Easter 2008

The Community at Prayer
Reflection by Father Paul M. Baca
March 30, 2008, 2nd Sunday of Easter

I find the season of Lent and Easter very thought provoking. First, during Lent we are reminded that it is important to be able to give up some of the legitimate pleasures so that we are not enslaved by grasping for every pleasure within our reach. This reminds me of a very basic Christian concept that we hear from time to time: living simply that others may simply live. Then, too, during Holy Week we read the Passion of Our Lord twice and we wonder,Why was there such a strong resentment of the teachings of Jesus to the point where some of the leaders of the people wanted to, and planned to, get rid of him by whatever means, even if it meant perjuring themselves.

Last week's issue of Time Magazine had an article entitled, The Power of Ideas. I would like to quote the intro to that article: "Ideas change the world. The power of a new idea is the engine that transforms the way we live and think. Our own country was founded on one. It was almost 50 years ago that philosopher Thomas Kuhn coined the term, paradigm shift -- the moment when our world view fundamentally changes because of a new idea, as when people understood that the sun does not revolve around the earth or that climate change is altering the way we all have to live." Very good life-enriching ideas are not always accepted immediately nor by everyone. Some are buried in a lot of rhetoric but fortunately some really take hold.

Ordinarily I don't think we give Jesus enough credit for a powerful paradigm shift. In his society the poor, people with disabilities, that is, the blind and the lame or those with mental/emotional illnesses were excluded in many ways. The lepers were ostracized and were forced to live on the edges of society. Unlike the people of his day, Jesus embraced all of them, dignifying them by accepting them as his special followers. He made strong statements against prejudices and bigotry. The story of the Samaritan woman at the well illustrates how he disregarded the taboos of Jews speaking to Samaritans and men speaking to women in public. He was severely criticized for his innovations and they were not readily acceptable to his contemporaries. Now his concepts are highlighted by the Disabilities Act and the tremendous efforts that have been and are being made to dignify women by treating them as equals to the men in a male-dominated society. Yet in so many parts of the world and even here in our own country to some degree, his teaching that all human beings are created equal is not totally accepted. We find prejudices that refuse to die. Racism seems to be alive and well in many parts of the world and surfaces quite frequently even in the most advanced societies.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles also surfaces a way of life wherein everyone could live with dignity, "They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. All came upon everyone and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and held all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need." This was a strong statement that the believers held the right that everyone should live with dignity and that it was the duty of the community that no one live in serious need. This idea was quickly abandoned because of greed and self indulgence. St. Paul takes to task those who even at the Eucharistic celebration would take fine lunches and not share with those who had nothing. What would the world be like today if society at large would accept as a duty seeing to it that no one be excluded from having what is needed to live with dignity. This would mean that the world would not know poverty among any of the people.

The article that I mention presents ten outstanding ideas. I found the eighth one very interesting because it seemed to connect very basically with the state of our economy. The eighth idea, "The New Austerity. Get ready for something truly unheard of: an era of living within our means." It seems to me that the author in his own way points out what happens when we get our needs and our wants all mixed up. We end up with a seemingly impossible situation of paying back what we owe.

The teachings of Jesus can be very revolutionary if we can accept the fact that they were not abstractions but rather very practical ways of life for those who want to live in harmony and peace in a society that excludes no one but champions the rights of each and every one. This is based on the fact that the Christian God is a loving Mother/Father to all people and that this love is truly unconditional.

There are two primary ways that Bible scholars have chosen to interpret this passage from Acts. One way is that this is more or less an objective account of life in the early Christian Community. The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that humans are bound up with sin and obviously have again suffered a great Fall from the Creator's (or Jesus') original intention. So from this original condition of abounding love, equality of members and an attitude of sharing in the Christian community, there followed a tragic breakdown in the social relationships of the early community. Greed, lack of concern for fellow humans, exploitation of weaker members, racism and sexism follow in the history of Christianity. Our role as Christians becomes one of returning the Church to its original or pristine state.
However, there is another way of interpreting or understanding this passage from Acts. This way involves placing it in the context of Luke's overall theology of the growth of the ongoing Church throughout world history. This allows us to interpret the passage as a goal to be strived for by an evolving Church, not as some ideal that was achieved in the past and then lost. As such, Acts 2,42-47 can provide Christians with a more positive motivation to continually examine and re-evaluate how the wealth or resources of the world have been divided up among the human population. This must be the first step toward rectifying unjust situations and building a more equitable human community. I believe that this understanding of the passage provides Christians with a new 'paradigm' for life in the world today, one that is far more relevant for us with our evolutionary understanding of the world and history. Allene Hall

I have read with great interest Allene Hall's commentary on Acts 2:42-47. I thought Matthew Henry's commentary on this passage would add a slightly different slant on this passage; so here it is:

Matthew Henry Commentary ― In these verses we have the history of the truly primitive church, of the first days of it; its state of infancy indeed, but, like that, the state of its greatest innocence. They kept close to holy ordinances, and abounded in piety and devotion; for Christianity, when admitted in the power of it, will dispose the soul to communion with God in all those ways wherein he has appointed us to meet him, and has promised to meet us. The greatness of the event raised them above the world, and the Holy Ghost filled them with such love, as made every one to be to another as to himself, and so made all things common, not by destroying property, but doing away selfishness, and causing charity. And God who moved them to it, knew that they were quickly to be driven from their possessions in Judea. The Lord, from day to day, inclined the hearts of more to embrace the gospel; not merely professors, but such as were actually brought into a state of acceptance with God, being made partakers of regenerating grace. Those whom God has designed for eternal salvation shall be effectually brought to Christ, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of his glory. Blessings, Plas Jaramillo