True Christian Community—One Heart And One Mind
Introduction
We know from our disappointing experiences how difficult it is to be a real community. We have different personalities with different ideas, attitudes and potentials. The great obstacle is we ourselves: we want people to go our way, and we impose our own views. In our Christian communities, there is one who can unite us in himself. It is Jesus, our model and our Lord. We believe that we come together here in his name and for his sake. He is alive and present among us. He brings us together in one faith and one love. It is a lifelong task. Can we be one heart and one soul in him?
1 Reading: 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 favour 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.
Responsorial Psalm 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty. or: R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendour robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength. R.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD. R.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days. R.
Alleluia John 3:14-15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: John 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.”
Commentary
The key to Christian belief is to see the death of Jesus as the saving action of God. In the Book of Numbers, Moses raises a bronze serpent to save the Israelites who gazed upon it and were saved from a plague inflicted death. In John’s Gospel, the serpent is seen as a type of Christ. Years ago, a person once commenting on modem church furnishings was taken aback to see an altar crucifix with Christ depicted in a serpentine style. Yet the image was totally biblical. Belief in the person of Christ crucified is rewarded with eternal life, which in the here and now means life in the Spirit.
In the teaching of Jesus, love of God and love of neighbour are inseparable. Today’s reading from Acts of the Apostles finds the earliest Christians earnestly providing for each other’s needs. Property, housing, and material needs were available through mutual sharing.
We can see evidence of this spirit to the present day. When a family grieves, friends or acquaintances appear with prepared meals. There are those people in life for whom the words enough or too much are never used. Their reserves of giving are never exhausted. In countless ways, they put that spirit of Acts into practice. But the fact is that we live in a very selfish world. Think of the impatience and anger at work behind the wheel of a car, the absence of a word of thanks when a door is held for someone, physical abuse inflicted upon a child. We deeply appreciate the giving and generous person. It is the spirit of Acts at work.
Blessing
One heart and one soul. How dare we say so? We are still far away from this demand of our faith. But we keep hoping. Keep also growing toward it, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!