"And great fear seized the whole church…"
This may be the greatest understatement in the bible. It is the punch line to the bizarre story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
As chapter 4 ends, we hear the wonderful and encouraging news that the church is giving powerful witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ by sharing all their goods amongst themselves for the common good. It is a miracle that "there was not a needy person among them [for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and they laid it at the apostles’ feet and it was distributed to each as any had need]." Cool beans!
One example given of such gracious generosity is Joseph [a Levite of Cyprus]. He liquidated a field and gave the entire purchase price to the church. WOW! There was great joy in the whole community – all their needs would be met for awhile longer! In fact, this was such a big deal to the church that they blessed Joe with a new name – from now on, he would be called Barnabus which means "son of encouragement" [not really sure that naming someone Barnie is a real blessing]. Spirits were running high and "great grace was upon them all"…
Suddenly a seed was planted in the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira. Maybe we could grab some of this limelight within the community! Maybe we could be the next heroes to be adored! Maybe we could get new names [after all, our names are so crappy we probably couldn’t do any worse]! So, they agreed to sell some property and give SOME of the money to the church, but keep back a part for themselves – who would know? They could have the best of both worlds – the acclaim of the church [for their sacrifice] and the nest egg concealed in their Swiss bank account…
OOPS! This deal goes way sour! It appears God did know of their plot and lying to the Holy Spirit is a very bad choice. Both dropped dead and were buried! They lost it all – the spiritual limelight they coveted and the money they craved. Not the notoriety they had schemed to attain…
"And great fear seized the whole church…"
So glad we have a "different" God these days. I am glad people aren’t falling dead in church for lying, withholding promised funds and coveting the adoration of people around them. If I am really truthful, I can identify with this covetous couple. My false self is constantly trying to form my identity as a person based on "what I do, what I have and what others think of me" [Fr Basil Pennington]. My false self loves being loved! My false self adores being adored! My false self would always rather please people than please God! After all, people-pleasing has a direct payoff while pleasing God forces me to deal with delayed gratification. And, people-pleasing feeds the voracious appetite of my false self for significance, power, influence, importance, control, prominence and acceptance…
So do we really have a "different" God these days? No, I don’t think so. People-pleasing is still very deadly – whether it is Ananias and Sapphira or me! The death is not as dramatic these days, but it may be even more dangerous. People-pleasing murders your true self over a lifetime. And, after all – death is death – people-pleasing still leaves your true self dead and buried…
But, I believe in the resurrection – new life animating my true self once again! I believe God breathes zoë into my true self through the spiritual practices of solitude and secrecy.
Henri Nouwen observes: "Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self…Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter – the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self."
In moments of utter quietness in the safety of God’s lap, I am able to go deeper and deeper within undaunted by my FEAR – and I am blessed to discover, not only God’s irrational love for me, but also the identity and worth of my truest self. I am no longer a "stranger in my own house" – I am "at home" with "who I am" and with "whose I am"…
Let me close with saying just how much I hate the spiritual practice of secrecy. I want to do my good deeds very intentionally so they have benefit and yield an immediate payoff. I want my reward BOTH now and later! Did I mention how much I do NOT like Jesus’ statement about public acts of generosity getting their reward only here and not in the kingdom to come. My true self needs some spiritual "wheaties" at this point – this week, I will do a generous act in secret [if it kills me]… Maybe it will choke some more of the demonic life out of my false self…
shalom...
guy
have a great week...
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ReplyDeleteTruth is, I don't even remember the part of the story where Joseph gets a new name. I guess the creepy thing is that Ananias and Sapphira did get notoriety. Their story lives on and is told again and again. The sad part is that it’s a story of shame and deceitfulness rather than a story of love and sacrifice. Funny that those who desired to be known for the great thing they had done (or in this case, pretended to do), are known as the example of God's immediate judgement against pride, deceit and instant gratification rather than of his blessings for a secret sacrifice. Scary place to be.
ReplyDeleteRight on -- they became NOTORIOUS [rather than getting the notoriety they craved...
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