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Commentary on Acts 15:7-21

Today we have the second and final part of the ‘Council of Jerusalem’. The issue at hand (see Acts 15:1-6) has been discussed in depth and we now are given the conclusions of the assembly. We will see the implementation of these conclusions in tomorrow’s reading.

The Council of Jerusalem can be said to be divided into three parts:

1. the speech of Peter, head of the Apostles;
2. the statement of James, the leader of the Jerusalem church;
3. an ‘encyclical’ letter (the first of many!) sent to the churches, which we will see tomorrow.

First, Peter speaks up. This is significant. One would have expected Paul to do so. But Paul has had his say and presented his case. Peter now speaks, primarily as leader of the apostolic college but, also because of his personal experience in this sensitive issue.

It is now for him to make the final decision. He has special credentials for doing so as leader of the Apostles, the inner core of the Church’s leadership. But he was also the one to whom God had explicitly revealed that the Christian community should be opened to the Gentiles, and that many of the ritual obligations of the Jews, such as those involving unclean foods, were no longer relevant. This happened when he had the vision about all the different kinds of animals (see Acts 10:9-16). And it was Peter who had played a leading role in the baptism into the community of Cornelius, the first gentile Christian.

Peter now tells the assembly how God had chosen him to be the instrument for bringing Christ’s message to the Gentiles and how they had received the gift of the Spirit, just as the first Christians did. The receiving of the Holy Spirit was always taken as the irrefutable proof of being accepted by God. That was seen clearly in the case of Cornelius and his household. Peter says:

God, who knows the human heart, testified to them [the Gentiles] by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.

Then, says Peter, isn’t it only provoking God’s anger to place:

…on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

The ‘yoke’ here is the Mosaic law. Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians:

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)

Paul has to say this because many Jewish converts were going back to full observance of the Mosaic law.

All that is needed is to “be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus”. Again from Galatians:

…we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through the faith of Jesus Christ…no one will be justified by the works of the law. (Gal 2:15-16)

This ‘faith’ is not just an intellectual acceptance, but a total commitment of the self to the Way of Christ.

The Jewish way is not, says Peter, a specially privileged one, and circumcision, by itself, means nothing. Of course, for many Jews, circumcision represented their total dedication to God.

The assembly then fell silent after this presentation. Was that because they were overwhelmed by what Peter had said, or was it that there had been some loud disagreement from legalists while he spoke? In any case, Barnabas and Paul, on their part, confirmed all that Peter had said by describing their wonderful experience of evangelising the Gentiles and seeing God working so evidently among them (note that here Barnabas’ name comes before Paul’s, perhaps because he had more status in the Jerusalem community).

We now come to the second part of the Council’s discussions. James, the leader of the Jerusalem community and a relative of Jesus himself, speaks. He clearly represents the Jewish members of the Christian community and so, like Peter, but in a different way, his words carry special weight. He will contradict the demands of some of his fellow-Jews in the community.

He endorses the words of Peter, confirming them with a passage from the prophet Amos:

I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David…so that all other peoples may seek the Lord… (Amos 9:11-12)

The text is quoted according to the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament), and the argument partly depends on variants peculiar to that version. It probably comes from Greek-speaking believers, although here it is ascribed to the leader of the Hebrew Christians.

In view of this statement that God wishes all to belong to him, James goes on to say that no unnecessary burdens should be put on Gentiles who wish to convert.

He does make a few exceptions, however, and says that a letter should be sent out to this effect. Although they are not bound by the Mosaic law in general—and especially circumcision—he lists four things gentile Christians should avoid. These are:

1. Pollution from idols
2. Unlawful marriage
3. Meat of strangled animals
4. Blood

The first point forbids the eating of food which had been offered to idols because it might imply some ambivalence about fidelity to one’s Christian beliefs. However, Paul, in writing to the Romans, says this does not bother him personally, as he does not believe in those idols anyway. However, he would not eat such food if he was in the presence of a more scrupulous person who might misunderstand his action.

The second prohibition is given is because many Gentiles—like many people today—took sexual activity rather lightly. Temple worship, too, sometimes involved intimacy with temple prostitutes, male and female. Apart from the immorality involved, this could be a source of scandal.

