Preached · January 28, 2024
Series · Invited To
Text · Matthew 6; Acts 2
• There will be 5 earthquakes.
• Lightning will strike the Earth 360 times.
• 250 babies will be born out of which 113 of them will be born into poverty and 15 will have birth defects.
• 55,000 barrels of oil will be used.
• The sun will fling 60 million tons of matter into space.
• 31,600 tons of water will flow over the Niagara Falls.
Classic Anthony sermon - let's talk about 2 texts. Get nerdy about some words. Talk about some implications.
Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
--- ## Mammon = Wealth? The Bible is actually pretty ambiguous on wealth. Sometime's it's great, sometimes it's awful.
The English word is related to well-being. And we are pro-well being. So I offer a different translation.
--- ## Mammon = Plunder
Wealth, ill-gotten. Unjust. Differentiating wealth.
Mammon = a rival political economy to the Kingdom of God that runs on domination and control. (Tebbe)
Private property is the fruit of iniquity. I know that God has given us the use of goods, but only as far as is necessary; and God has determined that the use shall be common. The use of all things that are found in this world ought to be common to all humans. Only the most manifest iniquity makes one say to another, ‘This belongs to me, that to you.’ Hence the origin of contention among people. —St. Clement of Alexandria (100s CE)
--- ## Why can't you serve both?
I mean, we try, right? We try to serve lots of masters. Spouse and kids. Job and side gig, passion project. Parents and siblings.
--- ## Douleuō = Serve?
--- ## Douleuō = Be Enslaved To Or be owned by.
I just want say, as an aside, I'm not, like, pulling this out of nowhere. I have language resources that back me up. And, I'm not defensive. It's not like any of you have told me that I am pulling this out of my toe crevices. Or if you are it's behind my back. My point is, like, if you don't take my word for it, that's probably good. Ask for references and you will make my friggin day.
You cannot be enslaved to God and mammon
One of the biggest theological questions of the 2nd and 3rd century?
Can the rich be saved?
Scripture Two. # [[Acts 2]]:42, "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."
Context: Jesus gone. Holy Spirit comes. Thousands baptized. And now they have to figure out to arrange their life.
Apostles Teaching. Didache. Eventually compiled into a 1st or 2nd century document. You can go read it online.
Fellowship. We'll come back to this.
The Breaking of Bread. Probably refers to Communion. Definite article, "THE Breaking."
The Prayers. May be a reference to the emerging Jewish liturgical tradition.
Another word defanged by overfamiliarity. The lullaby effect.
Fellowship
Churchy word. Fellowship hour. Join small group and have some fellowship.
We're told what it means though in the following verses.
[[Acts 2]]:44-45, "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need."
The founder of the labour party in the UK said, "I learned my socialism from the New Testament."
“I am wronging no one,” you say, “I am merely holding on to what is mine.” What is yours? Who gave it to you so that you could bring it into life with you? Why, you are like a man who pinches a seat at the theater at the expense of latecomers, claiming ownership of what was for common use. That’s what the rich are like; having seized what belongs to all they claim it as their own on the basis of having got there first. Whereas if everyone took for themself enough to meet their immediate needs and released the rest for those in need of it, there would be no rich and no poor. —St. Basil the Great, 300s CE
Fellowship = Koinonia
Koinonia = Holding in common
--- # The amount that you give to the church is not a measurement of your faithfulness to God.
The amount that you hoard your wealth is a measurement of your need for healing from the slavery of greed.
2024 Budget ## $436,000 ## 329 Members and Regular Attenders ## 2% of DC Median Income = $467,000 ### 3% = $700,000
That excess is staff; a permanent building lease. 73 food pantries. Planting another Table-like church.
We don't want your 10%. We don't do big initiatives. We keep things shoestring.
Median Gift $50
75% of our giving comes from 20% of our people
Final thoughts
Jesus communities are invited to be a Commonwealth
Much of discipleship and morality in the NT is about creating communities who live by the alternative logic of love in order to increasingly make Mammon 'untrue'. In other words: our spiritual life is one of rebellion and dissidence in what is commonly thought of as material, public, economic, political arenas. (Tebbe)
Too much emphasis on Individual responsibility. Setup new economies.
Commonwealth = public welfare
