Lectionary: 268
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.
Biblical scholars generally agree that Saint Luke paints a rosy picture of life around Jesus and in his early Church. The Evangelist acknowledges but minimizes some of the negatives. So we can accept with a scriptural grain of salt his memory of the believers being "of one heart and mind." There was a honeymoon for the early church and it was wonderful while it lasted but, like all honeymoons, it might not bear close inspection.
Nevertheless this passage has provided inspiration for many startup experiments in gospel living. Inspired and enthused by a particular vision, enchanted by the personal charisma of a visionary, men and women have thrown themselves into Utopian societies of every sort. In the earliest days of the church, these communities were the functioning dioceses of the far-flung Roman empire. Later hermits would come together in mutual support to build monasteries.
Saints Francis and Dominic founded their idealistic societies when the mendicant movement swept the church. Later, when the Fourth Lateran Council decreed there should be no more "orders" in the church, societies and congregations sprang up -- frustrating the spirit if not the letter of the law. The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), for instance, responded to the particular needs of the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, respectively.
Always we hope that we might live as a community of believers, of one heart and mind, sharing our possessions as readily as we share our beliefs.
American Protestant history is also marked by Utopian societies. (Some of them practiced celibacy as well as common ownership.) They have left their historical markers in many parts of the country.
Nor should we forget the hope of every man and woman who approach the altar to create a new family in the image and likeness of God. Marriage, that great mystery, is an icon of the covenant of God and his Church.
Always, of course, these experiments in gospel living meet disappointment and frustration. The dreamers could not imagine the difficulty, complexity and misunderstandings of ordinary speech; nor the challenge of agreeing on anything. Jesus had promised wherever two or more agree and pray together their wish would be granted but it's not as easy as it sounds.
Even an outstanding saint like Francis of Assisi -- claimed by Franciscans as the most-Christlike of all saints -- could not describe his vision persuasively enough to convince his disciples to live as he did.
But the Spirit of God does not give up and Saint Luke's rosy portrait of early Christian community will always inspire new generations of Christians to give it a go. With God all things are possible. And most of those who set out on that path, as they near the end, will confess, they succeeded beyond their dreams.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.