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Readings Between the Lines
Reflections
Come back to communion
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Readings Between the Lines
Father Glenn LeCompte
“Now those, therefore, who received his (Peter’s) word were baptized and there were added on that day about 3,000 souls. They were devoted to the teaching of the apostles, and to communion, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers. And there came to be in each soul fear; wonders and signs came to pass through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and belongings and they divided them accordingly as each had need. Each day they devoted themselves to being together in the temple, breaking bread in each one’s home, partaking of food with joyful and generous hearts. They praised God and had favor with the whole people. And the Lord added to those being saved each day, to that very group” (Acts 2:41-47, translation by Father Glenn LeCompte).
This summary passage from Acts immediately follows Peter’s Pentecost Speech (2:14-39), Luke’s summarization of other things Peter said (2:40) and a report that as a result of Peter’s speech about 3,000 souls were baptized that day (2:41). In Acts 2:42-47, Luke paints an ideal portrait of the life of those who are baptized in response to Peter’s speech. Peter demonstrates that his assertion about Jesus in 2:36, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified,” was anticipated by the prophets. Therefore, Jesus’ death and resurrection represent the climax of God’s plan of salvation. When the audience asks Peter how they should respond he tells them to “repent and be baptized” (2:38).
LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
Acts 2:42-47 paints a picture of the lives of these people consequent upon their repentance. Luke outlines four results of their repentance: 1) they are devoted to the apostles’ teaching, 2) they share communion with one another, 3) they break bread, and 4) they pray.
Communion. The characteristic of “communion” (koinōnia in Greek) underlies all the other characteristics. While each of the hearers of Peter’s speech repents individually, once they have done so there is an interconnection among them that demands a unity of heart and mind among these new individual believers. They are not meant to live their new lives of faith in isolation, but as a group sharing in a commonly-held belief. The audience’s understanding in their native languages the apostle’s utterances under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2:6-12) represents a reversal of the confusion of languages in the Tower of Babel incident (Genesis 11:1-9). This confusion of languages also points to divisions among people of different nations, cultures and races. The gift of the Spirit and the people’s coming to faith reverses the confusion and division, and makes believers one.
The Teaching of the Apostles. The unity of this newly born community is in part rooted in their common acceptance of the apostles’ teaching. Since the early Christians understood themselves to be Jews, the Scriptures and Jewish Oral Tradition (unless you were a Sadducee!) remained normative for them. The apostles would have explained how Jesus gave new interpretations to the Jewish Law and, as Father Raymond Brown, S. S. (An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 289) points out, “became the nucleus of a special teaching.” For example, In Luke 6:1-11, Jesus points out that he, as Son of Man, is Lord of the Sabbath, and therefore able to permit his disciples to pluck heads of grain on that day. Also, he maintains that it is a more righteous deed to help a destitute person on the Sabbath than not to do so to avoid violating the Sabbath rest law. The apostles’ teaching provides for the community a foundation of faith which, because they embrace it together, makes them of one heart and mind.
The Breaking of the Bread. If the early Christians gathered to break bread they must have heard from the apostles a story such as that of the two disciples who encounter the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread at Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), and that Jesus commanded his disciples to drink of the cup of wine-become-his-blood, and of the bread-become-his-body in memory of him (Luke 22:17-20). From such apostolic preaching they would have been moved to gather together to share the Eucharist. Again, the partaking of the eucharistic meal was an activity that they understood had to be done as a community a
Reflections
and not as individuals, due to the fact that the principle of koinōnia underlies the eucharistic meal.
Prayers. Luke is not explicit about what prayers he means here. As Jews the early Christians would have said Jewish prayers such as the Shema Yisrael (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one.” Jewish prayer often extolled God for his mighty deeds, his great acts of salvation, his kindness and mercy to his people, or his rescue of them as a nation or as individuals from peril. There were also meal blessings. In Luke 11:2-4, Jesus teaches his disciples to begin their prayer in the Jewish way by praying for the sanctification of God’s name, then for the coming of the Kingdom Jesus has announced. They are also to pray for daily bread, forgiveness of sin and not to be subjected to moral testing. Luke’s mention of the disciples’ praying together in Acts 2:42 reflects the emphasis of Luke’s Jesus on prayer. In passage unique to Luke (18:1-8) Jesus uses a parable about a persistent widow and applies it to a point he wishes to make to his disciples about persistence in prayer.
“Communion” is a foundation of Christian life. Such life is not to be lived in a vacuum but shared with others who embrace the common faith in Jesus Christ. While there might be times that Christians pray alone, common prayer, such as the Mass, is essential to Christian identity. Musical groups and sports teams which have a standard lineup are affected by the absence of even one of their regulars. The same is true of the church assembled for the liturgy. When members of a particular community are absent from the weekly liturgical assembly, the liturgy can still be a meaningful and prayerful celebration for those present, but those missing make a difference. That is why with the lifting of the dispensation to participate in Sunday Mass it is important that those who have been missing from our liturgical assemblies due to the pandemic return now. Your brothers and sisters are eagerly waiting for you! BC
Reflection Questions
v If you came back to regular Sunday Mass participation even with the dispensation from the Mass obligation still in place, what prompted your return? v If you have not been back to Sunday Mass since the pandemic began or have been away for a while, what have you missed most about the communal liturgy? v What would you do to encourage your brothers and sisters who have been absent from the liturgical assembly for a while to join us again?
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