The third and fourth conditions are presented because Jews only eat the meat of animals from which the blood has been drained and, as we see in the Gospel, contact with blood was seen as a form of religious contamination. This seems to contradict what has been said earlier, but it should really be seen as a plea at this stage in the church’s life to respect the sensitivities of the more traditional Jewish converts. It is a matter of compromise in non-essentials. For us, this would be like agreeing to eat fish on Fridays when with Catholics who cannot bring themselves to change their old ways. Or perhaps like not insisting that people take Communion in the hand.

Again, we can learn from this discussion. On the one hand, we have to be careful not to impose on people practices which are not central to our faith and, at the same time, to be willing to bend in areas which are not essential. This is a principle of mutual tolerance which should be observed by both conservatives and progressives alike in the church, and St Paul has many wise things to say about it (see especially his Letter to the Romans, chap 14).

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Commentary on John 15:1-8

Perhaps there are some of us who have never seen a grapevine (although we may be well versed in our wines!). But what Jesus says about the vine (a plant very common in Palestine) can be said about any fruit-bearing tree that we are familiar with, and the message is clear.

The vine is an image we find elsewhere in the Old Testament. Jesus uses it as a symbol of the Kingdom of God; all who belong to the Kingdom are part of the vine. The fruit of the vine can be understood in the context of the Eucharistic celebration. It also represents a life lived according to the vision of Jesus, a life filled with unconditional love.

Jesus is explaining to us what our relationship with him can be like, and indeed should be like. He compares himself to a tree, basically to the trunk of the tree. The cultivator of the tree, the one who gives it life, is the Father God. Jesus’ disciples are the branches. It is the branches which bear the fruit.

If a branch does not bear fruit, it is simply cut off. It is no good; it is just draining life from the trunk without giving anything in return. It is very easy for us to be that kind of Christian. We come to church in search of ‘handouts’, but give very little back to the community.

But, even the branches which do bear fruit are pruned, have parts cut off, so that they will bear even more. Those who cultivate fruit trees or roses are familiar with this process and know how important it is.

What does this pruning consist of? Jesus explains:

You have already been cleansed [or pruned, the same Greek root for both words] by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you.

We are pruned, then, by our total identification with everything that Jesus stands for and by constantly cutting out of our lives everything that is contrary to the spirit of Jesus.

This involves a certain kind of asceticism, a denying of some of our natural appetites. This becomes easy as we are more and more overtaken by the vision of life that Jesus offers to us. We give up those non-Christlike things gladly and willingly. It becomes our deepest happiness and even pleasure to be always in Christ.

It is clear from what Jesus says that only those branches which are connected to the trunk can bear fruit:

Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

Without fruit we are dead branches but, on the other hand, the fruit is not just of our own making. It is the sign that Christ is working in us and through us.

The most outstanding fruit of all is, of course, the love we reveal in our relationships with God and with people:

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)

Separated from Christ—always the result of our own choice—we are like a branch that has fallen from the tree. We wither:

Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Such separation is not physical. It is a separation of identity. It comes from rejecting or refusing to accept the Way of Jesus as our way of life. It is a rejection of life, and the choice of alternatives which can only lead to decay and death.

Finally, there is the great promise:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it.

This is not to be interpreted as some kind of blank cheque, such as asking to win the first prize in a lottery or to have one’s enemy wiped out, or to be cured of a terminal sickness.

The promise is prefaced by an important and essential condition: we need to be in Christ and to have our lives totally guided by his words, that is, his teaching, his vision of life. And if we are with him, our prayer inevitably will be to be more deeply rooted in him—because he is the Source of all life and all Meaning in life.

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Commentary on John 14:27-31

As Jesus prepares to leave his disciples, he knows that they are fearful and upset and they will be all the more so when they see what people will soon be doing to him. His farewell, then, includes a gift of peace. ‘Peace!’ (Shalom) is the normal Jewish greeting and farewell, and Jesus uses it when he appears to his disciples after the Resurrection. Originally it meant soundness of body, but it came to signify perfect happiness and the liberation which the Messiah was expected to bring. This is the very wholeness which is the aim of Jesus’ mission.

