Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
In our consumer culture, we pick and choose and that goes for everything, after all, why not! And that certainly includes churches. I’m not one to want to go back to “the good ole’ days” because I think there’s inevitably a selective look back, into a nostalgia that forgets or even brushes away obvious problems. But one feature of the past that I do think had its advantages is the idea of a parish church. I admire those who have been in one church their entire lifetime or have stayed in the same tradition of churches when they’ve moved. The idea of a church which retains most all of its members is less and less a prospect given how people work nowadays.
But what should be one of the staples of any church? Surely one of them is being in it, in life fully together in the long haul. That includes through thick and thin, when there’s disagreement, disappointment, even failure of different kinds. We need to patiently include all, even those who don’t have this vision, but at the core of our being and doing, committed to this.
This is not about selling everything and living together in a community like the Hutterites, though in itself, that’s certainly not wrong or bad. However precisely we work it out, it certainly will include our material resources including money. We are to be generous and systematic in our giving, if I understand the Bible and the teaching of Christ and the apostles correctly. We do all that we can together to make sure that everyone in the community of believers is taken care of in resources and in receiving the help they need.
It seems to me that if we commit ourselves to praying for each other, but not helping each other in practical, down to earth ways, then our prayers lose much of their power and efficacy. “Thoughts and prayers” mean nothing if we don’t do our part to see that they’re answered. And as we take care of each other, that same love spills out in “good Samaritan” ways outside our “four walls.”
One heart, one mind, one soul, one body in Christ.