Mentioning Money in Church (part 2)

Written by: Dr. Paul Galbreath

 

A scene from life in the early Church provides a dramatic contrast to the ways that we often talk about money in the Church today (if we talk about it at all!).  In Acts 2:42-47, we get a brief description about the ways that the first followers of Jesus shared their lives.

In this passage, Luke presents the identifying markers of this emerging community:

1) Apostles’ teaching – stories of Jesus/instruction;

2) Fellowship (koinonia);

3) Breaking of bread (Lukan language of sharing the Lord’s Supper/communion on a regular basis);

4) Commitment to daily Prayers in this instance at the temple;

5) Shared all in common – Selling possessions and giving to those in need;

6) Presence and Power of the Spirit for all in the community;

7) Generosity and Hospitality as basic practices that mark the community’s identity;

Result:  Rapid growth in lives of believers and in numbers of believers

This seems pretty clear to me.  One could almost look at this as a formula for the basis of Christian communities.  Some biblical scholars and readers of these texts and other texts that describe practices of redistribution dismiss them as a-historical or simply idealized versions that were made up for purpose of edification and entertainment.  Here, biblical scholars join with wealthy and privileged people in the pulpits and pews of our churches to discount the witness that Luke is giving his readers.

In contrast, I am suggesting that we have much to learn by returning to these texts and their depictions of life shared together.  Luke is pointing us to a path so that we can learn to loosen the tight grip on our possessions in order to make room for the Spirit to bring us new life.

Read Acts 2:42-47.

Questions for Reflection

1) What are ways that sharing is central to your life and the life of your congregation?
2) How might our communities of faith learn from the ways that Christians dealt with money in the early Church?