We tend to divide the Scriptures into bite-sized chunks, especially for sermons and Sunday school. So typically we read about the wonderful community of sharing and caring at the end of chapter 4 by itself and the scandal of Ananias and Sapphira at the beginning of chapter 5 by itself. Of course, the book of Acts wasn't originally broken up into chapters and verses. Its first readers clearly saw that these stories were part of one continuous narrative.

Read together, we might think these two stories display the church at its best and at its worst. But that was not Luke's intention. If the story of sharing shows the dimension of love and caring in the community, the harsh judgment on Ananias and Sapphira shows the dimension of holiness. It was the community of holy love, a community where God's Spirit was almost palpably present.

The early church was a community of love. The believers, Luke tells us, "were one in heart and mind" (Acts 4:32). They openly accepted each other and shared a common devotion to worship, teaching, and fellowship (vv. 42-47). Most amazingly, they willingly shared their wealth and property. The emphasis has to fall on willingly. This sharing wasn't a rule; it was a Spirit-led impulse that had enormous effects on the community.

It's easy to say that Christians are united in community, but this often ignores the enormous financial and social barriers that divide us. These early Christians were so committed to the community that they wanted to break down every barrier to unity. Barnabas shines as an example of a person of wealth and status who laid it down for the welfare of the whole community.

Of course, this act stood out, and Barnabas was honored for his commitment to sharing. Ananias and Sapphira apparently envied that recognition; they wanted a piece of the honor without making the same sacrifice. So they lied, fudging the numbers to make themselves look good. Notice how Peter confronts them: "you have lied to the Holy Spirit" (5:3). The Spirit had formed this community of caring, but Ananias and Sapphira brought in an alien spirit, a spirit of hypocrisy and selfishness.

So the church is a community of holy love---love inspired by the Spirit, and holiness guarded and protected by the Spirit.

Q&A 35 points to that essential truth about the church. It is not merely some voluntary society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to doing good. It is the community created by the Holy Spirit. "The Son of God, through his Spirit and Word, gathers a community." This community is "chosen for eternal life and united in true faith." So, far, it's all the Spirit's activity. But then it goes on, "As a living member . . . I must use the gifts God has given to me to serve him in the church and the world."

So the Spirit gathers this community, but you and I have the responsibility to live and act as its living members by our commitment to love and sharing.