Most Christians do not take the passage in Acts 4 for today literally. But we should all take it seriously. St. Paul noted that this early community of Christian believers was of one heart and mind. What did that mean, and must we conduct our lives in Christian community to such an extent that we hold all things in common? This intentional community was powerfully effective in bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus because they made sure there was no needy person among them.

That is certainly one way to do it. But communalism is not considered the only way to meet human needs by most people. There are many debates regarding the best ways to make sure there are no needy persons in our societies in terms of the rules of engagement in economic activity. How do our economic practices bear witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus? These questions can be deeply troubling.

I look often to the intentional communities of the Amish for practices that bear witness to the resurrection. Yet, even the Amish, who will give generously to help each other in times of need, do not own property in common. And while they have rules about what kinds of economic activities they will engage in, they are far more innovative that their non-Amish rural community neighbors in developing profitable economic niches that celebrate individual initiative. And it works well for them. Apart from the excessive costs of cancer treatment expenses, they do not have any problem meeting the needs of their members through their self-insured system of stepping up according to their circumstances in times of need of their members. Their spirit of generosity is motivated by love as much as obedience.

Taking up collections and sharing food in times of need has always been a practice in the communities to which I have belonged. In most rural and urban communities, Lutherans work together with Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, and other churches to help each other in times of disasters and great need. But we share out of possessions that we call our own. It gets more difficult when we must step up for famines in Africa and war in Ukraine, but we all do it. In one week, my congregation collected $10,000 for Ukraine administered through Lutheran Disaster Relief. Even together with all the other Christians who participate, it is a drop in the bucket. Despite our faithful intentions and generosity there are still too many needy persons among us on the planet and even in our own communities.

This great need is weighing us down. And then we read that “the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” There is a lot of heavy lifting that needs to be done to witness to the resurrection. Even if Christians everywhere give everything we have to the poor and stand on the corner preaching day and all night, we cannot do it. We are certainly humbled by our need for Christ to help us. I stand today with Nicodemus. What must I do? Jesus tells us we must be born of the spirit. It is not about what we do with our material things. It is about what happens to unify our hearts and minds when the spirit guides us. How will that unified Christian community of faith give us the power to witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in our times? I pray today that we will each find renewed purpose in our faith response through our Christian communities.