Peter Justifies His Conduct

"News came to the apostles and the brothers and sisters in Judea that even foreigners had received the Word of GOD.  So, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, these Jewish believers began to argue with him, 'You went to the home of uncircumcised people and ate with them!'

So, Peter began to give them the facts as they had happened, 'I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when, in a trance, I saw a vision.  Something like a large sheet came down from the sky and drew near to me, landing on the ground by its four corners.  As I stared at it, I saw four-legged creatures of the earth, wild beasts and reptiles, and birds of the sky.  Then I heard a voice saying to me: 'Get up, Peter, kill and eat!'  I replied, 'Certainly not, LORD!  No common or unclean creature has ever entered my mouth.'  A second time the voice from the heavens spoke, 'What GOD has made clean, you must not call unclean.'  This happened three times, and then it was all drawn up into the sky.  At that moment three men, who had been sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were staying.  The Spirit instructed me to go with them without hesitation; so these six brothers came along with me, and we entered into the man's house.  He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and telling him: Send someone to Joppa and fetch Simon, also known as Peter.  He will bring you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.'

I had begun to address them when suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as IT had come upon us at the beginning.  Then I remembered what the LORD had said: 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  If then, GOD had given them the same gift that HE had given us when we believed in the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who was I to resist GOD?'

When they heard this, they set their minds at rest and praised GOD saying, 'Then GOD has granted life-giving repentance to the pagan nations as well'." - Acts 11:1-18  

(That Peter went to baptize a non-Jew seems to us the most normal thing.  Let us not forget that the Christians of Jerusalem remained Jews, with their education, their prejudices and their sensibility.  They did not see how a person could be part of JESUS' family without first belonging to the people of GOD who, for them, identified itself with the Jewish nation.  Could someone become their brother without first being circumcised?  The warning they gave Peter is the first witness of the constant pressure that Christians have always brought to bear on their priests and bishops throughout history.  Every time that someone would like to open our Church to people of another culture, a powerful group will only be willing to accept those who consent to lose their own identity and be Christians in the way we ourselves are.  These believers in Jerusalem are not acting in bad faith and they accept Peter's explanations.  Like him, what courage the leaders of the Church will need to respond to the calls of the Holy Spirit when faced with the prejudices of a group!)

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The Good Shepherd

"I AM the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives HIS life for the sheep.  Not so the hired hand, or any other person who is not the shepherd, and to whom the sheep do not belong.  They abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf coming; then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep.  This is because the hired hand works for pay and cares nothing for the sheep.

I AM the good shepherd.  I know MY own and MY own know ME, as the FATHER knows ME and I know the FATHER.  Because of this, I give MY life for MY sheep.

I have other sheep which are not of this fold.   These I have to lead as well, and they shall listen to MY voice.  Then there will be one flock, since there is one shepherd.

The FATHER loves ME, because I lay down MY life in order to take it up again.  No one takes it from ME, but I lay it down freely.  It is MINE to lay down and to take up again: this mission I received from MY FATHER." - John 10:11-18  

(Scripture foretold the day in which GOD would come to gather together the dispersed sheep of HIS people, so that they would live in their land.  JESUS is the Shepherd and HE has come to accomplish what was announced, but HE will not do it in the expected way.  The Jews thought that the Shepherd would revive their former prosperity: they would again be a privileged nation among other nations.

JESUS says clearly that HIS people are not to be thought of as identical to the Jewish nation.  Those who believe, and only they, are HIS.  HE will take from among the Jews those who are HIS; likewise, HE will take sheep which are not of this fold as well, that is, from among the nations other than the Jewish nation.  Therefore, HE will lead them all and will guide this flock--which is not a nation with land boundaries--to where HE knows.  The only flock [not the only "fold", as people say], that is, the only Church, moves freely through history, not confined to any one nation or era of civilization.)

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It Is The Spirit That Gives Life, Not The Flesh

"After hearing this, many of JESUS' followers said, 'This language is very hard!  Who can accept it?'

JESUS was aware that HIS disciples were murmuring about this, and so HE said to them, 'Does this offend you?  Then how will you react when you see the Son of Man ascending to where HE was before?  It is the spirit that gives life, not the flesh.  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.  But among you there are some who do not believe.'

From the beginning, JESUS knew who would betray HIM.  So, HE added, 'As I have told you, no one can come to ME unless it is granted by the FATHER.'

After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed HIM.  JESUS asked the Twelve, 'Will you also go away?'  Peter answered HIM, 'LORD, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We now believe and know that you are the Holy One of GOD.'" - John 6:60-69 

(This language is very hard.   How could JESUS' listeners believe that HE, the "Son of Joseph," had come from GOD?  And today how can we believe that we need the Eucharist?  JESUS tells us why HE came:  The Son of GOD came down to us, so that later HE would ascend to where HE was before.  HE came from GOD to communicate to us the very life of GOD and then to bring us to the bosom of GOD [John 14.12].

It is the spirit that gives life, not the flesh.  JESUS spoke of giving us HIS flesh, but this should not be understood as a continuation of the Jewish religion, in which the meat of sacrificed animals was eaten.  In Hebrew culture, flesh and blood denote "the world below," where humankind moves and where one has no access to communication with GOD.  The Eucharist is different.  This is the body, or flesh, of the risen CHRIST transformed by the Spirit, which acts in us spiritually and brings us into communion with GOD.

LORD, to whom shall we go?  Many of JESUS' followers left but, in the name of those who remained, Peter pledged his fidelity [see also Matthew 16:13].)

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How Can This MAN Give Us Flesh To Eat?

