Were the early disciples communist?: Daily Mass Homily--Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

(Listen to this homily here).

            This morning I want to speak a little bit about forms of government.  This is a topic I rarely preach about, and I’ll admit I am not the biggest political expert in the world, but here goes.

            Why government this morning?  I remember several years back asking a priest about this reading from Acts: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.”  My question—isn’t this communism?  Doesn’t the Church reject communist forms of government?

            We need to remember that the Church never endorses one type of government over the other.  What she does do is guard against abuses in a variety of systems—this includes both unbridled capitalism (which we have in the USA) and communism.

            Back to my original question from years ago—there is a vast difference between the community of believers in the early Church and the communism of today.  The biggest difference: the disciples were clearly living for Christ, while communistic governments today promote atheism (from Karl Marx himself).

            Another dissimilarity—the disciples shared their possessions freely to help their brothers and sisters in need.  Such freedom is not at work in communism today—the state dictates such equality.

            Finally, we (as the disciples did in the first century) understand the dignity of every individual.  This is why we are called to share from what is ours (and yes, the Church maintains we can and should have a right to private property).  In fact, some of the saints argue that love compels us to such giving—“Give until it hurts, then give a little more,” says Mother Theresa.  St. Thomas Aquinas said that a poor and hungry family has a right to take bread from a wealthy person, and this isn’t even stealing—the excess belongs to the poor.  In communistic societies the individuals dignity is reduced to being a cog in the wheel of the state.  Their rights are suppressed for the sake of the state.

            So, no, the early disciples were not communist as we understand that term today.

            What we should take from this reading from Acts is the need to share what we have with those in need.  In the end, everything belongs to God, and no matter what sort of governmental structure in which we live, we are called to be generous to those in need.