Make No Small Plans

Acts 4:32-37; John 3:7b-15

The great American architect Daniel Burnham once urged: “Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistence.” We might think of the idealized portrait of the early Christian community painted in Acts 4 as such a plan. However, all we need to do is to read a little further, into chapters 5 and 6, to see how hard it was to sustain. Heaven on earth didn’t last too long.

In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus noted how hard it was even for an educated religious leader to understand heavenly things. It can be especially difficult in times of stress like the present, when the focus is on earthly needs like health, food, water, shelter, relationships and work. Thankfully, the church has always been blessed with the examples of those who, with the gifts that God gave them, embodied the spirit if not all of the practices envisioned in Acts 4.  

We can start with Joseph or Barnabas, who entrusted his property to the church and went on to become a missionary. We can fast forward 1000 years and behold the example of St. Anselm of Canterbury, a monk, abbot, bishop and Doctor of the Church who famously defined theology as “faith seeking understanding.” We can move another 900 years into the 19th century and behold the example of St. Conrad, a humble Capuchin friar who served as porter of a friary in Germany for over 40 years. He was a man of deep prayer who especially gave of himself to serve the needs of his poor neighbors.  

We live in a time of contraction, loss and fear. Even West Texas crude oil is selling at a negative price. It is precisely in these times that God calls us as people of faith to remember the words of Burnham and the examples of the early Christian community and the saints—and make no small plans.

– Capuchin Friar John Celichowski