Sermon by Herman Kauffman
Bremen Church of the Brethren
September 22, 2002

TRICK OR TREAT?
Acts 4:32 - 5:11

Trick or Treat? The words conjure up thoughts of Halloween which arrives next month. A lot has changed in our communities since I was a kid growing up in Millersburg, but in the '50s, Halloween was one of the great days of the year -- at least for us kids. We were allowed to dress up in strange costumes and go door-to-door soliciting a treat from our neighbors and friends. It was a child's dream come true and we usually came home with a couple of months supply of candy and other goodies.

In the rare instance that somebody was not home, or refused to give you a treat, you were allowed to play a trick -- thus the phrase: "Trick or Treat?" Now we all knew that Halloween was to be an evening of fun, so even the tricks had to remain in the realm of good clean fun. So our tricks were limited to things like soaping windows or decorating the neighbor's trees with toilet paper.

Usually everyone played by the unspoken rules of "Trick or Treat" and we all -- kids and adults alike -- had an enjoyable evening. But sometimes there were a few who didn't play fair. They would get their treat...and come back for more, or they would play a trick anyway on the same ones who had treated them. That would cause some persons to become upset and would, in turn, spoil Halloween for the rest of us.

Our scripture lesson today feels to me like a Halloween story. It is about tricks and treats. It is the story of a few tricksters who spoiled a spirit of joy and generosity for the whole church. It is the story of some who received from God a real treat, in fact the best treat ever, but who got greedy and wanted more. It is the story of those who, in their greed, tried to trick the same God who had already treated them.

This story really begins with the Creation account found in Genesis where we read that God created us in the very image of God -- a loving, creative, and giving God. As the story unfolds in the pages of scripture, we find that God's people all too often do not fully live their lives "in the image of God." But "God so loved the world that God gave his only Son..." God's loving mercy and generous giving goes on and on in spite of, or perhaps because of, our humanness.

In these first chapters of Acts, we find the story of a young church that was beginning to discover what it means to be a church where persons care about each other. They were beginning to share with each other generously out of a common conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord. They had a common purpose to tell the whole world about God's love as shown through the life of Jesus and now through the body of Christ's believers known as the church.

We read in Acts 4:33-35, "With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 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. They laid it at the apostles' feet and it was distributed to each as any had need."

This early church was being "treated" by God. They received the Good News of the Gospel. They were treated to a gift of grace that far exceeded anything they could even imagine. Their own lives were transformed and they became a body of loving, caring, and giving persons "in the very image of God." This is a picture of the church at its very best -- indeed, what this church in its best moments strives to be like.

Immediate results were seen in the unselfish sharing and very real concern that was shown for all members of the church. We read in verses 36-37 of the 4th chapter of Acts of a man by the name of Barnabas (which literally translated means "son of encouragement") who sold a field and brought the entire proceeds of the sale and put it at the disposal of the apostles for the ongoing ministry of the church. Even today, we would recognize that as a very generous gift to the church. Barnabas was motivated to give, not because of the needs of the church, but out of his own need to give generously in response to all that God have given him in Jesus Christ.

These first generation Christians were serious about their commitment to God, to the church, and to each other, because they understood God was giving them a new beginning in their lives. Barnabas and others were selling off their property in order to further the ministry of the church in response to what God had given to them -- namely the forgiveness and new life that comes through Jesus Christ. They were selling their "extras" so that the church could continue the work of Jesus by ministering to the needs of people around them.

These early Christians had been "treated" by God with the gift of love and grace and they, in turn, were enthused and committed to their Lord and their church with all they had, including their possessions and their pocketbooks.

Again I say, this is a picture of the church at its very best. I wish the church today was able to be all that it was meant to be. I wish we could live up to our full potential as the Body of Christ at work in the world today. But the church is not perfect ... for it is made up of imperfect persons like you and me. We are here because we do want to be more Christ-like, but we confess we still have a long way to go. We are not perfect, but we are forgiven.

Like churches today, this early church also had its imperfect members who were, at times, more concerned about "looking good" in the eyes of their friends and neighbors than in the real ministry of the church. Ananias and Sapphira were a couple of "tricksters" who were only half-committed to the church's ministry. They saw what Barnabas had done and how the church had benefitted because of his generosity, and they decided they would like some of those same "treats". But their decision was made out of their own self-interest rather than a generous commitment to the church in response to God's gift to them.

Ananias and Sapphira decided that they, too, would sell a piece of property and give a portion of the proceeds to the church...but they would pretend that they were giving it all to the church. So Ananias brought some money, a partial tithe if you will, and gave it to the apostles, inferring that it was the full amount received for the property. And then he waited for the anticipated words of praise for his generosity.

But instead of being praised for his generosity, Ananias is scolded by Peter: "...why has Satan filled your heart to lie," asks Peter. "While the property remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!"

That, my friends, is a sobering thought to keep in mind when we make our commitments and bring our offerings. We are giving to God, not simply to the church. Peter really laid into Ananias, "Nobody forced you to do this. The property was yours and the money was yours to do with as you chose ... but to pretend to give the whole amount to the church when, in reality, you only gave a portion of it is a lie. You are only trying to trick God, the same God who has already treated you so generously." Peter got really excited and told it to Ananias the way it was.

