7th Day of Easter, Saturday April 18, Acts 4:23-5:16

Now, today’s reading includes a lesson for Sunday’s worship. The lectionary captures the core nugget, 4:32-35, celebrating the earliest commune of shared property, ‘from each according to her ability, to each according to her need’. People liquidated and pooled everything they owned – what a cult! The United Church bible study “The Church We Are Becoming”, invites us to reconsider our own capitalism, our own values and priorities, compared to this model. Try it!

Don’t miss the opening speech today, which clearly accuses the Gentiles and the Roman government in the city to kill Jesus – not ‘the Jews’, but the Romans! The political reading of the bible is nothing new to the United Church – neither Ambrose nor Augustine were enamoured of private property for Christians.

Barney gets it right: he sells a field, and contributes the money. Ananias and Sapphira get it wrong: they sell a lot, and give only a part. Each lies about it, and dies on the spot. It’s not just the greedy selfishness that’s condemned, but the dishonesty, collusion, and denial. Do you recognize anybody there, either in Barnabas the generous encourager, or in the mean couple?