A united Christian Community (Homily for Tuesday of the 2nd week of Easter APRIL 2023

 Homily for Tuesday of the 2nd week of Easter 

Acts 4:32-37; Ps.93; John 3:7b-15

A united Christian Community

It is easier for people to be united when they have a common purpose. When there is no common purpose, it can be very difficult for people to see themselves as one even under the umbrella of common humanity. But the problem with uniting under a common purpose is that such people may segregate themselves from others who do not share in their purpose. Should this principle be applied to the practice of Christianity? The first reading of today gives an answer.

We are told that the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul. This means that people were united on the basis of their common believe in Jesus Christ. This belief made them see themselves as one. This belief also made them over look other cultural, financial, educational, identities that hitherto united or separated them. All of these no longer mattered; what mattered now was their common conviction that Jesus is Lord. It therefore means that those who would ordinarily not mingle together due to no common ground, forgot about their differences and were united under Jesus the Lord.

The unity of the early Christians was not just a religious function; it was a practical way of life that extended to everything about their lives. They shared everything in common, so that there was no needy among them. This means that they did not just see each other’s problem and merely talk about it; everyone did something about every problem they observed. So, while you are attending to another’s problem, your own problem was being taken care of by someone too. The beauty of this unity made the early Christian communities attractive to none Christians; and so, their number increased by the day.

Beloved, the truth is: this is how the Lord has planned us to live from the beginning. Rom.14:7 beautifully captures this truth: “none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.” None of us is equipped enough to attended to all of his/her problems. But all of us have what it takes to attend the problems of everybody. The more selfish we are, the needier we will become. But the more collaborative we are, the better our needs are taken care of.

Today, instead of Christians to attract non-believers with a beautiful unity amongst themselves, Christians are rather becoming unbelievers to their brothers and sisters. With this, we cease to be attractive to unbelievers because we seem like jokers to them. Many a times we make reference to the mighty works done in and through the earliest Christian communities; but let us not forget that the unity of believers was the bedrock of these mighty works. Without unity, nothing else will make sense.

OR

Homily for Tuesday of the 2nd week of Easter 

Acts 4:32-37. Psalm 93:1abc,1d-2,5. John 3:7b-15

Jesus, in his conversation with Nicodemus in today's Gospel, insists on two things. Firstly, He says that it is not enough that we are born from below, but we need to be born from above too; it is not enough that we are born of flesh, but we need also to be born of the Spirit.

Secondly, Jesus speaks of his death on the Cross. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:15).

To be born from above, to be born of the Spirit and to believe in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, demands that we emulate the lifestyle of the early Christian community, as we have it in today's first reading. "The company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common" (Acts 4:32).

They were of one heart, which was manifested in the way they shared their goods, in coming to the help of the needy. They simply justified their faith with good deeds, thereby justifying what St. James says, "Faith without good works is dead" (James 2:17). We have it in the first reading that "There was not anyone in need among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any need" (Acts 4:34-35).

What is the evidence that we are priests, religious, and Christians in our world today? What is our evidence of our faith in the Risen Lord?

We must be charitable not in words, but in deed. May God grant us a generous heart to give without counting the cost through Christ our Lord. Amen