Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers
Scripture: Acts 6:1-7
Oops!
Like last Sunday, this Sunday has a special designation: the remembrance of the Myrrh-bearing women along with Joseph of Arimathea. As you heard in Matins this morning, the themes of today’s hymnography revolve around the care of Jesus’s burial, his rising from the dead, and the instruction to the Myrrh-bearers to proclaim his resurrection.
But, also like last Sunday, if we only focus on this, we miss something really important—something I think has an impact for us today.
In Acts, St. Luke wrote,
“Now in those days … a murmur of complaint arose against the Hebrews from the Hellenists, because their widows were being neglected in the daily ministry. And the Twelve, having summoned the whole company … said, ‘… seek out seven men attested to be full of spirit and wisdom, whom we will assign to this task …’ And this counsel was pleasing in the eyes of the whole company … And the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem was enormously multiplied, and a large group from among the priests submitted to the faith.”
What’s important?
We see how Christ’s resurrection starts to form a new sort of community, one that transcends the traditional communities of the ancient world.
Ugh!
Community, before Christ, was usually formed around kinship—it was family based. Families formed tribes, and the tribe, above all, was the reference for community. This was one’s primary loyalty, and everyone else was an outsider. In fact, it was so exclusive that outsiders weren’t even entitled to the “truth,” so these communities were very close-knit.
We see examples of this quite a bit in scripture, which talks about Galileans, Samaritans, Judeans, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks … the list goes on.
But, Christ’s community is different. It goes beyond the tribe.
Rather than ethnicity or culture being the binding agent that brings people together, it’s now loyalty to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. If you trust that God has raised Jesus from the dead, and you’re baptized, then you’re now a part of this new sort of community.
But, can such a community actually hold together?
After hearing today’s reading, that’s a good question! Already there are complaints about favoritism. Judeans whose first language was Greek felt neglected by Judeans whose first language was Aramaic, and, so, the complaining begins and the tension increases.
Even though both groups are both Judean, it’s a clash of cultures: a Semitic vs. a Hellenistic one. The community is on the verge of splitting.
But, before we look down on this early Christian community, think about how we form communities, and how we allow our differences tear us apart. Families split apart by politics. Neighbors won’t speak to each other because of this reason or that one. Coworkers can’t get a long at work and stab each other in the back.
Even within our churches, we find ways of dividing ourselves. Are you liberal or conservative? Cradle or convert? A Viking or a Cheesehead? Greek speaking or English speaking?
The reality is, within our churches, you only need to look around at coffee hour and see where people are sitting to see our divisions.
Aha!
Yet, the power of the resurrection moves beyond our human-made divisions to create a new sort of community. One that transcends our human communities and brings us together in a new way.
How?
The disciples aren’t afraid to get creative with their solution.
Instead of asserting their authority and saying, “It’s tradition to do it this way,” or “This is how it’s always been done,” or “Aramaic speaking Christians are the ‘true’ Judeans so they come first,” the disciples get innovative.
They create a new “ordained order,” that of the diaconate, and then they delegate responsibilities to these newly ordained deacons.
Whee!
By delegating, the disciples were able to kill two birds with one stone.
First, they were able to expand Christ’s ministry, which gave more people an opportunity to share their stewardship with the community.
As we all know, power tends to corrupt. The disciples, as leaders of this new community, were the successors to Christ. If they had wanted, they could’ve kept their power to themselves—but this wouldn’t have worked out very well.
Thankfully, they didn’t do this. Instead, they recognized leadership potential in other people. Not just leadership, but skills that these deacons had to offer the community.
These new deacons not only enriched the community with a diverse set of talents, but it also gave people a sense of purpose and inclusion: More people were able to be an active part of what was happening.
Secondly, by delegating tasks to the deacons, the disciples were able to overcome divisions threatening the community.
The Hellenists felt that they were being neglected. By appointing deacons to make sure that the Hellenists were being served, the disciples were able to address—head on—the problem causing the division, and the complaint became mute.
Yeah!
Looking at how the disciples handled this has implications for us today.
Firstly, it shows us that we are all responsible for sharing our stewardship—our time, talent, and treasure—with those around us.
Just like those first deacons who had an opportunity to share their skills with the Church, we’re also called to share what we have and what we can do with the Church. Each of us is unique, and so all of us have something of value to give to our brothers and sisters.
And, secondly, today’s epistle reminds us that we are all a part of the community, and, as such, we are all worthy of being ministered to.
The disciples didn’t allow the widows of the Hellenists to go without, and neither should we allow anyone in our community go without—whatever that is.
Perhaps, to put it another way, we’re all in this together. If one suffers, we all suffer. If one rejoices, we all rejoice. We’re not alone.
By holding to these two ideals—sharing what we have to offer, and knowing that we are a worthy of being a part of the community—we truly become a community centered around the risen Christ—a Church with a capital “C.”
Amen.