Sunday 26th April – Solid Chaos – Pastor Adrian Kitson

Oh, to experience a church like this! Three thousand new believers with more appearing every day. Sharing of deep fellowship with God and each other – so deep that it even included giving up your money and possessions to be redistributed to others, known or unknown to you, as need determined. Daily communal engagement in the Scriptures and the stories from those who witnessed Jesus firsthand. The eating together and that special eating of Jesus’ body and blood for forgiveness and life. The praying – thanking and praising Jesus, praying for people, for needs, for the country, for the world.

Sounds so idyllic. But would it have really been? Some have asked if Luke is painting some shiny picture of some ideal church that is a bit out of touch with how things ever could be in any church?

Can you imagine the chaos? Remember that list of people who were in the city that day of Pentecost.

Sure, there might have been shared Jewish faith and a brand-new renewed faith in the Messiah who had risen, but what about all the different languages, food preferences, financial situations, interpretations of the Scriptures, cultural and religious practices, different politics, diverse needs? All of these would have had to have been navigated in this exploding new movement, and every day as more stragglers came in through the Gate.

And what about feeding these people. Who did all that cooking and who paid?

And what about accommodating them in the city and surrounds. That could have been a reality TV show – probably called ‘Extreme Billeting’, or ‘Not Alone: in the olive grove’!

They must have ‘had every common thing in common’. It would have been pretty hard to not to! Like when you bunk in with 4 people in a small motel room. You have to share!

But Luke is not making up a TV show that is hyping up an unreachable picture of who we are as church. He does not do that in his gospel or in this follow up work on the beginnings of the church in Acts.

Just a short time later (ch 4), we hear that there is conflict within and without for these first Christians: accusations of favouritism emerging in the daily food distribution, and persecution will soon arrive at the hands of the same tram who brought us the Crucifixion. The flock will be scattered as the Good Shepherd said it would

So, Luke is describing real people in real time.

What I find remarkable is how much difference and change and chaos is in this fledgling church right alongside the unchanging long promised and now delivered Word of God.

Yes, there is the solid, unchanging, long-spoken Word of God by which the Holy Spirit transforms people from all over the place;

The community is solid and yet moving, changing, responding to needs, welcoming strangers and breaking a few social boundaries in doing so.

At its best any church is like this: solid and unchanging at the same time as moving and a bit chaotic?

On the one hand, there is a definite ‘coming together’ in faith and living that faith, with the Scriptures and the liturgy of the Temple and the Lord’s Supper and probably the songs and prayers, and yet, there is this moving and changing and welcoming in the world with all of its differences.

Both the solid trust in the solid Word and the chaos of so many transformed by the that Word are meant to coexist – and all for the glory of God. So, being a part of a Christian church is ‘solid chaos’!

This is challenging! I suspect we would prefer the solid, way over the chaos. Solid means we can formulate it, understand it, feel safe in it, be secure in it, and most of all, control it. Chaos allows no such safety or security or understanding and most importantly, control.

This solid chaos might be especially challenging for us who have lived our lives in post WWII Western democracies where just about everything is founded on the idea of the individual, not the communal.

We are urged to ‘do it my way’ in a million ways everyday – so many ads, so many songs, so many news reports, entertainment shows – so often centred on ‘me’ and the high value of my pursuit of happiness.

Of course, this is not so in other cultures. I think of our own indigenous culture. The individual only has meaning and purpose in relationship with and as part of the community. The community shapes the individual way more than the individual shapes the community.

I remember visiting the grave of Albert Namatjira in Alice Springs after reading his life story. He was the founding person of that unique Western Arrernte painting genre – water colours of the wonderful central Australian outback.

He was also the first black man to be granted full Australian citizenship in 1957. And yet, with world exhibitions in Sydney, having Queen Elizabeth as a fan, and winning multiple awards and all the notoriety and money that go with such things, Albert died a poor man living in what is now one of the town camps in Alice Springs.

This is because he lived in a communal shape. The money he earned was not his. It was always to be shared in the clan. I read that at one point; Albert was single-handedly supporting somewhere around 600 people! For better and for worse, my life is not about me. My life is always more about ‘us’, whatever the cost. So different to the Western way.

Here, in the first church, life seems more like Albert than me.

I wonder how you see yourself in this flock of the Good Shepherd. I wonder how you view your responsibilities for the people around you in this flock. Is the flock for you more than you are for the flock? From those famous words of JFK, are you asking what your church people can do for you way more than asking what you can do for your church people?

Are you an individual body or Body part: Am I an individual allowing others into MY world or Body part living with others in the Body in the world: Do I see myself as an individual who may or may not support, know or relate to other Christians or am I only ever one part of the whole, never just an individual Christian but a Body part with you?

What will enable us be at our best; be something more like this first church with all of its Word and prayer and helping and celebrating that helps outsiders find Jesus’ love as they did?

