Abundant Life in the Good Shepherd

In Nomine Iesu
Jn. 10:10, Acts 2:42-47

April 13, 2008
Easter 4A

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

[And this summary statement from Acts chapter 2, concerning the life of the first Christians:]
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

How’s your life? I’m guessing that everyone here today could give a different answer to that question. How’s your life? Would you say it’s fulfilling, successful and going according to plan? Or would you be more inclined to say it’s draining, difficult, or careening wildly out of control? How’s your life?

Jesus said this about you and about your life: “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Other translations express it this way: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” But what is this full, abundant life? What does it mean to have life “to the full?” Does it mean that you should expect your best life now? Does it mean that you can expect to climb every mountain and dream the impossible dream? Do you have this life?

I’d like to suggest that today’s reading from Acts chapter 2 gives us a pretty good picture of what it means to have life to the full in Jesus—to have the abundant life of our Lord. That reading tells us what life was like for those very first Christians right after Jesus ascended into heaven—right after the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Those first Christians devoted themselves completely to four things. With all their hearts they persisted in four things. Their very lives revolved around these things: the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.

As the first Christians listened eagerly to the teaching and preaching of the apostles—as they broke bread together and received the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper—as they joined together in prayer for the needs of all—as they combined their resources to provide for the poor and needy—as they did these things they had life, and they had it to the full. They had real life and abundant life that was centered in the Savior and in His gifts. Oh, they had problems. There was persecution. There was suffering. But they had life, and had it abundantly.

Dear members of Our Savior, I’m glad to tell you that these same things are still at the heart of our life together as sheep of the Good Shepherd. In this, our 75th year, these things are still the main things. What the Apostles themselves taught and preached in the days following Pentecost—written down and recorded for us in the pages of the New Testament—this is still the same message taught and proclaimed here every Sunday. We don’t add anything to it; we don’t subtract anything from it—that the Lord Jesus Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree of the cross, that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. This is the good news we proclaim. We have devoted ourselves to the teaching of the Apostles.

Together with the Lord’s message comes the Lord’s Supper—the breaking of the bread, St. Luke calls it. Here at Our Savior, we have devoted ourselves to the breaking of the bread. Not all that many years ago this congregation studied and recovered the ancient, historic practice of offering the Lord’s Supper on every Lord’s Day—decided not to deny the Lord’s body and blood to those who hungered and thirsted for it—decided that this congregation—like the congregation in Acts chapter 2—would be devoted to the breaking of the bread every week.

Having received the Lord’s gifts in word and in meal, we can’t help but pray, praise and give thanks. From beginning to end, the Divine Service is filled with prayer—words addressed to the Lord Himself. Here at Our Savior, we have devoted ourselves to the prayers. We pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. We pray the prayer which our Lord Himself has given us to pray. We express both our helplessness and our thankfulness in prayer.

How’s your life? Inasmuch as your life is grounded in these good gifts, you have life to the full. You have abundant life in our Lord Jesus Christ. You have faith. You have forgiveness. You have peace that passes understanding.

But did you also notice this about those first Christians? They had a unique approach to stewardship. They sold their possessions. They sold their belongings. They liquidated their assets and essentially gave it all to the church. Having all things in common, they were able to meet the needs of all. Now, you will be glad to know that I’m not recommending this approach for our stewardship here at Our Savior. In teaching this part of the Scriptures I’ve always been careful to explain that the decision of those first Christians to pool all of their assets together was never intended as an example which all Christians were obligated to follow. You don’t have to sign over the title to your house before you leave today.

But let me ask this: Why, then, did God the Holy Spirit tell us these facts? What should we Christians today learn from the stewardship model of the first Christians? I’m here to tell you: Those men and women had a vested interest in the life of their congregation. Their congregation mattered more to them than did their own home mortgage. Their congregation didn’t just occupy a spot on their Sunday “to do” list. No, the text says every day—“day by day”—they concerned themselves with receiving the gifts of God and showing mercy to those in need. Their lives were fully invested in the life of their congregation. There was among them an attitude—an attitude of gratitude—that caused all of them—from the greatest to the least—to step up and strive for the success and faithfulness of their congregation.

We live in a different time and place, to be sure. Things have certainly changed since then. But the gifts of God haven’t changed. The gospel hasn’t changed. We still have the apostles’ teaching, the breaking of the bread, the fellowship, the prayers . . . but where’s the attitude? Where are the people fully invested in the life of the church? Where are the people who refuse to say, “That’s not my job,” but who instead are committed to asking, “What can I do? How can I help this congregation?” Can you even begin to imagine how things would change if everyone every week stepped up with the attitude that what happens here at Our Savior matters for eternity—if everyone devoted themselves to asking, “What can I do? How can I help? How can I use the blessings I have received from God . . . to be a blessing for His church . . . in this place?”

Beloved in the Lord, this kind of living is what Jesus calls the abundant life. This is life to the full. It’s not an easy life. It’s not a life that’s free from trouble and sorrow. It’s a life where wolves and thieves and robbers come to steal and kill and destroy, Jesus says. But with Jesus it’s a life that’s devoted to receiving the gifts of Jesus in Word and sacrament—the forgiveness of sins that He earned for you on the cross. Life to the full begins with being served by Jesus, and continues as we serve others in the name of Jesus. Life to the full is also the life that never ends—resurrection life that lasts forever.

Jesus—the Jesus who is your life—is completely devoted to you. He has invested Himself completely in your eternal good—an investment not made with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood. He has a vested interest in seeing you enter through the door of eternal life. He Himself makes that possible. Through Holy Baptism He added you to the number of those being saved. His Holy Spirit had made your body His temple. This morning He has prepared a table before you—invites you to the breaking of the bread. Here His voice is heard, guiding you in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. And He Himself will lead you right through the valley of the shadow of death. How’s your life? It is full. It is abundant. It is blessed . . . with Jesus. Amen.