Sermons from Mission Hills UCC
San Diego, California
Rev. Dr. David Bahr
david.bahr@missionhillsucc.org
April 28, 2024
“Pretending”
Acts 5: 1-6 – Common English Bible
However, a man named Ananias, along with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s knowledge, he withheld some of the proceeds from the sale. He brought the rest and placed it in the care and under the authority of the apostles. 3 Peter asked, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has influenced you to lie to the Holy Spirit by withholding some of the proceeds from the sale of your land? 4 Wasn’t that property yours to keep? After you sold it, wasn’t the money yours to do with whatever you wanted? What made you think of such a thing? You haven’t lied to other people but to God!” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he dropped dead. Everyone who heard this conversation was terrified. 6 Some young men stood up, wrapped up his body, carried him out, and buried him.
In some churches, when the liturgist finishes reading a scripture passage, they will say “The Word of the Lord,” and the congregation replies “Thanks be to God!” This is one of those passages where the response is more likely to be “Thanks be to God??”
Ananias and Saphira sold a piece of property and gave the proceeds to the apostles to care for the needs of their community. Why? The previous chapter tells us.
Acts chapter 4: The community of believers were united as one – one heart, one mind. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything and so there was not a person in need among them – that’s the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the proceeds to the apostles as an offering and the apostles distributed it according to each person’s need.
This was such a remarkable characteristic of the early Christians that this is already the second time in the Book of Acts that the author, Luke, has told this story. Back in Acts chapter 2, following their experience of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost: All the believers were united as one – one heart, one mind. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. Sound familiar? Must be important.
And then Barnabas is specifically lifted up as an example. Barnabas, whose name means “encourager,” owned a field, sold it, brought the money and placed it under the care and authority of the apostles. What an inspiration he is! The next word, however, is "however…" Yay Barnabas, and then, let me tell you, however, about Ananias and Saphira. They saw the example of Barnabas and others. They too decided to sell a piece of property but this husband and wife duo decided they would hold back a piece of the proceeds for themselves.
To be clear, that was their right to do. Peter said so. He told Ananias, that was your property to keep and after you sold it, it was your money to do with as you wanted. But Peter could tell there was some kind of deception going on. What was it? Peter said they lied to the Holy Spirit. That’s not really a helpful explanation for us, but Ananias understood and when he heard it, dropped dead. He wasn’t struck dead, he dropped dead from a conscience attack. He was wrapped up, carried out, and buried. A frightful and puzzling conclusion. And now we say, thanks to be God?
This is not an inspiring story. It could have been. I mean, this seems like a perfect opportunity to teach about two central ideas in Christianity: honesty about our actions and forgiveness. For example, the story could have been that when Ananias was confronted by his deception, it broke his heart. He realized his error and begged forgiveness. He promised to change his ways and he did! And look at what this man became – the greatest philanthropist in history! Instead, he realized what he had done was wrong and he dropped dead. Where is the opportunity for redemption in that? This is not an inspiring story.
And it’s not even the end. It gets worse. Three hours later, Saphira arrived. She didn’t know that anything had happened to her husband. Peter said, “Tell me, was this the price you given for your field?” “Yes, that’s the price.” Peter replied, “how could you scheme with each other…” but he doesn’t specify exactly what that scheme was, leaving us, again, to wonder what was the real offense? But, it was bad enough that when confronted with it, she too immediately dropped dead. Just fell to the ground. Another conscience-attack. They were under no obligation to sell. And the problem wasn’t that they held some back, which they were free to do. So, what was the problem that resulted in such an extreme action?
My theory is that they pretended to give the entire proceeds of the sale to receive recognition for their tremendous generosity. They pretended that it was because the Holy Spirit had inspired them to give, just like Barnabas and all the others. But in fact, what they wanted was praise for their acts of generosity, which they were, just not quite as generous as they wanted to people to think. Their motivation was status, not love. In the origin story of the church, they were the first “pretend Christians.” I don’t mean it as an accusation. It’s simply a description.
We are well aware of the declining rates of church participation across the country. It’s not all a bad thing. It just means people don’t have to pretend anymore. For a long time, some people’s motivation to belong to a church had more to do with cultural expectation than religious orientation; maybe some family pressure. Everyone was supposed to belong to a church. And now they’re free not to. It’s not that they had bad intentions but now, since they won’t be judged for not going to church, they’re not going to church. Please understand that I’m not trying to cast blame – but some people felt they had to pretend to be Christians to fit in, to be accepted. Isn’t honesty and freedom better for everyone involved?
Now, I would suggest to them that belonging to a church is a good thing, participating in religious rituals, practicing generosity, giving kids a moral grounding, caring for and being cared for by your neighbors – all of these things bring tremendous meaning to our lives. We often like to pretend that we are at the center of the world, but it’s a really good thing to be reminded on a regular basis that we are not.
So why did Luke tell this story? Of all the important things he could have chosen to say about the origins of the church at the very beginning, why include this less than inspiring story about Ananias and Saphira? I’m sure there are plenty of reasons, but the one that speaks to me today was his concern for the appearance of hypocrisy among early Christians. This couple wanted to look generous, they sought out status, but they were not acting out of love. And that’s not Christianity. They weren’t misers, cheapskates. They were impostors. Pretenders. And Luke cautions the early church to be careful, because hypocrisy can be deadly.
You know, the kind of pretend Christianity that is killing the church in America, but don’t blame people who are leaving. They are reacting quite understandably and logically to an inexplicable form of Christianity that seeks privilege for itself, professes love for authoritarians, embraces the denial of science, a distrust of women, and the demonization of immigrants. It’s all in such stark contrast with descriptions of the early church characterized by its remarkable generosity and sacrificial concern for all who have need.
That’s why I have such gratitude for churches like this. Not perfect but trying. Aspiring to love and understand and serve. From the bottom of my heart, please hear my gratitude for your genuine generosity and compassionate spirit. I give thanks for your sense of mutuality and responsibility for the health and care of our congregation as well as your orientation to our community – what do the people around us need? It is churches like this that many of us depend upon to remain in Christian community or we might be among the formerly-churched. Not that we should be overly self-congratulatory, but it can’t be stated enough. Churches like this matter. And we shouldn’t keep it a secret.
I know I have thrown some arrows at so-called pretenders, so let’s turn our gaze inward and be reflective. Are we as loving and accepting as we profess to be? Are we pretending to care? As individuals – am I, are you, using our resources to address human need in our communities – not for recognition but the requirement of love insisted upon by the Holy Spirit? Am I trying to hold back what the Spirit is inviting me to share?
Because I don’t want to just pretend to be a Christian. Do you?