The Jerusalem Community: A Lukan Model for Small Christian Communities in the AMECEA Region
Loading...
Date
1999-02-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
Luke is the only one among the evangelists who draws our attention to what
immediately followed the Gospel story of Jesus, namely the birth and growth of a
community constituted in the Spirit of the risen Christ. This is the Jerusalem
community presented at the beginning of his second work, the Acts of the Apostles.
He describes the members of this community as having been of "one heart and soul"
(Acts 4:32) and summarizes their everyday life as characterized by unwavering
faithfulness to "the teaching of the apostles and the communion, the breaking of the
bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).
This Lukan description of the first Christian community has played a very
significant role, especially in the second half of this century, as the Church renews
itself in the light of the second Vatican Council ecclesiology. It has been the inspiring
model for the decisive option by the Bishops who constitute the Association of the
Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA)I to establish Small
Christian Communities (SCC) in the region as a pastoral priority in response to the
challenges of time.
The need to rediscover this original Christian identity mark comes with
greater urgency today when so many Catholics are leaving the Church to join small,
often very fundamentalistic and sectarian groups. What is given as the main reason
for this is the appeal of a close-knit community which provides a greater sense of
belonging. In view of this pastoral challenge, this paper re-affirms the fundamental significance of the SCC as a necessary return to the original model of Christian living
suggested by Luke in his description of the first Christian community at Jerusalem.
The first chapter of this essay takes us back to the roots of this community,
viewed as A Community in Formation. Jesus takes the initiative to gather disciples
around himself and, as he journeys toward Jerusalem, forms them into a community
of authentic witnesses. In the second and central chapter, Luke takes us into the inner
life of The Spirit-filled Community through his summary presentation of its everyday
activity as consisting in continuous perseverance in "the teaching of the apostles and
the communion, the breaking of the bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). These
elements will constitute the four parts of this chapter, developed in the light of the
Lukan summaries, particularly Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-35. The final chapter views the
option for SCC by the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern
Africa (AMECEA) as A Return to the Lukan Model of an ideal Christian community
characterized by a unique spiritual-material solidarity.
It is hoped that this presentation will bring about a greater appreciation of the
SCC as a truly African and authentic Christian way of responding to the renewed
post-Vatican II and African Synod vision of Church toward the third millennium.
Description
Keywords
Jerusalem, Lukan, Christian Communities, AMECEA, Disciples, Communion