But it is not the peace as the ‘world’ understands it. Peace for Jesus is not simply the absence of violence; it is something much more positive, much deeper. Paradoxically, it can exist side by side with times of great turmoil. It is something internal, not external. It comes from an inner sense of security, of a conviction that God is with us and in us and that we are in the right place. It is something which not even the threat of death can take away.

It is something that the going away of Jesus cannot remove. Jesus tells his disciples:

If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father…

It is always a sign of love when our first priority is the well-being of the other person. He says:

…the Father is greater than I.

This is in the sense that as Father, he has a kind of priority and is the ultimate source of all that is, though the Son does share all that with the Father and the Spirit. The full divine glory of the Son in Jesus is also veiled behind his humanity for the time being, but after the Cross he will pass into the full glory of the Father.

It is obvious that Jesus’ place is with his Father. His disciples, if they love him, will know that and not get in his way. Of course, as Jesus points out, it is also in the disciples’ own interest that Jesus go away, for only then will the Spirit come down on all of them.

The end is near:

…for the ruler of this world is coming.

But they are not to worry. The powers of evil are limited in what they can do, and all that happens to Jesus is simply a manifestation of his great love for his Father and his desire to follow his Father’s wishes. Because, by undergoing what faces him, Jesus will be communicating to the world the tremendous love of the Father for each one of us.

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Commentary on Acts 14:19-28

We come today to the final description of Paul’s and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. In the previous passage, they were in Lystra, and in the embarrassing situation of being taken for gods because of the cure of a paralysed man. But their glory was to be short-lived; their enemies were on their tail.

Those Jews whose hostility they had incurred in the towns of Antioch and Iconium turned up and successfully stirred up the feelings of the people of Lystra against the two Apostles. But it’s important to remember that there were also other Jews in these towns who had become Christian believers.

Reflecting the fickleness of crowds, the people who had just been treating the Apostles as gods now had Paul stoned and left him for dead. It seems this was done within the city rather than at the usual place of execution outside the walls. This could indicate that it was a spontaneous outburst of mob violence rather than a formal execution. But Paul was what we would call a ‘tough cookie’ and, as soon as his disciples gathered around him, he was suddenly back on his feet again (perhaps a hint of a miraculously quick recovery in Luke’s description?). It is also possible that his future companion, Timothy, was present. Timothy, as mentioned earlier, seems to have been a native of Lystra. Paul’s experience might have had the same effect on him as Stephen’s had on Saul (Paul).

With the courage that so often marks his actions, Paul went back into the town the next day with Barnabas on his way to Derbe, their last stop on this journey. Derbe was a border town in the southeastern part of the Lycaonian region of Galatia. An inscription naming the city has been discovered about 50 km (30 miles) east of what was previously thought to be the city site. Here the two missionaries again proclaimed the Gospel and “made many disciples”.

Paul must have been quite an impressive preacher, judging by his success in all the towns in which he spoke. One wonders if his being a Pharisee did not have an influence on his Jewish listeners, although it is clear that it also had a negative impact. If a devout Pharisee could be converted to the Way of Jesus, then maybe there was something in it. At the same time, others would see him as a total renegade to his Jewish faith.

Then they began their return journey going through each of the towns they had originally evangelised—Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch—and in which they had met such violent resistance. But one must remember that they had also made many Christian converts among both Jews and Gentiles. These would be the seeds of new churches in each place.

We are told that Paul:

…strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

He preached and warned them of the trials and difficulties that they could expect to face—just as he did. This was a necessary condition to enter the Kingdom.

In each church, a pastoral structure was set up for the first time with the appointing of ‘presbyters’ (Greek, presbyteroi) or elders. With prayers and fasting, they were commended to the Lord. The elders (or presbyters) were community leaders chosen from among the communities by a laying on of hands. In this case, too, the elders were chosen by the Apostles and not by the community. While our modern word ‘priest’ is derived from this word, they were not priests as we know the term now in the Catholic Church.

As the New Testament emphasises, we really have only one Priest, Jesus Christ who acts as Mediator and Bridge-builder (Greek, Pontifex) between us and God (see Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews).

From Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps through Pisidia, Perga in Pamphylia and down to the coastal town of Attalia, the main port of Pamphylia. From there they went by ship back to Antioch in Syria, the city from which they had originally set out.

