What a wonderful world it would be if the description of the Christian community in the first reading were realised!

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles portrays a world where there is no division between the social and spiritual life of the Christian community. It reveals a spirituality of "united, heart and soul". It is a spirituality of loving each other in Christ and having the courage to share with the less fortunate those blessings gained in life. Thus the community lived without any feelings of superiority or arrogance. Hence, "no one claimed for his own use anything he had . . . None of their members was ever in want."

We can implement such a way of life in our everyday living. For this we need, as the Gospel says, to be "born from above." What this means is that we must follow where the Spirit leads.

But we live by our own terms and conditions without being fully open to the Spirit and so lack the real freedom to live a life of genuine sharing or being 'born from above'. It is no surprise then that we give only of our surplus! This is not the way of the Acts where everyone receives because everyone gives. It is a pity that we are not yet living our Christian commitment as found in the Acts.