Saturday 29 April 2023

Background

Our week reading chapter 4 of the Acts of the Apostles ends with an inspiring vignette of life in the early Christian Church. It would be easy to idealise these early days and imagine that what is described in this passage prevailed at all times. Reading on through Acts we soon see the many challenges confronting this developing movement. At the same time, it is good to take note of good practice and to aspire to that. Noting the elements of this early fellowship may help with this.

Unity is the first such mark – not necessarily total agreement on everything, but a sense that the believers were "of one heart and soul".  On the things that really matter, they agreed. This flowed over into an attitude to personal wealth and possessions which might be difficult to introduce today and which may have had much to do with their belief that the return of Christ was imminent.

Great power and great grace characterised their gatherings. Testimony was a key part of their life together and their apostolic witness to the wider community, particularly testimony to their core belief, that Jesus had been raised from the dead.Telling personal stories of encounter with the risen Jesus is still very powerful.

From this environment of unity, testimony and belief in the great power and grace of God sprang a commitment to social justice, arising from sharing their possessions, including land and houses. This may be unrealistic in contemporary society, but the spirit of ‘levelling up’ might find other modes of expression.  

Like any leader of a new church or movement, the apostles soon found themselves busy not just with witness, preaching and pastoral care but also with administrative demands, and later chapters of Acts indicate how some of this was addressed. Verse 35 indicates that their income was distributed according to need, in accordance with a comment I remember from a sermon I heard 50 years ago, “Love responds to need, not merit”.

To Ponder:

• Reflecting on any group of Christians to which you belong, how is unity in heart and soul expressed?
• Ponder on the relationship between power and grace, both of which are given in full measure in this episode of the Early Church’s life.
• How can you find ways to receive what you need or to share what you have within the Church today?

Prayer

Jesus, open us up to your great power, your great grace and your unfailing love for all. Amen.