The Early Church and The Church of Our Time

05-07-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

History is full of attempts by human communities to bridge the gap between the physical and the spiritual, the human and the Divine, through building of physical structures called temples. One of such temples was built in Jerusalem by Herold the Great, being completed in AD 66 and razed by the Romans in AD 70. The early Christians, and particularly the authors of the New Testament texts in this weekend’s Readings, were very familiar with this Temple, yet they were profoundly convinced that God had begun the construction of a new and greater dwelling for Himself in their own time, consisting not of gathered stones but of an assembly (ekklesia) of human beings, with Christ Himself as the cornerstone. This is why the Readings of this weekend revolve around the theme of the building of the Church, the new sanctuary that is founded on the Apostles with Christ as the cornerstone and all of us as members.

The reason for choosing the First Readings of Sundays during Eastertide from Acts of the Apostles is to show how, aided by the Holy Spirit and with a firm belief in the Resurrection of Jesus, the early Church witnessed, functioned, developed ministries, spread even among Gentiles, and how they resolved pastoral, disciplinary and doctrinal disputes within the emerging Body of Christ. We often imagine the post-Resurrection Christian community of believers to be a perfect group that seamlessly witnessed to the Resurrection without significant hitches. How wrong we are.

The First Reading presents to us an infant Church that struggled with growing pains. The Hellenists (Greekspeaking believers) complained against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food and other amenities. With this complaint, the Apostles suddenly had a challenge of marginalization on account of ethnicity that threatened the unity of the Early Church on their hands. The personal imperfection of some of the members of the early Church logically exposed an imperfect assembly of Christ’s faithful seeking perfection. Like this early Church, the composition of the Church through the ages reveals a gathering of imperfect children of God seeking holiness.

The Apostles, who were clearly the leaders of the early Church, responded swiftly to this problem and in their response indicated where the priorities of the early Church lay: “It is not right for us to neglect the Word of God to serve at table.” In other words, the Apostles recognized that it was contrary to their vocation to neglect preaching of the Gospel in order to manage the material affairs of the community. The priorities of the Apostles should be the priorities of the whole Church in our time, too. We should endeavor to return to the model ekklesia where the needs of the Body of Christ are promptly responded to without neither compromising the unity and purity of our doctrine, nor contradicting sacred tradition irreconcilably. We should look for opportunities to witness and minister to people who are easily neglected in our communities: addicts of all kinds, divorcees, women who have experienced abortions, victims of abuse, families of people who died by suicide, etc. Witnessing has been observed to be much more fruitful and impactful when done in neglected territories. However, we should prioritize breaking the Word so that we don’t end up becoming, as Pope Francis describes, as “a massive NGO” (non-governmental organization) which is ultimately not what we are mandated by Christ to be. Works of mercy and attendance to physical needs are of great importance; indeed they are integral to the Gospel message. At the same time, they are not the unique contribution of the Church in the world. There are many organizations that are charitable in nature, but only the Church is mandated to preach the Word of God that can lead people to eternal life.

May God enable us to respond promptly and appropriately to the needs of the Church in our time and community and, like the deacons who were elected, may we all strive to be reputable people, full of the Holy Spirit and ready to serve those who are neglected in our society. Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh

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