Reading 1
Acts 4:32-37
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.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated Ason of encouragement”),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles
Gospel
Jn 3:7b-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
Meditation: Acts 4:32-37
The community of believers was of one heart. (Acts 4:32)
Are you one of those people who like turning to the last page of a book to find out how it ends? If you are, you know what it’s like to see the outcome without knowing how it actually happened. This is one way of looking at the description of the early church that we find in today’s first reading. It’s such an ideal picture of unity and selflessness, but we can’t think that it just happened overnight. It took a combination of human dedication and divine grace. And it took time.
So how did it happen? Earlier in Acts, Luke tells us that the first Christians “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” and that “every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes” (Acts 2:42,46). It was in the day-to-day living out of their faith that they grew close and developed a common mind. Holding fast to prayer and fellowship, they discovered that their lives were no longer ordinary: “Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (2:43).
Imagine what would happen if just a few members of your parish were to try to follow the apostles’ example a bit more closely. Perhaps people would be changed from churchgoers to church-sharers. People might no longer think of themselves as individuals but as brothers and sisters. Some might even reach out to the broader community in love, and lives would be changed. Why? Because love that is animated by the Spirit is contagious. It attracts people and inspires them to seek the Lord for their own lives.
Does this sound too idealistic? It doesn’t have to be. All it takes is a few people who are willing to devote time to daily prayer, to sharing their faith with each other, and to listening for the Spirit’s voice. Their love will be contagious, and just as it happened in the early church, their numbers will grow. And as a result, the whole parish’s light will shine!
“Holy Spirit, shine your light upon our church. Let the love you have for us draw us together so that together we can bring your grace to the world around us.”
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