Observation: In a time of famine, the church in Antioch (Paul's home church) undertakes the first large scale relief effort to benefit Christians in Judea, where this whole movement started. Christians in this time share a close bond, which in that time was socially similar to kinship. Much of their property was held in common. Caring for members in the community was a high priority at a time when there was no social safety net. It was not just a figure of speech to say they lived like a family.Application: The psalm for today is Psalm 133, which begins, "how good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!" I don't think it's a coincidence that this is the verse quoted at the beginning of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, which I am just beginning to read in a small group. This passage from Acts talks about the same kind of community, caring for one another in concrete ways, that the psalm and Bonhoeffer's book address. What I'm hearing from God right now is it's time for Christians to look at how we are interdependent, how we should connect to each other, and how those connections should stand out in a culture that places a high value on independence and self-sufficiency.
Prayer: God, I can clearly hear you calling us into discernment. Help us to figure out Christian community for this new age. Amen.
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