To the Communal Life
Homily for April 12, 2026: 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 118
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Years ago I heard an interview on the radio. I don’t remember who it was being interviewed – if he was an author or a journalist or a social anthropologist or whatever. But he was someone with an interest in religion – not as a way of life but as a subject of academic study.
In this case, he was interested in the question of whether or not religion actually makes people better. He told the interviewer that he tried to find just one area, one aspect of life, where religious people were notably better than anyone else.
“Better” by what standard or criteria he didn’t make clear. But whatever it was, he didn’t seem to find it.
But he did mention that at one point during the study, he had some personal issues to deal with and mentioned that he found these religious communities to be very supportive at a time when he really needed it.
When pressed by the interviewer, he did admit that this sense of mutual support within a community was something he hasn’t really encountered in secular environments. But he never quite seemed to make the connection – he stepped over the very thing he had been looking for, and concluded there was nothing to find.
“See how these Christians love one another.” The second-century theologian Tertullian, writing during a time when Christianity was growing in popularity but was still something of a fringe group, kind of a cult in the eyes of the world, observed that this was what non-Christians noticed most about the early Church – that they were recognized especially for mutual love and support of the poor and needy.
Our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles gives us a description of the earliest Christian communities. And at a time when our own churches are struggling, our diocese is restructuring, as we’re looking at upcoming changes in Mass times or priests being shuffled around; where religious practice in our society is lower than it’s ever been, it may be helpful to look back on the successes of that ancient Church. In particular, our reading today identifies four principles:
· They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles;
· And to the communal life,
· To the breaking of the bread;
· And to the prayers.
The Teachings of the Apostles we have still – and will always have - in the Scripture, and in the Traditions and teachings of the Church, passed on to us by the Pope and Bishops, who are successors to the apostles. So that’s a good baseline for any church community – as long as we stick with Scripture and Church teaching, we’re on solid foundation.
When we think of the Communal Life, we might think of it in terms of religious orders, or maybe radical movements like the Catholic Worker, of people forgoing worldly possessions in favor of a shared lifestyle. And that does seem to be what the earliest Christian communities practiced. We’re told in today’s reading that they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Modern Catholic Social Teaching – that “teachings of the apostles” that we still devote ourselves to – does recognize each person’s right to private property. But with the caveat and the understanding that the gifts of God are meant to be enjoyed by all His people.
As generous as God has been with each of us, it is with the expectation that we will be as generous to those around us. Communal Living can simply mean being attentive to the needs of our neighbors, and being quick to respond with generosity.
The Breaking of the Bread is an obvious reference to the Eucharist. But there is something more there, too. In the early Church, the communities they are describing in Acts, the Eucharistic celebration was part of a larger meal which the congregation would take together. Over the centuries, we’ve separated the Eucharist out into a more ceremonial event, more reminiscent of sacrificial offering.
Nowadays we do our communal meals outside of the liturgy. We might gather for coffee and donuts after Mass, we hold suppers and potlucks and parish picnics throughout the year. The Eucharist unites us sacramentally as the Body of Christ, while these communal gatherings unite us socially as Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
And finally, we have Prayer, both public and private.
Saint Paul instructs us to “pray without ceasing,” and as with much of our faith life that may be more aspirational than practical. But it stands as something we can and should aspire to. Train ourselves to make every waking moment an opportunity for prayer. A brief thanksgiving when life spontaneously goes exactly as we want it to – or a prayer for patience when it doesn’t. That’s how we establish and uphold a relationship with God.
But we also pray together. Jesus tells us that whenever two or more gather in his name he is here among us, so it’s a good thing to take any opportunity we can to pray together as a community. They say that “the family that prays together stays together,” and it’s just as true of this Family of Sisters and Brothers in Christ.