Our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles tells us about the followers of the early Church and how they lived in community. From the beginning of the readings, it mentions four elements that distinguished this early Christian community. The believers formed a community. They were of one mind and one heart, united with each other. No one claims their belongings for themselves - these things were held in common. They witnessed their faith, their belief in the risen Christ. They witnessed this faith through signs and miracles of healing.
There is a religious denomination called the Hutterites who were founded in the 16th century and who are part of the Anabaptist movement, of which the Mennonites are a part. Even to this day, the Hutterites lives on farms where poverty is collectively owned and all their physical needs are met, but individuals do not posses any individual private property other than the clothes they wear. We can see this as their interpretation of the spirit of today’s reading from Acts.
I don’t think we are all called to that lifestyle, while I also don’t think we are called to the political systems of socialism or communism. Today’s verses point us to a lifestyle of the early Christians that we could see as being characterized by generosity, self-sacrifice, and concern for others over their concern for themselves. Also, we can each individual community as being connected as community members who care for each other, rather than living by rugged individualism. I would say that the Gospel ideals presented in Acts today present us a lot to think about in light of the values of our modern world.
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