On their return to Antioch, the two Apostles gave a complete report of their mission experiences, and told of how God “opened a door of faith for the gentiles” and how well they had accepted the message of the Gospel. In fact, Paul and Barnabas had left behind not just individual believers, but functioning communities with their own leadership. After their return, they stayed on in Antioch and “stayed there with the disciples for some time”, probably a year at least. Paul now seems to be fully accepted into the community which had been so suspicious of him earlier.

In our work for the Church, we also need to report to the community what we are doing. We need to submit ourselves to their evaluation and their encouragement. The work of the Church is never that of just one person be it pope, bishop, priest, religious or lay person. Still less is the church a ‘service station’ where I just go to fulfil my private needs.

Meanwhile, the way is being prepared for the next great event in the history of the infant Church—the Council of Jerusalem, the Church’s very first Council. It will also be a major turning point in the direction the new community is taking.

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Commentary on Acts 14:5-18

Paul and Barnabas continue their first missionary journey of spreading the Gospel. We last saw them in the Galatian town of Iconium. At first, they had great success with their preaching, and we are told (in verses prior to today’s reading) “that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.” But then, as happened in Antioch, some Jews who refused to accept their message managed to also stir up some Gentiles against the two Apostles. Even so, the disciples and “remained for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord.” Their message was confirmed by signs and wonders being performed by God through their healing hands.

The result was that the people were divided in their opinion—those who, a priori, rejected what they had to say, and those who were convinced by the actions which seemed to confirm the missionaries’ message. And that is the situation as we begin our reading today.

Again, as in Antioch, a conspiracy of Jews and Gentiles came together to attack the two Apostles and to stone them to death. Stoning was the Jewish mode of execution for blasphemy. Earlier we saw the fate of Stephen for words that were taken as utterly blasphemous by the Jewish leaders.

When Paul and Barnabas got wind of this they fled from Iconium. They then went to the cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding country in Lycaonia and continued proclaiming the Gospel in these places.

Lycaonia was a district east of Pisidia and north of the Taurus Mountains in southeastern Turkey. It was part of the Roman province of Galatia. Lystra was a Roman colony, and apparently the home town of Timothy, whom we will meet on the Second Missionary Journey. Derbe was about 100 km (60 miles) from Lystra. The events of today’s reading take place in Lystra; we will see Paul in Derbe tomorrow.

On arriving in Lystra, Paul saw a man there, who was “lame from birth”, listening to his preaching. Seeing that he was a man of faith, Paul ordered him to stand up, which the man immediately did. He was totally healed of his inability to walk.

The onlookers were utterly astounded and immediately saw the Apostles as gods in human form: Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes (whom the Romans knew as ‘Mercury’), the spokesman of the gods.

The New International Version of the Bible comments:

“Zeus was the patron god of the city, and his temple was there. People who came to bring sacrifices to Zeus apparently decided to make an offering to Paul and Barnabas instead. The identification of Zeus with Barnabas may indicate that his appearance was more imposing and Paul was identified as the god Hermes (the Roman Mercury) because he was the spokesman.”

This incident may have been occasioned by an ancient legend that told of a supposed visit to the same general area by Zeus and Hermes. They were, however, not recognised by anyone except an old couple. So the people of Lystra were determined not to allow such an oversight to happen again.

Even the priest of the local temple of Zeus, located just outside the city gates, was preparing to offer sacrifices in their honour. Horrified, the Apostles tore their garments, a sign of their displeasure and a Jewish way of expressing great anguish. They insisted they were ordinary human beings.

Paul then addresses the crowd and tells them that the mission of Barnabas and himself was precisely to lead the people away from such idolatrous superstitions to a belief in the:

…living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

In preaching against a belief in many gods (held by most Greek-speaking people), it was Paul’s custom to contrast the true God with the false, the living God with impotent idols, and to call for a change of heart.

Paul wants to tell them about the one living God, who is the source of everything in heaven and earth. While allowing Gentiles to go their own way, God gives them abundant witness of his presence—he gives:

…rains from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.

Paul tells them of the true Source of all these good things. But the people were not easily convinced and could barely be prevented from carrying out their plans to offer sacrifice to the two Apostles.

