“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 owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of Jesus and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:32-34 (NRSV)
I remember vividly being a teenager stashing money I was saving for a car in one of my mother’s bedroom drawers. Her room was her place of solace. It was a safe place where prized possessions would go undisturbed.
It was during those brief visits to Mama’s personal space; I learned the difference between silk and polyester. Both are soft, but not soft like the other. Furthermore, they are acquired at a substantially different cost. Once you know the difference between these two fabrics — silk and polyester, you cannot unknow the difference.
In this text from Acts, we learn of a post-Pentecost reality, or what some call Ordinary Time. After the Holy Spirit came and blew across the people in Acts 2, they were not the same. You see, something is off when we have had an encounter with God together, but we have not changed in any communal way.
After Pentecost, all who believed had a shift in the power of their hearts and minds. When we arrive to Acts 4, church leaders and rulers were intimidated and angered by the shifting of power. For those who understand the power they carry, look for it far less outside of themselves. Furthermore, power recognizes power.
Changed by the Spirit of God, believers had an extraordinary commitment to the practical care of one another’s needs. Everyone now had enough to thrive because their vision had become holy, no longer registering in the negative. Individualism took a back seat to the Spirit at work in them, and as a result of their release of resources, “great grace” was upon them all. Interpreters teach such grace was not your common grace, but it may have been so divine a grace it could accomplish things.
It may have been the kind of grace that came with the ability to restore and preserve. This is the kind of grace our people need — great grace. The desire for this new reality is prayed for and preached about every single day without consideration for the correlation given in the text. The collective gave up something, gave testimony, and “great grace” was given. Words matter. “Great grace” is clearly not the same as “grace.” Right now, we need grace that is great.
We find ourselves in an obvious time of reckoning, deciding what type of nation we will be. For those with good sense to engage a library for history instead of cable news, it is not hard to discover the country we have been. Progress does not exempt this country or any one of us from responsibility. America has notable delinquencies in its credit report right alongside its revolving accounts in good standing. It is far time we learn to hold multiples truths simultaneously. Naming the facts that both bind and bless our communities will move us closer to “great grace.”
To establish a standard of humanity that acknowledges every person as valuable, real choices must be made. To establish a standard that halts and resists hijacking of the liberating gospel Jesus bequeathed to us through his life and death, real choices must be made. Let us give up the possessions that mislead us to believe we do not have enough.
Then let us accept the power we have by the Spirit of God to meet needs, restore and preserve our communities. VOTE.
