I have always wondered what the tipping point was for the early Church.  When did things shift from being about praying together, praising God, teaching, and caring for one another?

When did we allow the weight of our programs, our proclivities, and our property to displace God’s plans, God’s purposes, and God’s promises?

I think when we prioritize private, personal faith over the public practice of faith that demands compassion and justice, we lose our point of reference.

This is when subtle idolatry of individualism and selfishness erode the relationships that form the beloved community that the Church is supposed to be.  When we  cease to have all things in common, we inevitably  descend  into competition and comparison that breeds not only conflict but contempt. 

We may do well to remember this simple phrase that marked the attitude and atmosphere that permeated the first Church: 

⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and ^fhad all things in common.

Acts 2:44

Our ancestors understood this when they said things like, “I am because WE are… and because WE are, therefore, I am…”  

Good Morning, I love you all!

Ihs,

just adam