Here we see two more elements in our work for Christ:

• Persecution in one place meant that the message was brought elsewhere. We see this happening frequently in the Acts of the Apostles.
• While persecution often is the lot of the worker for Christ and his Gospel, an even more dangerous trap may be people’s adulation.

We see this in the life of Jesus himself, who sometimes fled from such situations (see John 6:15). Here we see Paul and Barnabas firmly rejecting an apparently favourable situation which they could have been tempted to exploit. As we will see tomorrow, it was just as well they did not.

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Commentary on Acts 12:24 – 13:5

There are three great missionary journeys of Paul described in Acts of the Apostles and today we see the beginning of the first. (Incidentally, he is still being called ‘Saul’ at this stage. The switch to ‘Paul’ is noted a few verses after the end of today’s reading—see Acts 13:9.)

Saul and Barnabas had just returned to Antioch from Jerusalem where they had brought relief supplies to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were suffering from famine. Such mutual support of brothers in need is an essential element of Christian community living. This is surely what the Gospel means when Jesus tells his Apostles that, after leaving all things for him, they will find a hundredfold mothers, brothers, sisters, houses…in a true Christian community, no one will be in want.

With them they brought John Mark. Was he the young man who fled naked on the night of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52)? The writing of the second Gospel is attributed to him and he accompanied Barnabas and Saul on part of their first missionary journey.

We are also told today of a number of people in the church at Antioch described as ‘prophets’ and ‘teachers’. These two terms have very specific meanings in the New Testament and refer to particular ‘charisms’ (Greek, charis—meaning specific spiritual gifts) with which certain people were endowed. It does not identify in the group which was which, although there could be an overlap. However, these two roles are usually regarded as distinct charisms.  The role of the prophet was to have a deeper insight into where God was calling the community to serve. The prophet was a visionary and a pioneer and led the way into new ways of proclaiming the Gospel.

The charism of the ‘teacher’ (Greek, didaskalos—from which the word ‘didactic’ is derived), on the other hand, was his ability to instruct others on matters of morality and doctrine—instruction usually based on the Scriptures.

The role of the teacher was to communicate the common tradition in the community. The teacher conserves and hands on. Paul, in a way, had both charisms, but was very much the prophet in the sense described. He was the great innovator, in contrast to Peter, who was the keeper of the tradition.

The five prophets and teachers here named—Barnabas, Symeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (a friend of Herod the Tetrarch) and Saul—now represent the governing body of the church of Antioch. They all seem to be Hellenistic, Greek-speaking Jews, and it is possible that the names are listed in order of importance with Barnabas at the head and Saul taking the last place. It seems he was still on probation.

It suddenly becomes clear to the community in their common prayer and fasting that God is calling Barnabas and Saul for a special evangelising work. Paul’s first missionary journey does not arise from his own initiative, but is a response to the call of the Spirit made known as the community prays and fasts. Then, as a sign of missioning, all lay their hands on the two missionaries. They are to go and preach in the name of the community which has sent them.

About the upcoming journeys of Paul and his companions, it is recommended that during the coming days one consult a map, often found in good Bibles or on many biblical websites, to follow the course of the three missionary journeys and see just where the places mentioned are to be found.

They set off by going down to Seleucia and from there to Cyprus (Barnabas came from Cyprus). Seleucia was the seaport of Antioch, 27 km (16 miles) to the west and 8 km (5 miles) upstream from the mouth of the Orontes River. There were many Jews on the island and the Gospel had already been preached there.

They landed at Salamis, a town on the east coast of the central plain of Cyprus, near present-day Famagusta. (This town is not to be confused with the more famous place in Greece where the Greeks had a notable victory over the Persians.)

The first objectives of the two missionaries are the Jewish synagogues. This will become the pattern of all the mission journeys. The idea was always to approach the Jews first on the principle that they had the first claim to hear the Gospel. It would be only after their refusal to accept the message that Paul would turn to the local Gentiles.

From today’s readings we could ask ourselves:

• To what extent do I give spiritual and material help to those in need in my community?
• Am I a teacher or a prophet in my community? Or do I have some other charism by which I contribute to the well-being of my community?
• In what ways do I spread the word of the Gospel in my immediate environment? Am I known to be a committed and caring Christian?

