions: 1) Is it true? and 2) Does it make a difference? The Easter message is true! That's the good news. But does it make a difference in our lives today?
According to Acts 4, the early followers of Jesus experienced spiritual peace, power, and purpose in their lives. The resurrected Lord inspired them to testify about his resurrection to many people. In addition, the risen Lord inspired them to take care of the needy. How about you? Is Christ alive or dead for you today? Let's have an answer.
Bearing Testimony To The Lord
"With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33).
The first words the apostles heard from the resurrected Jesus were these: "Peace be with you." The resurrection means peace. This peace is more than tranquility. It is more than the cessation of hostilities. The peace given by the resurrected Jesus was wholeness, as against division, and togetherness, as against fragmentation. The Jews had a name for it. The Hebrew word behind our English translation is shalom. Shalom means that the pieces of life come together. Shalom is a blessing for all parts of a person's life. Shalom is what people of all ages long for and need. The apostles bore testimony to the peace of God that comes to all people through faith in the risen Lord. This peace is "the peace of God which passes all understanding, which keeps our hearts and minds in the Lord Jesus Christ."
The apostles not only had that peace; they spoke with great power. In addition, they promised that others who believed in the Lord would receive that same power. The Holy Spirit had descended on the motley group of ex-tax collectors, fishermen, and nobodies and given them spiritual power far beyond their dreams. In our story, we read that they gave a testimony to the power of the risen Lord. What a difference the resurrection made for them! That same power of the Holy Spirit to witness for the risen Lord is given to us in Holy Baptism and faith.
These early followers experienced peace and power. They also experienced purpose, what has been called in our time, "the purpose driven life." Before the resurrection these disciples floundered. They doubted. They squabbled over who was the greatest among them. After the resurrection they were driven to testify to the resurrected Lord to everyone they met. This testimony was in the face of great opposition, but they kept at it witnessing to one person at a time.
The odds against the success of their mission were overwhelming. The whole Roman Empire, with false gods galore and the emperor claiming divinity for himself, was against them. In spite of persecution, threats of death, and the murder of their leaders, the early Christians kept at their mission, bearing witness to the peace, power, and purpose that comes to a person's life when Jesus Christ is named as Lord. Three hundred years later, the Roman Empire became Christian when Roman Emperor Constantine was converted.
When Jesus created his church, he promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. No human empire, no evil domain, no demonic kingdom can win the battle with God's people, no matter what the odds are.
When Christ was crucified, he cried out, "It is finished." In other words, "I have completed the purpose for which I was sent to the earth." The followers of Christ picked up that same sense of purpose as they invaded enemy territory with this message: "Christ is alive today. Believe it for peace, power, and purpose in your life."
The apostles testified boldly to this truth and the difference it made in their lives. When Peter and John were arrested for healing a lame man in the temple area, they were threatened and told to stop preaching and teaching about Jesus. In reply, they said, "Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19-20). That's what I call bold purpose! The purpose in life for Christians is to witness for Christ, no matter what the opposition may be. The purpose in life is to glorify God.
When they prayed, Peter and John said, "And now, Lord, look at their threats and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus" (Acts 4:29-30). That's what I call a bold, purpose-driven prayer!
No wonder "the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of the God with boldness" (Acts 4:31). They had God-inspired purpose. Dedicated, bold, godly purpose shakes people up. It did then. It does today, too.
They were bold. And they were in Christian community. They found strength in fellowship with other Christians. Our story begins with these words, "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul ..." (Acts 4:32a). Christian community (called koinonia in the New Testament) makes all the difference in the world. When Christians really come together with Christ in their midst, people notice.
These early Christians tried an experiment in Christian community that apparently failed. "No one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common" (Acts 4:32b). It was a brilliant experiment, but it was flawed by sin. As we read on the hindside of our text, two people, Ananias and Sapphira, sold their property, but lied about the proceeds. The apostles were trying to emphasize the angelic side of personality, but had to face the reality of the demonic side of personality as well. That's why the experiment in community failed.
These early followers had the right idea, namely that our purpose in life is not to gain possessions for self, but to glorify Christ by giving sacrificially. The apparent failure was in fact a monumental example of one of the basic principles of the Lord to put others before ourselves. The early Christians bore witness to the principle: Jesus first; others second; and yourself third. That creed spells j-o-y. That creed means joy.
In our time, a group of joyful Christians who call themselves the Fellowship of Merry Christians1 celebrate the Sunday after Easter as "Joyful Sunday." The Sunday after Easter is a time to tell funny stories, share laughter, and experience Easter joy by a light-hearted look at ourselves and the world in which we live. Churches of all denominations are picking up this emphasis on the Sunday after Easter being "Joyful Sunday."
On "Joyful Sunday" in many churches, letters from children to their pastor like these are read to the delight of the parishioners:
Dear Pastor,
Please say a prayer for our Little League team. We need God's help, or a new pitcher. Thank you.
Alexander, age ten, Raleigh
Dear Pastor,
I think a lot more people would come to your church if you moved it to Disneyland.
Loreen, age nine, Tacoma
Dear Pastor,
I liked your sermon on Sunday, especially when it was finished.
