Worth Dying For?
/The next chunk of Peter’s recorded ministry in Acts that I’m tackling involves two people dying. Why? They broke the rule of the fledgling community of Jesus’ church of selling all their property and donating the proceeds to help those in need. These two sold their land, but they kept back part of what they were paid for themselves and then lied about it.
Ananias and Sapphira die as a result of the rebuke they receive through Peter. Whether it was too much for their conscience, or they were not well individuals, or God was feeling particularly vengeful that day and wanted to make an example of them, they each separately fall down dead and are promptly carried out and buried, like yesterday’s news. No time for a proper funeral or to honour Shiva. Nope, that’s it. Into the ground they go. The shame around what they did is pungent.
I struggle with this story. My mom is moving soon and her house will be sold. In today’s market, it will probably sell for much more than it cost to build ten years ago. She is a generous giver, but she absolutely will not be turning over the proceeds of the sale carte blanche to the destitute. If that was the standard for today, most of us would probably fail miserably and our churches would be filled with corpses. I also doubt that all of us are perfectly honest before God and the Spirit about absolutely everything. If that was the bigger issue here than keeping a bit back for themselves, we still would likely fail.
What I do notice is that this story in Acts 5 is sandwiched between Acts 4:32-37 and Acts 5:12-16. First there is the example of Joseph of Cyprus, who is called Barnabas, selling his field and donating the proceeds. After the couple dies, we read about the many wonders and miracles being done by the apostles. Those who gave all they had and depended completely on God and the Christian community were able to flourish. They had the power of the Spirit to do great things in Jesus’ name. The church was growing exponentially because of that openness and reverence to the Spirit.
Only by God’s grace are we counted as worthy. None of us are perfect. Few of us will get rid of all that we own and rough it for Jesus. But we can honour God by being brutally honest about where we’re at and what we need and how we fall short. We can honour God through recognizing that all we have comes from the Creator and we are merely stewards of it. We can honour God by saying yes to being vessels of the Spirit that is so powerful that people can’t help but want to experience it too. Verse 15 says that even those who were merely touched by Peter’s shadow were healed.
All the people who heard about what happened to Ananias and Sapphira were terrified, with good reason. How many were thinking, will I be next? Am I dishonouring God? What if I die and my house (literally and figuratively) isn’t in order? What will this power of God do next?
I think there is room for more awe and reverence in our lives and churches, even as we worship with gratitude and joy. The God of the universe is still powerful and unpredictable and can bless and shape and even have us die at any time. Many things are out of our control. But God knows it all, right down to each hair on our heads. And God chooses us to relay and share important things to those needing to hear and see them. Wow.
Let’s not skip over Ananias and Sapphira. Let’s not miss opportunities to bless but also to speak powerfully to injustice. Let’s not neglect to bow down before God and recognize how small we are in comparison to our Maker. May the world be a better place because of it.