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| “Dispute before Sanhedrin” by Fra Angelico, 1447-49 |
Readings for Thursday of the Second Week of Easter [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Acts 5:27-33
When the court officers had brought the Apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
"We gave you strict orders did we not,
to stop teaching in that name.
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
"We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."
When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.
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Commentary on Acts 5:27-33
As in the previous case when they had cured the lame beggar, the Apostles (this time all of them, not just Peter and John) are brought before the Sanhedrin. It is interesting to see that the elders and scribes fear to speak the name of Jesus in these proceedings (“stop teaching in that name”).
Peter now assumes his role as leader of the Apostles, and again boldly professes his faith that Jesus, in whose name they speak and whose name the Sanhedrin fear to speak, is the Son of God. (“We must obey God rather than man.”) The intent of the Sanhedrin at this point changes from telling the Apostles to stop spreading the cult of Jesus, to seeking their death in accordance with Mosaic Law on blasphemy (Deuteronomy 13:6-10). The Apostles seem to be following the path that their Savior had walked.
CCC: Acts 5:28 597; Acts 5:29 450, 2242, 2256; Acts 5:30 597
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20
The psalm and response offer praise and thanksgiving for God’s saving works and his special care for the poor. The Old Testament God of Justice is very visible in this selection. ("The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.") The psalmist calls out to the poor in spirit inviting them to trust in God's mercy and consolation.
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Gospel: John 3:31-36
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.
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Commentary on Jn 3:31-36
This selection draws a parallel with vv. 16-21 of the discourse with Nicodemus. It is almost a reflection by the Gospel writer on the preceding dialogue and monologue. The Lord is, in no uncertain terms, telling the community that the Messiah, who comes from above, is of God and with God in his kingship over all creation. He goes on to explain that all he has said and taught, since it proceeds from God's authority given to him by the Father, is true, and all who believe in this truth shall receive eternal life.
The passage concludes with a formula similar to the “blessings and curses” statements made in God’s covenants with Abraham and Moses. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.”
CCC: Jn 3:34 504, 690, 1286; Jn 3:36 161
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Reflection:
A question was recently posed asking how to respond to a person of another faith who believed that Jesus did not become true God until he was hanging upon the cross. This is of course heretical from the Catholic perspective. But it allows us to point to St. John’s Gospel in Jesus’ monologue following the acknowledgment of St. John the Baptist that "He must become greater; I must become less" (the event that immediately preceded the selection just proclaimed).
The man in question, whose name was given simply as Clyde and apparently is a member of “The Church of God,” demonstrates for us what happens when schism takes place and there is no competent authority to interpret Sacred Scripture or to provide consistent teaching on the nature of God and his Only Begotten Son. The man has either been struggling with issues (issues that were taken up and resolved by the Church in the second through fourth centuries as great thinkers like St. Cyril of Jerusalem fought the great Christological heresy of Arianism), or he was misinformed by his own pastor. Many of the early Church Fathers debated and came to faith in the Triune God, which is a theological understanding rather than purely scriptural. They codified these beliefs in Church councils, the last of which was the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). (For those interested in this topic, there was an excellent piece published in the Blog – Parishable Items)
The point is this, that when the reformation took place in the 15th century and the Protestant sects began to spring up, they adopted the Bible as their guide and threw out the teaching magisterium of the Church and all the wisdom held faithfully by the Church since Peter and the Apostles. Having discarded Church authority, they then decided to throw out the Canon of Sacred Scripture (the contents of the Bible established in the 2nd and 3rd centuries) as well, adopting their own, leaving the books of the “Apocrypha” in the dust.
Revelation ended with Christ, but our understanding of that revelation has continued to grow through the ages of history. It is for this reason that the Church sees many of the Christian denominations as possessing some truth – but only the Catholic Church, whose continuity stretches back to St. Peter and the Apostolic age has the whole truth. This statement is not a boast but an observation made by one who was raised in a Protestant denomination.
To use an analogy, a Protestant denomination like the Church of God (as in Clyde’s case) claiming to be an authority on the nature of God in Christ is like a group of scientists joining together at the beginning of the 20th century and saying that only elements they personally discovered were true elements and that while they accepted matter as being made up of atomic particles, only distinct parts they discovered must be true. Then they would shout "Eureka" when they discovered some fact known to others before they broke contact with the mainstream scientific community and threw out those findings. It could also be likened to a photograph that was copied, and then the copy copied, and so on, losing some resolution each time until the image was almost unrecognizable.
As St. John’s Gospel clearly demonstrates in the Lord’s monologue, Jesus knew his relationship and nature. From his conception in the blessed womb of Mary, Jesus was true man and true God, whose essence is also present in the Eucharist we hope soon to share.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “Dispute before Sanhedrin” by Fra Angelico, 1447-49.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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