Ralph, age eleven, Akron
Dear Pastor,
I know God loves everybody, but God never met my sister.
Sincerely, Arnold, age eight, Nashville
Dear Pastor,
Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson.
Sincerely, Pete, age 9, Phoenix
Dear Pastor,
My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every week, even if she has a cold.
Yours truly, Annette, age nine, Albany
Stories like this one are told on "Joyful Sunday":
Leading a chapel service for a Charlotte (North Carolina) Lutheran School, I called for a volunteer to read the Bible lesson. I asked, "What's your name?" "Mark," the lad replied. "Oh, you have the same name as our church, St. Mark," I remarked. "Are you a saint?" The student shot back, "No, I'm not a saint. I'm a Lutheran."2
The early Christians testified to the resurrected Lord with boldness, in community, and with joy. They also witnessed by their deeds of love for the needy. Like them, we are called to practice faith active in love. Evangelism and social ministry join hands in the Christian man or woman for whom the risen Christ leads the way.
Sharing With The Needy
Because of the peace, power, and purpose they experienced, the early Christians made certain "there was not a needy person among them" (Acts 4:34). The compassion of the early Christians toward the needy really made an impression on many outsiders who had never seen selfless service put into action like that shown by the believers in the resurrection. Compassion for the needy was part of the way of life the people called followers of "The Way." The early Christians show us the way.
They shared with the needy boldly. Although most of them were poor, they shared what they had. Although many of them were persecuted, they didn't get caught in the trap of self-pity. They reached out to those who were trapped in poverty or sickness. "There was not a needy person among them" (Acts 4:34).
Some modern Christians pick up that same boldness in helping others. The story is told of a Christian captain of a rescue boat. There was a terrible storm at sea and a shipwreck. The captain readied his crew. Then the storm got worse. "We can't go out in this storm," one of the men said to the captain. "If we go out, we may never come back."
The old man of the sea looked the man straight in the face. "We don't have to come back," he said. "We have to go out."
That's the bold spirit of the early Christians who faced danger in helping the needy in their time.
They shared boldly because they drew power from Christian community. These early Christians saw the church as a family of brothers and sisters with God as the Father. No one of them had it all together, but together they had it all. That's why they stayed together. Sunday by Sunday, through word, sacrament, and fellowship, these early followers of the risen Christ drew strength from one another. They saw their churches as mission stations from which to depart to witness and serve.
The church was understood to be like a body. When one part hurt, the whole body suffered. An eye couldn't say to an ear, "I have no need of you." Every part of the body depended on every other part.
The church was seen as the "called out" ones, the chosen, but they understood that they were blessed to be a blessing. They withdrew from the world in order to return to the world of needy people with spiritual power from the communion of saints.
In our day, a man named John was a recovering alcoholic. "I need my Alcoholics Anonymous group to support me and keep me from going back to the bottle," he said, "but I need my church community to inspire me and help me realize that Jesus is the center of my life and other people need my help."
In addition to sharing with the needy boldly, and out of Christian community, the early Christians shared with the needy out of joy. They understood that since Christ had done so much for them by overcoming sin, death, and the devil, that they wanted to joyfully pass on to others what they had received in abundance.
In our day, a group of men at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Fountain Valley, California, met for Bible study over a period of months. "We've got to do more," Bud, the study leader, asserted one day. "It's good that we study God's word, but we need to put that word into action." The group agreed that they needed to put their faith into action with joy.
They took on the name "Go And Do Likewise," from the good Samaritan parable and started out cutting lawns and trimming trees and bushes for widows in the community who could not afford to pay for this work. Soon they were doing more. They were painting houses and run-down church buildings. They got donations of paint and raised money so that no one would have to pay for their services. Women and teenagers joined the movement. They played Christian music and sang as they worked.
"You mean all of this is free?" one widow exclaimed. "You will paint my house for nothing? Nobody does that kind of thing any more. I can't believe it."
"Yes," Bud smiled. "It's all free. That's what 'Go And Do Likewise' is all about. Christ did it for us. We just pass it on."
The "Go And Do Likewise" movement is spreading throughout southern California today. The vision is to put Easter faith into action by helping the needy in our day, motivated by the peace of God that passes all understanding, powered by the Holy Spirit, with a purpose to glorify God's name by selfless service to the needy.
We began with the story of the bully and the wise man. The bully asked the question, "Is the chicken behind my back dead or alive?" He thought he had tricked the wise man because he believed he could fool him no matter how he answered. But as is often the case, the bully got trapped in his own trap. "Well," said the bully, "Is the chicken dead or alive? Let's hear your answer."
The wise man replied, "That's up to you."
Does the living Christ make a difference in your life? Are you willing to testify to the risen Lord? Are you willing to share with the needy? Are you willing to live the Christian life with boldness, in community, and with the "inexpressible and exalted joy" of someone who knows that his or her purpose in life is to glorify God?
That's up to you.
1. Fellowship of Merry Christians, P. O. Box 895, Portage, Michigan 49081-0895.
2. The Lutheran magazine, October, 1998.