Sermon for April 24th, 2016

Acts 6:1-7

1Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” 5What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

First Church: Seven Chosen to Serve

You can tell a lot about a person's theology based on how they deal with adversity. For example, when a Methodist pastor falls down the stairs, she picks herself up and says, "What a horrible experience that was! Next time I'll try harder to avoid it."

When a Catholic Priest falls down the stairs, he picks himself up and says, "I probably deserved that. But thank you, Lord, it could've been a whole lot worse!"

When a Presbyterian pastor falls down the stairs, she picks herself up and says, "That was meant to happen, predestined by God's will. I'm sure glad it's over!"

And when a Baptist pastor falls down the stairs, he picks himself up, turns around and says, "Which one of my deacons pushed me?"

Today's sermon is about deacons, but hopefully not that kind!

The word "deacon" doesn't actually appear anywhere in today's scripture passage, where seven members of the early church are chosen to serve others within their community, or for that matter anywhere in the book of Acts. But Paul refers to the office of deacon in his letters (which were written several decades before the book of Acts), and the description of the deacon's ministry his letters and in later books of the New Testament matches with what is described here in Acts. So most biblical scholars, ancient and modern, have regarded the seven individuals listed here as the "First Deacons" in the "First Church."

This month and next we are going back to the basics, examining that first church, how it came to exist as a new kind of faith community in the first century. And through that lens, we are exploring how we can exist as a new kind of faith community in the 21st century.

diakonos - through the dust