Community in the early church.
"We acknowledge Jesus and early Christianity. The early Christians dedicated
themselves as much to people's outward needs as to their inner ones. Jesus
brought life: he healed sick bodies, resurrected the dead, drove out demons
from tormented souls, and carried his message of joy to the poorest of
the poor.
Jesus' message means the realization of the future invisible kingdom
now; it is the promise that ultimately the earth will be won wholly for
God.
It is the whole that matters here. Just as the love of God does not
acknowledge any boundary or stop at any barrier, Jesus does not stop in
the face of theology, moralism, or the State. Jesus saw into the heart
of the rich young man, whom he loved, and said, "One thing you lack: sell
all you have, give it to the poor, and come with me!" It was a matter of
course for Jesus that his disciples should hold no personal possessions
but rather keep a common purse. Only one man was entrusted with the hateful
responsibility of managing the disciple's money, and he broke under it
- a lesson with no little significance for our mammonistic society today.
Yet even Christ's betrayal and execution did not mean defeat. The enthusiastic
experience of the Spirit with which the Risen One endowed his itinerant
disciples gave them the power to carry on their communal life on a larger
scale.
The first church became a community of several thousand people who,
because love was burning in them, had to stay together. In all questions
regarding communal life, the forms that emerged were in keeping with an
understanding of life as one unified whole.
The first Christians in Jerusalem held everything in common. Whoever
owned property felt compelled from within to share it. No one had anything
that did not belong to the church. Yet what the church owned was there
for all. Its generous love excluded no one, and an open door and an open
heart were therefore among its characteristics. At the time of its flowering
it found ways to reach all people. And though its members were bound to
become the target of hatred and hostility, they still won the love and
trust of those around them. It was inevitable that they should, for they
were there heart and soul for everyone.
[excerpted from Why we live in Community, by Eberhard
Arnold, 1925, (c) 1995 by the Plough Publishing House, The Bruderhof Foundation,
Farmington, PA]
