St. Luke paints an idealized portrait of the first Christian community in the Acts of the Apostles. The community of believers was of one heart and mind. He was not there, of course, so this nostalgic memory probably was not entirely accurate. Just a few chapters later, for example, Luke describes tensions that existed among those first Christians between Greek speakers and Hebrew speakers. I, for one, find an honest look at the past — warts and all — to be more helpful in living the Christian life today. The first generation had as many difficulties as we do in trying to live up to our Christian ideals. That they were able to find a way forward gives us hope that we can do so as well.
