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My mother saved everything from my childhood -- little clay sculptures I made in church school, drawings, odd pieces of clothing, and of course, report cards. I have report cards going from high school all the way back to elementary school days. They make interesting reading, actually. And at times they are even a bit comical. One teacher noted wryly that as I got older I might settle down a bit. Another teacher praised my good spirit but chided my talking and passing notes in class. Then there was one that got my attention. I don't think I had ever noticed it before. Certainly, my mom never mentioned it. She probably didn't think it worth noting. But there, in red ink at the bottom of the card, my third grade teacher had scrawled, "Shares well with others...."

"Shares well with others." Sharing is an interesting thing for us to be teaching our children, isn't it? Really, it's a good thing. On the play yard or in the sandbox we want them to learn how to share toys and building blocks. We hope they will learn how to take turns on the swing sets and seesaws, and we hope, as we raise our families, that they will learn to share of themselves.

"Shares well with others." We work hard to teach this maxim, don't we? We guide the play time, share the lessons, and help our children learn that sharing is an essential component to getting along in this world. Wouldn't we like to be able to say that of our children?

But the truth of the matter is that after all that teaching, all that cajoling and guiding, we send these children who have learned how to share out into a world that does not -- in fact -- share well with others. The child who has learned how to share at home or in church is often the object of bullies and thieves. The child who has learned gentleness and openness at home hits the schoolyard to find suddenly that the world isn't the way Dad and Mom said it was. Ouch, ouch, and ouch again.

This is the feeling I get when I read this passage from Acts. My initial response to it is, "Is this really in the Bible? Do you know what will happen if we try this in the real world? They can't mean ... well ... that's ridiculous. It's naive! It sounds like communism!" In any discussion I've ever undertaken regarding this scripture, folks get defensive, angry, and dismissive. I am told that such things wouldn't work in "today's world," and that there's nothing wrong with making a "profit."

It's hard to confront the truth that scripture, it seems, wants us to share so well with others that we divest ourselves of the notion of private property altogether. The idea is that in Christian community the welfare of the individual is found in the welfare of the community. Thus, everyone gives everything they have to the community to be distributed according to need.

Wait. What's that? According to ... need? What if I work harder? Don't I deserve more? What if that person is lazy? They don't mean this literally ... do they? How did that get in the Bible, anyway?

Oh, yes, this is one of those "difficult sayings" that are difficult, not so much because they are problematic, in any theological or doctrinal sense, but because of the socio-political location of the people reading the text. In the United States, we consume an absurdly huge proportion of the world's resources. We are wealthy beyond imagination, while the majority of the world's population lives on less than a dollar a day. We suffer the health effects of obesity while much of the world suffers from malnutrition. Our nation is responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gases that are accelerating global warming, and our corporations chase endlessly around the globe looking for the next nation that will let its workers be paid pennies an hour to make our shirts, sneakers, jeans, radios, and computers.

The hard truth, friends, is that the economy of the early church is hard for us because we have so much. Within that reality is the other hard truth -- we don't share well with others.

Hear me on this, sisters and brothers. I live in the same world as the rest of you, and though I think sharing is great, I work hard, saving for my retirement. I struggle to put money aside to pay for my children's college. I take my paycheck home each week to pay for food for my family and to buy clothing, school supplies, and whatnot for me and mine. And I'll be honest, it would not be easy for me to be the first in line to give everything I own over to our church to be distributed out to all the members based on need. As I say these words, I need to confess this. I will not give it over because I do not trust. I do not -- God help me -- trust you. If I give everything -- everything -- over to the church, do I trust you to take care of me? My wife? My children? Do I trust the community to care for us all? Sadly, no. But it's worse than that. The real deal is that my trust in God is being put to the test. It is all, really and finally, about trust. Do I trust you? Do I trust God? Am I willing to live my life according to that trust? I feel shame as the "No" forms on my lips.

But, no matter how I might feel about it, I have to deal with the fact that this call to "share well with others" is not only here in scripture before us, it also seems pretty clear that the early church did indeed try to live this way. In fact, there are still Christian communities across the globe striving to reach for this ideal. And it's not just me. We, as a community committed to authenticity, really must confront the depth of this passage and all that supports it as we seek to be faithful.

Do we trust one another? Do we trust God?

Forgive me, but I assume that no one sitting here today is about to turn everything they own over to the church. Is that right? That being the case, I think it would behoove us to consider how we might at least make a beginning. In a Christian community where the average member gives only about 2% of their income to the church, how might we proceed? In a community where more than 20% of our neighbors have no health insurance, what can we do?

Let me make these suggestions. First, let each member of this church tithe. That's right. Let us make a solemn covenant today to give 10% of our earnings to the church. And let us do this as an indication of our trust in one another and in God. Let each person -- today -- fill out a new pledge card and make sure that it's made out for 10%.

Second, let's get together and share with one another. Let's learn about the needs and the wants in our community, and let's set about devising a strategy to meet them. Do members of our community need health care? Jobs? Do the children need help in school? Let us learn about the needs and make a commitment to meet those needs. Let us make certain that those in our community who have needs are cared for by their sisters and brothers.

Finally, let's be clear that these steps are but a beginning. If we tithe this year, can we do better next year? Can we develop a fund to pay for health insurance for anyone in our church who needs it? What else can we do? What more can we give? How much more deeply might we learn to trust one another ... and God?

I put it to you as challenge and prayer. I offer it to you as grist for the mill, fuel for the fire. Let us challenge our own situation, our own circumstances, let us confront our lack of trust, and let us take the next joyful step down the road toward faithfulness to God in Christ Jesus! Amen.