Scripture: Acts 16:9-15
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
What is the purpose of Christianity? We probably have as many answers as there are people in this room. John Chrysostom, who lived from 347-407, offers this description of Christianity:
This is the rule of the most perfect Christianity, its most exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of the common good. . . For nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as caring for their neighbors. [Quoted in Sojourners, 4/2013, p. 17]
Christianity is defined by concern for the common good. It is other-centered. Community-focused. With the good of the whole of more importance than the desires of an individual. After all, the common good ensures the well-being of the individual; each and every individual, that is.
While we may associate the common good with Jesus and Christianity, I’m not sure we usually associate the common good with the wealthy, those who are rich, the 1%. But in the beautiful story that we heard from Acts this morning, the exemplary disciple who commits to the common good is a wealthy woman. The first convert on European soil, Lydia is a seller of purple cloth. Purple cloth was worn by royalty and those of high status and position. It was extremely expensive. The purple dye was created from from a secretion of the hypobranchiel gland of the Mediterranean mollusk of the Gastropoda class. [The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3, “Purple,” p. 969] So it was an involved process. And those who dealt in purple cloth were lucratively compensated for their efforts. A dealer in purple cloth is someone who is rich. In Lydia, we see a successful business woman. There is also a reference to “her household.” Evidently, Lydia is seen as a head of household, a position of prominence, extremely unusual for a woman. In response to faith, Lydia exerts her authority for the common good by having her whole household baptized. She wants to share the life-giving Gospel with her whole household and not just keep it to herself. She obviously believes that baptism is for the well-being of all those in her domain. Lydia further asserts her authority and power as a wealthy business person and head of household by extending hospitality to Paul and his cohorts. Her home becomes the headquarters for the Jesus community in Philippi. Lydia generously and graciously offers her full support to this new church. This is an extraordinary story of a wealthy women who exhibits her faith by her commitment to the common good.
In this story, we see Lydia, a wealthy, successful business woman and head of household, coming to the riverside, on the outskirts of town, on the margins, evidently, a spiritual seeker. When she hears Paul’s witness to the way of Jesus she is moved. She hears words of life. Her hungers and thirsts are met. And her heart becomes centered on the common good; evidence that she has truly accepted the way of Christ.
This story reminds us that the gospel of Jesus Christ truly is life-giving for ALL people. Yes, we often think of the gospel as liberation to those who are made poor economically, to those who are oppressed, to those who are prisoners, to those who are hungry, homeless, or suffering. And the way of Jesus is Good News to all those people. The gospel is a message of justice, peace, and comfort to the downtrodden, the lonely, and the forgotten. But the story of Lydia reminds us that the gospel is also a message of hope, peace, and wholeness for those who appear successful. The way of Jesus is life-giving to those who are comfortable, even wealthy, economically and materially. The gospel is truly for the common good; for everyone.
Our society glorifies monetary accumulation and lavish opulence. The implication of the glorification of wealth is that being rich means being happy. Yet this myth can prove hollow. Rich people may suffer from bondage to work or to the expectations of others. They may struggle with addiction. They have kids who end up on drugs. They may suffer isolation and loneliness at the top of the pyramid. They may suffer a sense of guilt or remorse over compromises made to obtain wealth and power. They may bear the burden of having taken advantage of others to succeed financially. When you’re rich, can you truly have a friend? Or is everyone out for your money and your favor? And, of course, even though the rich have access to healthcare, wealthy people still get sick, suffer, and die.
Rich people need meaningful, caring community. Rich people need to feel part of a larger whole. Rich people need to be needed. Rich people need to serve. Rich people need to be dedicated to the common good for their own good as well as for the health of the world. Rich people, too, need the gifts of the gospel.
In Christianity , we believe that the greatest salve to the human spirit is service. Rich people who can have everything done for them may not be readily presented with the opportunity to serve others. In addition, wealth and the lifestyle that accompanies it may insulate/blind/shield them from human need and opportunities for service.
The church believes that all people are beloved and all are children of God. All human beings have some of the same needs to be whole and to flourish. We all need community. Caring and trusting relationships. We need to feel part of a larger whole. We need to be needed. We need to serve. Dedication to the common good ensures the well-being of all and calls forth our highest good. The way of Jesus is life-giving to all, the rich just as much as others.
We can quibble about what constitutes rich and who is poor, but to most of the world, we are rich. Yes, those of us sitting in this sanctuary. Last summer, after returning from the mission trip to the Dominican Republic, the Rev. Dr. David Pitt preached about his experience at La Romana. Some of you heard his sermon. After hearing his sermon and hearing from others who have gone with him to the DR, it is clear that going there, serving the poorest of the poor, blesses those who serve. They are moved. They receive hope and joy. They come back not depressed at the awful things they’ve seen, but energized, enlivened, and transformed by their experience. They find new life in the Dominican Republic. By immersing themselves in the common good in that setting, their spirits are lifted. They are changed. The gospel truly is good news for all.
We say we are an Open and Affirming church but when we imply that there are no income barriers what we have in mind is welcoming the poor. And we should welcome the poor. But as the story of Lydia reminds us, we are also called to reach out to the rich, and to offer the good news of the gospel as a lifeline of hope and transformation to the rich.
Statistics tell us that the wealthiest Americans, those in the top 20% in terms of wealth, contribute 1.3% of their income to charity tending toward support of the arts and education. The bottom 20% give 3.2% of their income to charity, usually to social service and church organizations. One theory is that the wealthy are more insulated from the needs of the poor and that’s why they don’t give more. [The Christian Century, 4/17/13, p. 8] But could it also be that the church has not done enough to reach out to the rich, to invite wealthy people to discipleship, to follow Jesus, and so to be committed to the common good? Maybe the church is not reaching out the way Paul and his friends reached out to Lydia.
By not reaching out to the rich, maybe we are being exclusive and prejudiced. And this is depriving the rich of the life-giving power of the gospel to make them whole. And this neglect could be depriving the wider community of the resources that the rich have to invest in the common good.
Remember, inspired by the gospel, so glad to be welcomed, to be wanted, and to be included, Lydia immediately reaches out with generosity and hospitality for the good of all.
Mother Teresa is known for her compassionate care to the poorest of the poor. But true to the love of Christ, she saw poverty as more than economic deprivation. She says, “Here you have a different kind of poverty – a poverty of spirit, of loneliness, of being unwanted. And that is the worst disease in the world today, not tuberculosis or leprosy.” [Mother Teresa, A Gift for God, p. 64] “Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.” [p. 39] Mother Teresa goes on the share this story: “Some time back a very rich man came to our place, and he said to me: ‘Please, either you or somebody come to my house. I am nearly half-blind and my wife is nearly mental; our children have all gone abroad, and we are dying of loneliness, we are longing for the loving sound of a human voice.’” [p. 65]
The story of Lydia truly tells us of the expansive embrace of the gospel. We all find our highest good in service. The heart of Christianity is life-giving for all, rich and poor and everyone in between. May the church truly proclaim and live out the gospel of universal unconditional love. The common good depends on it. Amen.
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
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