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2014-04-28 Daniel Daring
(Comments welcome here)
A Challenge from
the First Christians
Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
In 1775, J.J. Rousseau wrote in his Discourse on Inequality that it is contrary to the law of nature that “a handful of men be glutted with superfluities while the starving multitude lack necessities.” Today, the economists are telling us that the leftovers from the table of the rich individuals and corporations will soon satisfy the impoverished masses.
Two
thousand years ago the first Christians “had all things in common; they would
sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had
need” (Acts 2:44-45). Today, some of our preachers proclaim the message of
abundance with cash incentives and free lunces for first time guests and flaunt
their mansions, private jets and luxury cars before the world as a sign of God's
blessing. The blessing, however, seems to be confined to a tiny group of
Christians, while the majority of Christ's believers can barely make both ends
meet. Why? As those same preachers want us to be believe, it is the fault of the
poor: they do not have enough faith or do not apply the law of attraction in
their lives. The thought never crosses their minds that perhaps the greed of the
rich Christians prevents the just distribution of the world resources.
“All who believed were together
and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and
distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). The usual
explanation of this challenging passage points to the mistake on the part of the
first Christians who wrongly believed that the Lord was about to come soon, and
so they did not consider private property and accumulation of goods as vital in
their lives. Since Jesus hasn't come and there is no sign of His coming,
therefore there is nothing wrong with being “God's millionaire.” This
explanation, however, does not take into account Jesus' message was about God's
kingdom in which there is no place for inequality. The first Christians did not
sell their possessions because they wrongly believed that the world was about to
end soon, but because the Spirit of Jesus enabled them to end the wrong world of
greed and inequality and began to live differently: “There was not a needy
person among them” (Acts 4:34). Unfortunately, we cannot say this about our
Christian community. There are many needy persons among us and few are bothered
by this fact. Can it be changed?
Yes, it can, but only if we realize
the true meaning of the word, church. We usually understand it as a building or
an institution. We fail to realize that Church is the people. We are called
“living stones” and “a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5), “a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people” (2 Peter 2:9). And Paul
is telling us: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of
it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Today, this people of God and this body of Christ
is composed of different nationalities and races. We have parishes and mission
stations among the poor, but we also have churches among the super-rich. We pray
the same Lord's prayer and the same Apostolic Creed, claiming to be united
around the teaching of the Apostles and the Eucharist, but we do little to
bridge the growing gap of inequality. In 1967, Paul VI wrote with indignation:
“Countless millions are starving, countless families are destitute, countless
men are steeped in ignorance; countless people need schools, hospitals, and
homes worthy of the name. In such circumstances, we cannot tolerate public and
private expenditures of a wasteful nature; we cannot but condemn lavish displays
of wealth by nations or individuals; we cannot approve a debilitating arms
race.” (Populorum Progressio, 53). Many of these “countless men” are our
brothers and sisters who pray to the same Lord and participate in the same
Eucharist somewhere in the mountains of East Timor or in the squatters of Metro
Manila. They are part of our Church, they are in need, and their number is
growing, but those willing to share are few, if any.
Unity of faith without solidarity in
action is a farce. “How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's
goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” (1 John
3:17). We usually associate that help with financial donations. A few years ago
I was preaching in my country about the need to support missionary activity.
Then I stood in front of the church to collect donations from those who were
willing to share. A man approached me and gave me a coin - an equivalent of 2
USD – saying in a commanding voice: “Use it properly.” I wanted to give it
back to him. “The demands of love . . . are not just satisfied by the
'sacrament of money,' for the very reason that the way this money was acquired
itself increases the very poverty this same money is supposed to relieve” (J.B.
Metz). God's love requires much more then just giving a leftover. All the
financial actions on behalf of the poor will fail as long as we do not challenge
the unbridled liberalism, which “presents profit as the chief spur to economic
progress, free competition as the guiding norm of economics, and private
ownership of the means of production as an absolute right, having no limits nor
concomitant social obligations” (Paul VI, Populorum Progressio, 26). God's
love requires us to set up a different pattern of living, a different system in
which the good of individual persons and entire nations together with the
preservation of our planet will replace profit, solidarity and sharing will be
the guiding norm of economics, and workers and farmers will not be forced to
hire themselves for a meager wage that is not enough to pay their bills and feed
the family.
Instead of praying for more money
and a profitable business, let us today ask the Spirit of Jesus to set us free
from the demons of greed and excessive prosperity and help us embrace the values
of sharing and solidarity. Let us pray that we will be able to create once again
a community of Christians where there will not be a needy person among us.
Perhaps then, our light will shine and the world will follow.