Communism without tears

Nowadays, communism can only be practised with military backup. All communist countries in this world have full control over their armies, navies and air forces. It is a basic Maoist tenet: "Guns beget Governments." Drawing on lessons from history, Mao concluded that whoever had secured the support of the soldiers won the political struggle. There has been an exception. The People's Power of the Philippines has successfully overthrown the dictatorship of Marcos. Mao did not live to see this piece of history. If he had, he would probably have modified his view and returned to an ancient aphorism in Tang Dynasty: "Water floats boats. It can also capsize boats."
Now, is it possible to enjoy communism without tears? Once upon a time, it was possible. This is recorded in Acts.
Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.
And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:32-33).
Here, we have communism not only on the material level, but also spiritual. First of all, they were believers in Jesus. Moreover, they were of one heart and soul. On this basis, Christian practised communism. It all began on the spiritual level first. Communism was only an outward manifestation of an internal communion. Modern communism turns it on its head. Modern communists ignore the spirit and impose a political communism on the people who are not of one heart and soul.
It should be noted that Christian communism had its own backup. The apostles worked miracles. Modern communism does likewise. They launch missiles, send astronauts to orbit the earth and detonate hydrogen bombs. I do not condemn modern communism. After all, it is truly a heroic human effort to build a Kingdom of Heaven on earth ... minus God.
Now, Joseph Barnabas appeared on stage.
Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas (which means, Son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet (Acts 4:36-37).
I am a little bit puzzled by the identity of Barnabas. When Joshua divided up the Promised Land for the 12 tribes of Israel, the Levites did not inherit any land. Why then had, Barnabas, a Levite, a field to sell? Where did it come from? Was there a change in rule to adapt to changes in the society so that even Levites were allowed to buy and sell land? I hope someone will enlighten me on this.
Luke did not just report good things about the infant Church and hide the bad news away. He continued with the sad story of a couple, Ananias and his wife Sapphira. They wanted to join the Church and sold a piece of property. Yet, they kept back a part of the money. Peter gave them ample chances to retract but they failed to do so. In the end, they died abruptly (Acts 5:1-11).
It is a tragic story indeed. It shows that the believers were no long of one heart and soul. Cracks appeared and more cracks were upcoming. I feel that the story is tragic because these cracks seem so inevitable. Is human nature so hard to transcend, even with the help of the Holy Spirit? I am not pessimistic. I am sure that God will continue to work despite the stubbornness of human selfishness. One day, His mercy will melt away our stupidity, my stupidity.

My Lord, when will I make a U-turn? Is the panel chair my cross to bear? 14 years ago, I had already stepped down from the post in La Salle. Is it Your will for me to take it up again in Shung Tak? No. I am sure with Your blessing, anybody can take it up and do it well. It is not necessarily me. John and Raymond tried very hard to persuade me. Unknown to himself, John had instead encouraged my pursuit of perpetual deaconship. May Your will be done. Amen.