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Commentary on John 8:12-20

Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus saying:

I am the light of the world.

This is one of the seven “I AM” statements which Jesus makes in the course of John’s Gospel.* When Jesus uses the term “I AM” it is not just a version of the verb “to be”. It echoes the name that God gave when Moses, at the burning bush, asked the voice he was hearing to identify itself. The Hebrew is typically translated as “I AM who I AM.” Later philosophers and theologians will see in this statement God’s identifying himself as pure existence and the source of all that exists. Jesus lays claim to use this term also, and does so seven times in John’s Gospel. As well, it appears in other contexts, as when Jesus identifies himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman (see John chap 4).

In the Prologue to John’s Gospel the author also says:

All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:3-4)

We are to walk in that light, and, insofar as we reflect Jesus in ourselves, we too are to be the light of the world. After delivering the Beatitudes, Jesus said to his disciples:

You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world. (Matt 5:13-14)

But Jesus’ self-testimony is challenged by some Pharisees because they say there are no other witnesses to his words. Jesus counters by saying that he knows what he is talking about while his hearers know nothing of his real origins. As far as they are concerned he is a carpenter’s son from Nazareth. They are looking at him from a merely human point of view and, contrary to what they see, Jesus is not alone. There is a witness to back him up, namely, his own Father.

Speaking from their human perspective, they ask where his Father is. Jesus tells them that they neither know him (that is, his real identity) nor do they know the Father. If they really knew Jesus, they would know the Father as well because, for those who know, Jesus is the mirror of his Father. At the Last Supper, Jesus will tell Philip:

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9)

It is therefore very important for us to know Jesus intimately, for through him we go to God, and in him we begin to understand something about the nature of God. We do that principally in two ways: by steeping ourselves in the Scriptures, and by prayer.

If we have not been very good at doing either of these things, Lent is an excellent time to start. It may already be the fifth week, but where getting closer to God is concerned, it is never too late.
_________________________________

*The seven “I AM” statements in John’s Gospel are:

I AM the Bread of Life (6:35,48)
I AM the Light of the World (8:12)
I AM the Gate (10:7)
I AM the Good Shepherd (10:11)
I AM the Resurrection and the Life (11:25)
I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6)
I AM the true Vine (15:1)

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Commentary on 1 Peter 1:10-16

Peter continues to speak of the “salvation” which the Christians are confident of experiencing. We now are the possessors of the grace which the prophets of the Old Testament looked for.  They spoke in advance of the very blessings which the Christians are now experiencing, without knowing or experiencing them personally. But even at that time, they were already filled with the Spirit of Christ when they spoke of the sufferings of Christ to be followed by glory. There is a seamless unity between the Old and New Testaments as one flows into the other, as one prepares for the other.

At the same time, the way of Jesus is one which the Christians themselves will follow. Those who are united to Christ will also, after suffering, enter into glory. And so they will benefit in the midst of their present sufferings from Jesus having already entered into glory.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace intended for you made careful search and inquiry…in regard to the things that have now been announced to you…

And what prophets were providing was what has now been communicated to the Christians by the evangelisers of the Gospel, first of all, the Apostles – the proclaimers of the Gospel, the Good News.  The Apostles did so through the “Holy Spirit sent from heaven”, who came down on them at Pentecost, and Jesus himself on the cross “gave up his spirit” (John 19:30, from the Greek, paredoken to pneuma, literally “he handed over the Spirit”).

These are matters of such deep interest and importance,

…things into which angels long to look!

Their intense desire is highlighted by the Greek word rendered “to look into”.  It means “to stoop and look intently” (it is the same word used of Peter and Mary Magdalene peering into the empty tomb at Jesus’ resurrection, see John 20:5,11).

As Peter then says, our expected response is very clear.  We have to move into action, “prepare your minds for action…discipline yourselves” (in the Greek, “gird up the loins of your mind”) and put all our hope and confidence in the gift of salvation that will be ours when Christ appears. 

We have here the first of a long series of exhortations (actually imperatives) which end at 1 Peter 5:11.  In the language of the 1st century the term ‘girding one’s loins’ meant that Peter’s readers were being called on to gather up their long, flowing garments and get ready for action.  Jesus uses a similar image:

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit…be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him [the bridegroom] as soon as he comes and knocks.
(Luke 12:35, 36)

Here they are to:

…set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.