The only person who got more excited than Peter was Ananias. He got so excited that he had a heart attack and died on the spot! And we read these words: "And great fear seized all who heard of it." Next Sapphira came in and lied about the same thing, and she too died. Again we read: "And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things."

Reflect with me for a few moments on these events. We can understand Peter's anger. He was nearly tricked by Ananias and made to play the fool. Why everyone things spiritual leaders are so gullible, I'll never understand. But Peter caught Ananias in his lie and publicly embarrassed him. And when the embarrassed Ananias whispered to himself, "I wish I were dead," his wish came true.

The sudden death of Ananias is certainly unexpected by the reader of this story. We might have expected the story to end with Ananias admitting his mistake and turning over the rest of the money, or we might have expected the story to end with Ananias quietly leaving the church in embarrassment, or maybe making a series of excuses to Peter. But we don't expect him to fall over dead on the spot! What a dramatic conclusion to this story.

But equally unexpected is the reaction of the church people. They were seized with great fear. Why? Why should Ananias and Sapphira's deaths be so scary for them...unless, perhaps, they felt that somehow the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were a direct result of their half-hearted giving. It had become personal and they knew they might be next.

Ananias ' problem was that he wanted credit for sacrificial giving without making a sacrifice. He wanted people to think he was a committed Christian without making a commitment. This couple wanted to appear to be generous supporters of the church when in reality they were only generous to themselves. And the outcome of their deceit was death.

Could this be what was so scary to the church? Could this be why this story is still scary to the church nearly 2,000 years later? It is a sobering thought to realize that the severest punishment that occurred in the earliest church did not fall on a murderer, or a thief, or an adulterer. It fell on a "respectable" couple who gave the church an offering that appeared to be more generous than it really was.

But we must not allow this story to end in the 5th chapter of Acts, for it is a story that speaks to those of us in the church today. Will we hear the gospel message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and respond generously so that it can be said of this church, as was reported in Acts 4: "There was not a needy person among them..." or will this congregation experience the death that comes when members of the church try to hold on to what they have while pretending to make a commitment to Christ and the Church?

I want to be clear this morning, that I do not believe the biblical story from Acts means we should all sell everything we own and give it all to the church; however, I do believe it means we need to need to be serious about our commitment to the church as a response to what God has done for us. I personally believe that tithing is a good discipline for Christians to practice -- to learn to live on 90% of my income and to share the other 10% through my church as a sign of my commitment to Christ and the Church.

The story is told of a pastor who was summoned one day to the home of an obviously poor man who was trying to live on $4,000/year. The pastor talked with the man for awhile and finally said, "Let's begin at the beginning and have a word of prayer in which we will dedicate one-tenth of your income to the church." "No problem," thought the man, "that's only $8/week." So they prayed together and the man committed himself to respond to God's love by giving 10% of his income to Christ and the Church.

Over the years this man became quite wealthy, and eventually came to the point where he was making $100,000/year. He came to his pastor again, and said: "I'd like to be released from that commitment I made many years ago. One-tenth of my income is now $10,000/year and I have other plans for that money. I can no longer afford to give that much to the church."

"No problem," said the pastor, and as they bowed in prayer the pastor prayed not for the release of the commitment, but that the man's salary would be reduced once again to $4,000 so he could again afford to tithe.

That was not what the man had in mind, I'm sure, but neither was it what God had in mind when he had blessed the man for his generosity and commitment to the church.

Some years ago I heard another story about a Church Board that was meeting late into the evening trying to put together a church budget. They were facing the usual problem: so much opportunity for ministry and so little money. The Church Board had exhausted just about every idea for funding their ministries they could come up with...when finally one member said, "Maybe somebody will die and leave us a gift!"

Slowly, the wise pastor rose to his feet. He said: "That's just the problem. Somebody has died and left us a gift: Jesus Christ. The question is: "What are we going to do in response to that gift?"

That was the question to the early church in Acts and that is the question facing the Bremen Church of the Brethren today. What ministries are able to be accomplished this coming year depend on your commitment today. No budget for the coming year has yet been prepared, as the leadership waits on your response. The opportunities for ministry in Jesus' name are limited only by our commitments. But the real issue is, as I see it, is our response to a God who has already given us so much. How will we respond to God's generosity toward us?

Brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ God has given us the greatest treat of all time. We have received grace beyond measure, we have received blessings we cannot count, we have received forgiveness we did not deserve, and we have received love we can never fully repay. We have been "treated" most generously by a loving and forgiving God; will we dare to try to "trick" the very God who has already "treated" us?

Trick or Treat? It's our choice.

Closing Prayer:

Creating and giving God, we confess that we are a strange people.

We commit ourselves to large monthly mortgage payments, and we eagerly sign a note for 48 or 60 monthly car payments;
but we fail to commit ourselves to give regularly to the church we love.

We become excited and enthused as we watch the World Series or a Notre Dame football game;
but we muster little enthusiasm for the work of Christ and the Church.

We shed tears over characters in a movie or a soap opera;
but we are so often untouched by the anguish and suffering of real people in our community and around the world.

We are a strange people, O God, so generous with ourselves and so stingy with you.

We are not who we want to be. We are not who we ought to be.

Help us, O God, to be changed today, through the power of your Holy Spirit in our midst,
to become the people you have created us and called us to be.

This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.