This account tells us.

• Teaching: Word
• Fellowship: with others and the Spirit –
• Meal: Eating together (probably both kinds – meals in general and Holy communion)
• Praying

These are and always have been what Christians do when they meet in Jesus’ presence. Jesus promises he is present and active in these four things. In these things lies our unity and purpose and hope.

But then, what about the chaos that is part of the story to? How much chaos do I handle or is Jesus’ calling me to handle – and how?

I guess everyone has a ‘chaos-metre’ on the dashboard of their life.

Some people can rev at redline for quite some time when it comes to chaos and change and flexibility and adapting to new circumstances. It feels fast and furious and they like it.

For others, going anywhere near running redline is to be avoided. It is irresponsible, reckless, unpredictable and uncomfortable and dangerous to stability and the future journey. Things might blow up!

And yet, as we hear, the church is both – solid and chaotic, never changing and always adapting, easy to grasp and yet, a great mystery hard to understand.

If you are person who values solid, predictable truth or tried and tested ways of doing things, then your challenge is trusting the Spirit enough to allow some chaos and engage in it, lest you become closed off to the Spirit’s leading and goals for you and this community.

If you are person who does not mind a bit of chaos and is often drawn to it and even energised by it, your challenge will be to not lose the centre lest you fly off into some dark space and do damage to yourself and this community.

The Good Shepherd leads us to good pasture and living water today. It is Word, fellowship, meal and prayer together: These are our centre so we can live at the edges faithful to the Centre, faithful following the Shepherd.

Word, fellowship, meal and prayer together: They allow us to be solid and live in the chaos.  They enable us to stay strong in God’s Word; strong in ‘doing life together’ more than ‘doing it my way’, (like our indigenous fellow citizens) sharing the body and blood of Jesus for constant forgiveness and renewed life and praying into each other’s lives, and for the community and world to which we are sent.

Maybe this first church is not so idyllic after all. Maybe we are still that church.

The Holy Spirit is doing the same things through these same means among us in our day and place with the same truth of the same Good Shepherd who leads us speaking his same Words into all the chaos of change with which we have to deal?

I believe so. I pray this is us:

Yes, Lord Jesus. Keep us solid in your truth and open in the chaos – all for your glory.

Further Reflection – Solid Chaos

Text: Acts 2:41–47
Theme: Being centred in Christ while living faithfully in change and complexity

1. Opening

Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, gather us by your Word. Give us open ears, humble hearts, and willing hands, so that we may hear your voice and follow where you lead. Amen.

2. Read the Text

Read Acts 2:41–47 aloud slowly.

3. First Reactions

• What words or phrases stand out to you from this reading?
• What feelings does this picture of the early church stir in you: attraction, discomfort, curiosity, scepticism?

Luke presents a community marked by devotion, joy, generosity, and growth, yet your sermon highlights that this would have been anything but neat or easy, involving people from many cultures, languages, and backgrounds.

4. Solid and Unchanging

The text speaks of foundations that do not move:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (v.42)

Ponder:

• Why do you think Luke highlights these four things?
• Which of these feels most “solid” or life-giving to you right now?
• Which one do you most easily neglect?

The sermon identifies these as the enduring centre where Christ has promised to be present and active among his people.

5. Chaotic and Changing

Alongside this solid centre is immense change:

• 3,000 new believers in one day
• Cultural, linguistic, economic, and social differences
• Daily needs for food, housing, organisation, and care

Discuss:

• What kinds of chaos can you imagine in this community?
• Why do you think Luke still presents this as a joyful and God-glorifying reality?

The sermon reminds us that this was not an “idealised” church but real people navigating real tensions, conflict, and growth.

6. My “Chaos-metre”

The sermon speaks of everyone having a personal “chaos-metre”.

Reflect and discuss:

• Are you someone who is more comfortable with structure and predictability, or with flexibility and change?
• How can each tendency both serve and harm the church?
• What might Jesus be inviting you to trust him with in this area?

7. From “Me” to “Us”

The early church lived communally rather than individually, sharing resources according to need.

Discuss:

• In what ways does Western individualism shape how we view church?
• What does it mean to see yourself not just as an individual Christian, but as a body part in Christ’s body?
• Where do you see glimpses of this kind of communal life already happening among us?

8. Today’s Church

The sermon insists: this is still us—the same Spirit working through the same means today.

Discuss:

• Where do you see God keeping our congregation “solid”?
• Where do you see God inviting us into holy chaos for the sake of others?
• How do Word, fellowship, meal, and prayer keep us centred as we live at the edges?

9. Closing

Prayer
Yes, Lord Jesus, keep us solid in your truth and open in the chaos. Lead us by your Word, bind us together in love, and use us for your purposes in this place. Amen.

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