|
Today’s
first reading
(Acts of the Apostles, by St. Luke) is the early church’s ‘manifesto’
or programme. It is a foundational text, and for 2,000 years, the church has
tried, with the assistance of the Spirit, to live it out. Let’s have a go at
deconstructing it:
a)
The whole company remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles=the church
remains faithful to Scripture and to Tradition ( Scripture revealing
Christ to us, Tradition being the development of doctrine as the
church is led by the Spirit into all truth.
b)
To the brotherhood=the church is essentially a community
of equals.
c)
To the breaking of Bread= the careful celebration of the eucharist
d)
And to the prayers= the church makes constant intercession
for itself, and for the needs of the whole world (our ‘bidding’ prayers’)
e)
Miracles....signs...made a deep impression= if we are really
(not just nominally) living the life of Christ, we shall have a deep
effect on other people.
f)
The faithful...owned everything in common= we are to be a
community of sharing. We should live according to our needs,
not our wants. (LiveSimply?) We must share our time, our
energy and taelnts and –yes-,our money- with the Christian community.
g)
They went as a body to the Temple everyday=we should all be
at Mass every Sunday, as one body,
worshipping God. No ifs or buts. And what about sometimes coming
to Mass during the week?
h)
They were looked up to by everyone=if we are really
living our faith we shall merit the respect of other people. We
are to be people of unimpeachable integrity.
i)
Day by day the Lord added to their number- if we really
live out a-h above, God’s church will grow and will be blessed with new
members.
So there
we are, folks. How do we measure up? Let us, as a community, and as
individuals, think on these things as we progress through Easter season, that
we may truly become a community of the resurrection.
Fr.
Bryan.
|