Dear Faith Family,
Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger...
Show us your steadfast love,
O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
(Psalm 85:1-3, 7-9)
We read the words of Psalm 85 on Sunday morning to help us enter into one of the most disconcerting passages in our origin story: the death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). It is a troubling narrative where, ironically enough, for the first time in history, those bound together in communion and purpose by the Spirit of Jesus are called "church":
And great fear came upon the whole church... (Acts 5:11)
Why would the collective name we share to this day be evoked from this story? Why is a story of "fear," of reverence and awe, the place of our name rather than in the miraculous and courageous stories following Pentecost (Acts 3:1-4:22)? Why aren't we given the name at the pinnacle of passionate and powerful prayer (4:23-31) or sacrificial service (4:34-37)? How does this story confront and clarify the heart of what it means to live as "the church"?
Those are the questions we attempted to answer together on Sunday. If you missed the Gathering, I'd recommend that you listen to the message here before jumping into conversations in Gospel Community this week. And in our discussions together, whether we all end up where I did, my prayer is that, with Psalm 85 echoing in our minds, this differentiating story might do what it did for the first gathered by Jesus: guard the true heart (the character) of church.
May we, friends and freed in Jesus, be ones "filled with the Spirit" who not only worship together, but "submitting one to another in the fear of Christ" (Ephesians 5:18-21) so that "glory may dwell in our land" (Psalm 85:9).
Love you, faith family! God bless.