Saturday, May 23, 2009

Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter


Readings for Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:
[3]

Reading 1:
Acts 18:23-28

After staying in Antioch some time,
Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence
through the Galatian country and Phrygia,
bringing strength to all the disciples.

A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,
an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus.
He was an authority on the Scriptures.
He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and,
with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus,
although he knew only the baptism of John.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue;
but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him aside
and explained to him the Way of God more accurately.
And when he wanted to cross to Achaia,
the brothers encouraged him
and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.
After his arrival he gave great assistance
to those who had come to believe through grace.
He vigorously refuted the Jews in public,
establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.
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Commentary on
Acts 18:23-28

The story in Acts introduces Apollos. He is clearly an educated Jewish convert (to the “Way”) from Alexandria. Hearing the story unfold, we learn much about him. Note he only had the “baptism of John (the Baptist)”. This means that he must have been in Galilee earlier.

We know that Apollos later becomes a revered leader in the Christian Community. We hear St. Paul speak of him in his First Letter to the Corinthians (
1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:5-6, 22.)

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Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 47:2-3, 8-9, 10

R. (8a) God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The princes of the peoples are gathered together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
For God's are the guardians of the earth;
he is supreme.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on
Ps 47:2-3, 8-9, 10

Psalm 47 is a hymn of praise. It calls all nations to acknowledge the Kingship of God. The singer proclaims his belief that the God of Abraham is the creator, the one true God who reigns over the earth. The song becomes an apologetic against idols of foreign gods.

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Gospel:
John 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

"I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."
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Commentary on
Jn 16:23b-28

This selection is taken from Jesus’ farewell speech. In this passage Jesus makes a strong connection between his own identity and the Father’s (“…whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you”).

From a dogmatic perspective, this section of St. John’s Gospel sets the precedent as to how we are instructed to pray (e.g. to God through the Son, Jesus). He makes it clear that they are to use his name in prayer to the Father and assures them that what they ask for in his name will be given.

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Reflection:

In the classic movie
The Robe (1953, Twentieth Century Fox) the garment supposedly worn by Christ just prior to his crucifixion was given to the evil emperor of Rome, Caligula. He had a slave killed and then tried to use the power of the robe, which he thought to contain some magic, to have the salve rise from the dead. It did not work of course and the plot thickened (which is completely irrelevant). The point is that the evil emperor attempted to use Christianity to accomplish his own ends and purposes. He, in essence, tried to use not a faith in Jesus but superstition to bring himself power.

We use this example is given because the promise of Jesus that “…whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you”. The intent of this offer was not to offer material wealth to the disciples nor was it to give them power over others. It is not given as some “magic trick” as Caligula supposed in the movie example. What is intended with this offer is that one who has the mind of Christ and truly believes in him (as the disciples do) will also know what Jesus would ask of the Father. These requests will be granted because they will bring glory to the Father, not necessarily to the one who asks.

Because so much of our prayer life consists of petitions; that is, asking God to help us in our lives or help others, it is important that we understand what and how God responds to these requests, made in the name of Jesus. How often have we heard the “Caligula response” – “This does not work, it is a fraud” when prayers are not immediately answered? How often have we seen the lack of instant and expected response blamed for an individual’s decision to reject God.

Does the fact that we pray in the name of Jesus, “a name above every name” (
Philippians 2:9) that we have some claim on God; that we can tell him what to do and how to do it simply because we use His Son’s name? Stated this way it sounds a bit silly. But is that not what we are doing when we become upset because God does not seem to us to be listening?

As a people of faith we are called to have the mind of Jesus (not just his name) and in seeking this understanding, all things become possible through the Father; but in the Father’s time and in his eternal way. If we are praying in the spirit, from the heart and for God’s own purpose, that is to give him glory, we will be answered. Even Jesus, as he prayed in the garden, his sweat falling as blood to the ground (
Luke 22:44) ended that prayer with “…still, not my will but yours be done."

As we hear the Lord bid his disciples a final farewell as he goes to face the trial, we come to a deeper understanding about what it means to pray and have prayers answered in the name of Jesus.

Pax

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “The Agony in the Garden” by El Greco, 1600-05
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

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