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From: Acts 4:32-37

The Way of Life of the Early Christians

[32] Now the company of those who believed were one heart and soul, and no
one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had
everything in common. [33] And with great power the Apostles gave their testi-
mony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
[34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were posses-
sors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold
[35] and laid it at the Apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each as any
had need. [36] Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the Apostles Barnabas
(which means, son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, [37] sold a
field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles’
feet.

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Commentary:

32-37. Here we are given a second summary of the life of the first Christian com-
munity — which, presided over by Peter and the other Apostles, was the Church,
the entire Church of Jesus Christ. The Church of God on earth was only begin-
ning, all contained within the Jerusalem foundation. Now every Christian commu-
nity — no matter how small it be — which is in communion of faith and obedience
with the Church of Rome is the Church.

“The Church of Christ”, Vatican II teaches, “is really present in all legitimately
organized local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their
pastors, are also quite appropriately called churches in the New Testament. [...]
In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of
Christ, and the mystery of the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. [...] In each altar
community, under the sacred ministry of the bishop, a manifest symbol is to be
seen of that charity and ‘unity of the Mystical Body, without which there can be
no salvation’ (”Summa Theologiae”, III, q. 73, a. 3). In these communities, though
they may often be small and poor, or existing in the diaspora, Christ is present
through whose power and influence the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church
is constituted” (”Lumen Gentium”, 26).

32. The text stresses the importance of “being one”: solidarity, unity, is a virtue
of good Christians and one of the marks of the Church: “The Apostles bore wit-
ness to the Resurrection not only by word by also by their virtues” (Chrysostom,
“Hom. on Acts”, 11). The disciples obviously were joyful and self-sacrificing.
This disposition, which results from charity, strives to promote forgiveness and
harmony among the brethren, all sons and daughters of the same Father. The
Church realizes that this harmony is often threatened by rancor, envy, misun-
derstanding and self-assertion. By asking, in prayers and hymns like “Ubi Cari-
tas”, for evil disputes and conflicts to cease, “so that Christ our God may dwell
among us”, it is drawing its inspiration from the example of unity and charity left
it by the first Christian community in Jerusalem.

Harmony and mutual understanding among the disciples both reflect the internal
and external unity of the Church itself and helps its practical implementation.

There is only one Church of Jesus Christ because it has only “one Lord, one bap-
tism” (Ephesians 4:5), and only one visible head — the Pope — who represents
Christ on earth. The model and ultimate source of this unity is the Trinity of divine
persons, that is, “the unity of one God, the Father and the son in the Holy Spirit”
(Vatican II, “Unitatis Redintegratio”, 2). This characteristic work of the Church is
visibly expressed: in confession of one and the same faith, in one system of go-
vernment, in the celebration of the same form of divine worship, and in fraternal
concord among all God’s family (cf. “ibid.”).

The Church derives its life from the Holy Spirit; a main factor in nourishing this
life and thereby reinforcing the Church’s unity is the Blessed Eucharist: it acts
in a mysterious but real way, incessantly, to build up the Mystical Body of the
Lord.

God desires all Christians separated from the Church (they have Baptism, and
the Gospel truths in varying degrees) to find their way back to the flock of Christ
— which they can do by spiritual renewal, and prayer, dialogue and study.

34-35. St. Luke comes back again to the subject of renunciation of possessions,
repeating what he says in 2:44 and going on to give two different kinds of exam-
ple — that of Barnabas (4:36f) and that of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1f).

The disciples’ detachment from material things does not only mean that they
have a caring attitude to those in need. It also shows their simplicity of heart,
their desire to pass unnoticed and the full confidence they place in the Twelve.
“They gave up their possessions and in doing so demonstrated their respect for
the Apostles. For they did not presume to give it into their hands, that is, they
did not present it ostentatiously, but left it at their feet and made the Apostles
its owners and dispensers” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on Acts”, 11).

The text suggests that the Christians in Jerusalem had an organized system for
the relief of the poor in the community. Judaism had social welfare institutions
and probably the early Church used one of these as a model. However, the Chris-
tian system of helping each according to his need would have had characteris-
tics of its own, deriving from the charity from which it sprang and as a result of
gradual differentiation from the Jewish way of doing things.

36-37. Barnabas is mentioned because of his generosity and also in view of his
important future role in the spreading of the Gospel. It will be he who introduces
the new convert Saul to the Apostles (9:27). Later, the Apostles will send him
to Antioch when the Christian church begins to develop there (11:22). He will be
Paul’s companion on his first journey (13:2) and will go up to Jerusalem with him
in connection with the controversy about circumcising Gentile converts (15:2).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.