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. Acts 2:44-45
After the awe-inspiring experience of
Pentecost, Peter preaches his first sermon and 3,000 people come to faith in
Christ and are baptized (2:41), marking the beginning of the church. The shared experience of the Spirit brought
these newly baptized believed into a relationship of community. They devoted themselves to the spiritual
practices of learning, fellowship, worship, and prayer (2:42) and lived
together, sharing all things and ensuring that all people were adequately cared
for. It was the Spirit of God which
called this community into existence and the Spirit of God which inspired them
to voluntarily give up their individual possessions and live a shared life with
their brothers and sisters in faith.
On our own, we human beings are selfish
and have to be taught the value of sharing.
Even then we will share with others usually to the extent that they will
share with us. The story of the early
church is much different. Individuals
sacrificed for the sake of the whole and for a broader witness to the community—the
early Christians lived differently. Today we might label such a group a cult or
weird or suspicious, but this is the history of the church and for me proves
the work of the Spirit. It took divine a
miracle of God for the community of faith to be established (Pentecost) and
divine inspiration for it to be maintained (shared life). The witness of the early church community is
threatening to our way of life because it calls us to put the needs of our
neighbor ahead of our own. But it is a
mistake to disregard our history because it shows the revelation of the heart
of God: that we live in relationship with God and one another.
It also readily apparent that the early
church’s sharing of community life was Spirit led by how briefly it lasted. By chapter 5 of Acts, Ananias and Sapphira
are holding money back from the community and lying about it (Acts 5:1-11) and
in chapter 6 old factions re-emerge causing the most vulnerable to be
neglected:
Now during those days, when the
disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the
Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of
food. Acts
6:1
In other words, it doesn’t take too long
for the humanness of the church to appear.
The Spirit institutes the church but without regular renewal and
intervention the church becomes less Spirit led and more human. The challenge for the church today is not to
seek out a replication of an Acts 2 church where we all share everything and
have no individual property or wealth.
No, the challenge is to remain perpetually open to the leading of the
Spirit and fully trusting that the Spirit will provide solutions when conflict
does arise. Let us pray for the Spirit
to lead our lives and our church and may we have the faith and courage to trust
the Spirit.
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