Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is Acts 4:32–35

³²Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. ³³And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need."

"Three Little Pigs" The story begins with the title characters being sent out into the world by their mother, to "seek their fortune." The first little pig builds a house of straw, but a wolf blows it down and the pig runs to his brother's house. The second pig builds a house of sticks and when he sees his brother he lets him in, with the same ultimate result. Each exchange between wolf and pig features ringing proverbial phrases, namely:

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
"No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin."
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."

The third pig builds a house of hard bricks and when he sees his brothers he lets them in. The wolf fails to blow down the house. He then attempts to trick the pigs out of the house, but the pigs outsmart him at every turn. Finally, the wolf resolves to come down the chimney, where the pigs have a pot of boiling water in which the wolf then lands and is cooked.

Justin Roberts recorded a slightly different version of this fairy tale for children. He gives a radical reinterpretation of life and values. This is what he says about the third pig which we think is the prudent and smart one of the three.

Now the third little pig built a house of bricks And he got real old and he got real sick ‘Cause it takes a long time to build a house of bricks And while you build the house the clocks go tick…tick…tick. Sure there’s a lot of strife, But I ain’t gonna let no wolf run my life.

The original song shows how long-range planning, sweat equity, and investing pay off against life in general. Justin Roberts’ version shows how long range planning is allowing the wolf to run the third pig’s life; He turns the meaning of this song on its head as does Easter turns everything on its head. The teacher is now the servant, the king is now a criminal, "it is finished" is only the beginning, the full tomb is now empty, locked doors no longer keep a person out of a room, and death is now life.

Easter does sound a bit hard to believe doesn’t it? A man that can walk on top of water and turn it into wine is killed and pops back to life to forgive all our bad stuff. I think that pretty much sums it up with one exception; when he popped back to life He earned the health plan that is eternity for you. This is what we believe. We weren’t there, yet, unlike Thomas who needed proof to stop his unbelief, we believe. Luke, the author of Acts, gives us a glimpse of what life can look like when you actually believe in "the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." It is a striking picture of fellowship and community – look at verse 32 through 34 "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. ³³And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them…" Now of course this is not utopia, remember this passage comes on the heels of violent threats and impending persecution. The rulers and elders of Israel, who, alongside the "Gentiles," had "raged against the Lord and his Anointed," they were now turning their wrath against those who testified to the resurrection of Jesus. They are facing danger and even death and what did they do? Did they do like the third pig and build a bunker and hide from life? Did they let the wolf run their life? No, they did exactly the opposite they shared what they had with those in need. They sold property and gave the money to the hungry and poor. You may think they weren’t paying attention to what was going on around them. Shouldn’t they be stocking up and preparing for the angry dangerous mobs and bracing themselves for the bloodthirsty raging people? They did none of these things. Their actions were not governed by fear of death, but by freedom… the freedom of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Just like in the Justin Roberts song, "Sure there is a lot of strife" – but Christ is risen! – and the "wolf" can’t run my life. They put to death the uncertainty of tomorrow because the resurrection freed them to love lavishly, even recklessly. They loved their neighbor as themselves not only with worldly things but also they tended to their spiritual needs, verse 33; "And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." They evangelized in the face of danger and death. Their evangelism took the form of caring for people’s needs and sharing the Good News of the Resurrection. By doing evangelism, caring for all a person’s needs, "great grace was upon them."

Do you see how the resurrection allows us to put to death the uncertainty of tomorrow? We believe, no, we are of one heart and soul in that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was raised from the dead so that you may have eternal life with Him. Eternity is taken care of so what does the uncertainty of tomorrow really mean, nothing! We are secure in our belief that we will spend eternity with Jesus and we know none of our earthly things will go with us nor will they mean anything. But they sure can mean something to someone who is hungry and poor. It sure would mean a lot for someone that isn’t in a relationship with Jesus to hear about the death and resurrection of Jesus and what it means for that person. It might mean the difference between heaven and hell. Put to death the uncertainty of tomorrow; share yourself and what you have. Don’t let your actions be governed by fear of things in this world when you are of one heart and soul with the rest of the body of believers. We don’t need to explore our options; we are of one heart and soul knowing we have an everlasting health care plan in Jesus and His resurrection. Don’t let the "wolf" run your life. Don’t hide from life in a bunker, love lavishly, even recklessly, Today! Numbers 18 verse 20 promises that God is your portion and your inheritance; isn’t that beautiful, it is a future found in God. That is Easter; that is actually believing in "the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come."

Amen.