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| May 25, 2008 |
Reader one: All of us have had a dream called, “What if. . .?” Reader two: What if everybody always told the truth? Reader one: What if we all stopped eating meat? Reader two: What if everyone was always kind to everyone else? Reader one: What if we outlawed war? Reader two: What if there were no more religions and everybody believed the same thing? Reader one: William Penn founded Philadelphia, a name which means, “the city of love for one another.” He called it the “Holy Experiment,” in which people of all races and creeds would govern themselves in complete religious, political, and intellectual freedom. Reader two: It didn’t work out that way. Reader one: A group of Ontario Methodists founded the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It was to be a temperance colony, in which the evils of alcohol would be eliminated. Reader two: It didn’t work that way. Reader one: Vladmir Lenin dreamed of a Russia where the communist party would rule on behalf of the workers, and everyone would have equal access to the countries resources. Reader two: It didn’t work out that way. Reader one: Jakob Hutter and the Anabaptists in Moravia dreamed of agricultural colonies where everything was held in common. Nobody was richer than anyone else. Reader two: That actually did work out pretty well. There are still Hutterite colonies in South Dakota, Manitoba, and Alberta. Reader one: All of those dreams – even the communist dreams – had their roots in the dream of the early Christian church. What if we really took Jesus seriously? What if we took Jesus’ commandment to “love one another” and applied that to every aspect of our lives. Reader two: Here’s the dream – here’s the story – as it’s recorded in the book of Acts. Reader one: Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 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. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Reader two: But it didn’t work out that way. Reader one: A man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. With his wife's knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at Peter’s feet. Reader two: "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!" Reader one: Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, Reader two: "Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price." Reader one: "Yes, that was the price." Reader two: "How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." Reader one: Immediately she fell down at Peter’s feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things. Reader two: Has the dream of the early church died? Reader one: Was the “holy experiment” a failure? Reader two: What would happen if we really took Jesus seriously? Reader one: What if we applied the gospel of love that Jesus taught? What if we applied the gospel of love to every part of our lives? Reader two: What if . . .? NOTE: The above is written in the style of “Reader’s Theatre,” a very simple but effective way of presenting the biblical story that can be done in any church, large or small. For more information about how to do Reader’s Theatre, click on this link. Note: You have permission to use this in any worship service. No credit line is required, though it would be nice if you put in something like, “A Readers’ Theatre presentation of the Story-Lectionary.com project.” |