The Jerusalem Community: A Lukan Model for Small Christian Communities in the AMECEA Region

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dc.contributor.authorChisanga, Patrick
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-12T11:47:44Z
dc.date.available2019-02-12T11:47:44Z
dc.date.issued1999-02-12
dc.description.abstractLuke 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.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12342/580
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherTangaza University Collegeen_US
dc.subjectJerusalemen_US
dc.subjectLukanen_US
dc.subjectChristian Communitiesen_US
dc.subjectAMECEAen_US
dc.subjectDisciplesen_US
dc.subjectCommunionen_US
dc.titleThe Jerusalem Community: A Lukan Model for Small Christian Communities in the AMECEA Regionen_US
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