Easter Makes a Difference
Acts 4: 32-35
Easter 2
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the second Sunday of Easter is our first reading from Acts 4. Easter Sunday may be over for this year, but Easter is definitely not. Our church year gives us six more weeks of the Easter season. But even that is not enough. Every Sunday is a “little” Easter. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ every week. So Easter still matters in the church calendar, but what difference does it make in our lives? Easter Sunday can certainly create an emotional high with great music and a full church. We can get excited about that, but what about the rest of the year? What difference does Easter make for you for the rest of your life? Our text shows us how indeed Easter makes a difference in the lives of those who believe it.
Our text for today shows what a difference it made in the lives of the first Christians. We see that it made a big difference! People sold all their property and gave it to the apostles for relief of the needy. That is very hard to believe. What’s mine is mine is much more in line with the way we often think. If you have any need, maybe I will do something about it. I hope that I will, but it’s not a sure thing. After all, I have needs too – bills to pay, things to buy, retirement to save for – lots of stuff. You can’t expect me to take care of you.
That kind of thinking is easy for us to understand. We do it all the time. The messages that we hear from the world tell us that we are the center of the universe. My hopes, my desires, my fears, my thinking all center on me – not you, not even God, just me. We call that sin. Satan’s first temptation to Adam and Eve was for them to replace God with themselves. “You will be like God” is what Satan told Eve. It wasn’t true, but ever since, Satan has repeated the same lie, and human beings have fallen for it. They define their own values, make their own rules, and do what please themselves, including what they do with their possessions. We fall into the same kind of thinking. We make gods out of ourselves and our possessions. I earned it, I bought it, and I am going to do what I want to with it. It’s mine.
But that, too, is a lie. What we have in this life depends entirely on the goodness and gifts of God – our talents, our opportunities, our success – all results from what God has done for us. We also remember what Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:7. “We brought nothing into the word, and we cannot take anything out”. Of course Adam and Eve soon discovered that Satan’s temptation was a dead end and so do we, everyone of us. The wages of sin is death. It all ends in the grave – or does it?
That is where Easter comes in. For Jesus Christ is alive, risen from the dead. So while the wages of sin may be death, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). That is the difference that Easter makes. Our Lord’s resurrection overcame the penalty for sin and death because His crucifixion overcame sin itself. He took the sin of all upon Himself – starting with Adam and Eve, and then every last one of their descendants, including you and me. Jesus is alive. Sin has been paid for; death has been overcome.
Everything is different now. Because of Easter, we know that what Jesus told us about God is true. He is our loving Father. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, He took the initiative to redeem us. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). Our heavenly Father cares for us and has compassion on us. He provides for us and at the end of this life, He welcomes us into the next, the paradise about which Jesus spoke to that penitent thief on the cross. The devil may still be lurking, and sin still rears its ugly head. But neither devil nor sin can take away what we have in Christ and that is a God who loves us.
Immediately following today’s text, Luke introduces Barnabas as an example of someone whom the Easter proclamation changed forever. He not only sold his property for the relief of the needy, but he also became one of the great missionaries of the apostolic church. He took great risks for the sake of the Gospel. After Paul’s conversion, Barnabas befriended him, when others were afraid. Upon hearing that the Gospel was reaping fruit in Antioch, the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to continue the work there, and Barnabas recruited Paul. When the Spirit indicated that Paul’s missionary journeys were to begin, he called Barnabas to the work as well. Barnabas then shared in all the challenges and trials of the first journey, including persecution. Nevertheless, they revisited the places where they met persecution in order to strengthen the faithful and appoint elders in the churches. After returning to Antioch, Barnabas along with Paul defended the Gentile mission against false teachers. Although Barnabas and Paul finally separated, Barnabas continued the mission by going to Cyprus. Church tradition tells us that Barnabas died a martyr’s death. Easter certainly made a difference to him.
Easter made a big difference in the lives of the early Christians mentioned in our text. They believed in Jesus and responded to God’s great love for them by caring for the needs of others. There are those who compare these early Christians to the economic and political system of communism. This is not the case. In communism the government forcefully takes money and property from people. The money and property are not shared but goes into the hands of the ruling elites. What we see in Acts is quite different. The early Christians were willingly giving their money and property out of love. Christ had freed them from the sin of self-interest. God had filled their hearts with His love; and that love overflowed to others. So much so that “there was not a needy person among them.”
Of course, we live in different times. Here perhaps physical needs are not as pressing. We have opportunity to give to the food pantry and if anyone was in need we are certainly called to help them. But in addition to the basics, people still have other needs: respect, companionship, and purpose. How good are we at supplying things like these to others in our community and in our congregation? Since God takes care of us, we can take care of others, giving not only our money but also our time, energy, talents, and our love to one another in response to whatever challenges life brings. We can visit with those who are alone. We can call members of our church that we have not seen in a while and tell them that we miss them and are praying for them. We can serve in the church and give generously to the mission of the church.
These first Christians have given us an example that we cannot ignore – not know, not ever. Easter means something. It changes lives. Easter makes a difference in the lives of those who believe in Christ. May the Lord continue to bless you and work through you. Amen.