That grace is the final state of complete blessedness and deliverance from sin.  Peter later indicates that a major purpose of this letter is to encourage and testify regarding the true grace of God (5:12).

We Christians have to change our whole lifestyle.  We can no longer:

…be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance.

We are to be like children, re-born into the family of God, children of our heavenly Father, able to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matt 6:9).  Believers are also described, by Paul, as being adopted into God’s family (see Rom 8:15).

Even more, we are called on, in so far as we can, to imitate the holiness of God himself who says:

…therefore…be holy, for I am holy. (Lev 11:44-45)

The word “holy” (hagios) suggests, not a kind of piety, but being set apart from the majority.  We have a vision of life and a consequent behaviour which makes us different.  As Christians, that difference should clearly appear in the way we live.  That is true holiness.  Being ‘holy’ also implies a certain wholeness, a total harmony with ourselves, those around us, our whole environment and God.

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Commentary on Mark 10:17-27

Today we have the story of a rich man, that is, a man who believed he was rich or who believed that in his material wealth was his happiness. He was a well-meaning man and asked Jesus:

Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

“You know the commandments”, says Jesus and then proceeds to list only those commandments which involve our relations with others, omitting those relating directly to God: not killing; not committing adultery; not stealing; not bearing false witness; not defrauding; respecting parents. And the man responds:

Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.

He was indeed a good man insofar as he did respect his parents and he did not do any of the sinful things mentioned.

Jesus looked at the man with a real love.  This is not a love of affection or attraction.  It is the love of agape, a love which desires the best possible thing for the other.  This man was good, but Jesus wanted him to be even better.  So he said to him:

You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.

On hearing this, the man’s face clouded over. He walked slowly away full of sadness because he was very rich.  Jesus had asked him for the one thing he could not give up. He had asked for the one thing which the man believed showed he was specially blessed by God. The man had not expected this.

After he had gone, Jesus looked at his disciples and said:

How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

Now it was his disciples’ turn to be alarmed and shocked. The whole tradition of their society at that time believed that wealth was a clear sign of God’s blessings; poverty was a curse from God.

Jesus removes any misunderstanding on their part:

Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

In other words, quite impossible.  This was really too much for them.  The Apostles:

…were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

If those who have done well in this life cannot be saved, what hope can there be for the losers?  It would take them time to learn the truth of Jesus’ words.  And it is a lesson that many of us Christians still have to learn.

And we might ask, Why is it so difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God?  Is there something wrong with being rich?  The answer depends on what meaning we give to ‘rich’ and to ‘Kingdom of God’.

A person at a lower economic class level in Europe or the United States may be extremely wealthy with the same resources if living in some African or Asian countries.  Similarly a ‘rich’ peasant in a remote village may live a life that is primitive compared to a family on welfare in Europe.

When Jesus uses the word ‘rich’, he means people who have more, a lot more, than those around them, and especially when many of those do not have enough for their basic needs. For a person to cling to their material goods in such a situation, to enjoy a relatively luxurious standard of living while those around are deficient in food and housing, is in contradiction to everything that Jesus and the Kingdom stand for.

And we need to emphasise that the ‘Kingdom of God’ here is not referring to a future life in ‘heaven’.  Jesus is not saying that a rich person cannot go to heaven.  He is concerned with how the rich person is living now.  The Kingdom is a situation, a set of relationships where truth and integrity, love and compassion and justice and the sharing of goods prevail, where people take care of each other.

The man in the story said that he kept the commandments.  One should notice that, except for one, all are expressed negatively. The man could observe several of them by doing nothing!  Jesus was asking him to do something very positive, namely, to share his prosperity with his brothers and sisters in need—and that he was not prepared to do.  As such, he was not ready for the Kingdom.  He could not be a follower of Jesus.  Nor can anyone else who is in a similar situation.

We might also add that the teaching applies not only to individuals, but to communities and even nations.  There are countries in the world today enjoying very high levels of prosperity with all kinds of consumer luxuries available while a very large proportion of the rest of the world lives mired in poverty, hunger and disease.  It is one of the major scandals of our day.  This is not a Kingdom situation and much of it is caused not by an uncaring God, or natural causes, but by human beings who just refuse to share their surplus wealth.  As has been said, the really rich are those whose needs are the least.

A final reflection.  We may feel that, in our society, we personally could by no stretch of the imagination be called rich and so the story does not apply to us. But we can cling to other things besides money. I might profitably ask myself today if there is anything at all in my life which I would find very difficult to give up if God asked it of me. It might be a relationship, it might be a job or position, or it might be good health.

To be a disciple of Jesus means that he is asking me to follow him unconditionally, without any strings, ready to let go of anything and everything (although he may not actually ask me to do so).  It is the readiness that counts.  The man in the story did not even seem to have that. Should a Catholic be a millionaire?  What do you think?  What do you think Jesus’ answer would be?

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Commentary on 1 Peter 1:3-9

Today we begin readings from the First Letter of Peter. According to the St Joseph’s Weekday Missal:

“This letter was most likely written…about 64 AD and sets forth the nature of the Christian life begun in baptism as an experience of regeneration. By their acceptance of Christianity, the Christian communities of Asia Minor had become separated from their pagan countrymen, who were abusing and persecuting them. The apostle instructs his readers that Christianity is the true religion in spite of their trials and sufferings and exhorts them to lead good Christian lives.”

The first three verses of the chapter are not included in the reading, but in them the writer tells us to whom the letter is being addressed.  They include five Roman provinces in Asia Minor and cover most of what is modern Turkey – Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.

The letter begins in the usual way with a kind of prayer which is full of hope.  In fact, an aura of hope suffuses this whole letter.  In spite of the frequent suffering and persecution mentioned in the letter, hope is such a key thought in it (the word ‘hope’ itself is used here and in 1:13,21 and 3:5,15) that it may be called a letter of hope in the midst of suffering.  Christian hope is not just wishful thinking; it is an utter conviction of what is going to be realised.  Here there is a guarantee of “an inheritance that is imperishable” to which all can look forward with faith and confidence.  The basis of that hope is the resurrection of Jesus, who passed through such terrible suffering and death to life.  Our faith tells us that we can go the same way with him.

This hope leads to the enjoyment of an inheritance, an inheritance that is eternal, one that is being kept in store for us by God.   And we are being made safe, first, by the power of God and, second, by our faith, our total trust and commitment to God.  And this guarantees our salvation, which can be seen in three phases: 1) the salvation that comes when we first believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour; 2) the continuing process of salvation as we grow in holiness and wholeness; and 3) our ultimately being united face to face with our God and Lord in glory.

In spite of the many trials and tribulations that the Christians are passing through, the writer assures them that there is cause for rejoicing. Such trials test their faith like gold being purified in fire and will make them even more ready to welcome Christ when he comes:

…so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

As precious metals are purified by fire, so our faith is strengthened by the trials we experience in our living it out.  Experience has shown again and again that persecution has been a strong reinforcer of faith in Christians.  Jesus foretold that his followers would constantly face resistance, contempt and persecution. These challenges to our faith are not something to be deliberately sought or provoked, but at the same time, our fortitude in facing them is one of the signs of our commitment to the Kingdom and the Way of the Gospel.  The true believer makes contact with Jesus in every person and every experience they encounter.

Peter, who himself had a personal knowledge of Jesus, is presented here as praising the readers of the letter, who:

Although you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him…

It reminds one of the words of Jesus to Thomas after the resurrection:

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. (John 20:29)

Through our faith, we are in direct contact with Jesus.  The true believer makes contact with Jesus in every person and every experience.

So, they have reason to “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” because they are achieving the goal of faith – and indeed the goal of life – their salvation.  ‘Salvation’ means much more than ‘going to heaven’ after we die.  It implies a restoration of our fragile and weak lives to complete wholeness, and in being totally reunited in joy and peace with him from whom we came – God our Creator.  And it begins in this life on earth.

Joy and consolation should be the over-riding experience of the committed follower of Jesus.  This joy and consolation is not taken away by our experience of hardships, testings and disappointments in our lives…quite the contrary. If that joy is not the deeper part of our Christian experience, then we need to look further for the cause.