"The Jews were arguing among themselves, 'How can this man give us HIS flesh to eat?'  So JESUS replied, 'Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink HIS blood, you have no life in you.   The one who eats MY flesh and drinks MY blood lives eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

MY flesh is really food, and MY blood is truly drink.  Those who eat MY flesh and drink MY blood, live in ME, and I in them.  Just as the FATHER, who is life, sent ME, and I have life from the FATHER, so whoever eats ME will have life from ME.  This is the bread from heaven; not like that of your ancestors, who ate and later died.  Those who eat this bread will live forever.'

JESUS spoke in this way in Capernaum when HE taught them in the synagogue." - John 6:52-59  

(JESUS becomes our bread when we eat HIS body in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

How can this man give us flesh to eat?  Thus spoke the Israelites who distrusted GOD in the desert [Numbers 11:4 and 18].  John plays on the same words and gives them a different meaning here: why would a messenger from heaven give flesh to the world, when what we need is something spiritual?  JESUS answers in verse 63: this flesh to eat may sound like food for bodily sustenance, but it is really a sharing in the life of the risen CHRIST transformed by the Spirit.  For that reason, it gives life [verse 63].

Through material means the believer participates in a heavenly reality and enters into communion with the risen CHRIST.  The Church defines sacrament as something material that symbolizes and brings about a spiritual reality.  When we faithfully participate in a sacrament, we encounter the living CHRIST in person renewing our lives.  In the Supper of the LORD, that is, in the Eucharist, we really receive the body and blood of CHRIST, in what appears to be only bread and wine.  The risen CHRIST becomes for us the food of eternal life.

JESUS acts as living bread in us.  When we eat ordinary bread our body digests and assimilates it, but when we eat living bread [the body of CHRIST], this bread actively changes us.  CHRIST transforms us; gives HIS life to us and unites us with HIMSELF: Whoever eats ME will have life in ME.

Flesh and blood.  In Hebrew culture flesh and blood denotes the human being in his mortal condition.  JESUS wants us to make our own HIS entire human being in its humble and mortal condition and communicates to us HIS divinity.)

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Philip Baptizes The Ethiopian

"An angel of the LORD said to Philip, 'Go south, toward the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road.  So, he set out and, it happened that, an Ethiopian was passing along the way.  He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians.  He had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home.  He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, 'Go and catch up with that carriage.'  So, Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, 'Do you really understand what you are reading?'  The Ethiopian replied, 'How can I, unless someone explains it to me?'  He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.  This was the passage of Scripture he was reading:

He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he did not open his mouth.  He was humbled and deprived of his rights.  Who can speak of his descendants?  For he was uprooted from the earth.

The official asked Philip, 'Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?'

Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of JESUS, using this text of Scripture as his starting point.  As they traveled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water.  The Ethiopian official said, 'Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptized?'

Then he ordered the carriage to stop.  Both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptized him.  When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the LORD took Philip away.  The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

Philip found himself at Azotus; and he went about, announcing the Good News in all the towns, until he reached Caesarea." - Acts 8:26-40  

(Note how the Holy Spirit leads Philip towards a man who was neither a Jew nor a Samaritan, the first person of another race to receive the Gospel.

The Ethiopian who is baptized is simply a man who 'fears the LORD.'  This is the way they referred to people of other races who were attracted to the religion of the Jews and to faith in the one GOD.  Without following all the Jewish customs, they read the Scripture and liked to take part in the Jewish ceremonies.

The conversation with Philip begins on the basis of a text from Isaiah 53:7. This poem, called Servant of the LORD, speaks of a just man unjustly condemned who, through HIS sufferings, atones for the sins of all humankind.  In this text the apostles saw one of the passages which best prefigured CHRIST.  Isaiah's poem concludes with a veiled reference to the resurrection of the "Servant of the LORD."  It is marvelous to see how Philip can give a testimony of the Resurrection with such conviction that the Ethiopian believes in him.)

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All Those Whom The FATHER Gives ME Will Come To ME

"JESUS said to them, 'I AM the bread of life; whoever comes to ME shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in ME shall never be thirsty.  Nevertheless, as I said, you refuse to believe, even when you have seen.  Yet all those whom the FATHER gives ME will come to ME, and whoever comes to ME, I shall not turn away.  For I have come from heaven, not to do MY own will, but the will of the One who sent ME. 

And the will of HIM who sent ME is that I lose nothing of what HE has given ME, but instead that I raise it up on the last day.  This the will of the FATHER, that whoever sees the Son and believes in HIM shall live eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.'" - John 6:35-40  

(All those whom the FATHER gives ME will come to ME.  Not all those who take pride in belonging to the true religion come to CHRIST, but only those whom the FATHER knows.  Though the church embraces many people of all descriptions, only those to whom the FATHER has given this grace will find their way to the controversial and humble CHRIST.  While acknowledging the value of the sacraments and good works, we should not forget what JESUS taught: none of our own efforts can substitute for the grace of being chosen by the FATHER who calls us to know HIS Son in truth.)

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Confident Prayer In Distress

"Give heed to my plea and make haste to rescue me. Be a rock of refuge for me, a fortress for my safety.

For YOU are my rock and my stronghold, lead me for YOUR name's sake.

Into YOUR hands I commend my spirit; YOU have redeemed me, O YAHWEH, faithful GOD.

You hate those who worship worthless idols; but I put all my trust in YAHWEH.

I will rejoice and be glad in YOUR love, for YOU have seen my affliction; YOU know the agony of my soul.

Make YOUR face shine upon YOUR servant; serve me in YOUR love

In the shelter of YOUR presence, YOU hide them from human wiles; YOU keep them in YOUR dwelling, safe from the intrigues of wagging tongues."

- Psalm 31:3-4. 6. 7. 8. 17. 21

(This psalm has so many nuances and so many different perspectives that, whoever prays with it, can remain wherever he feels more comfortable.  At the end of the psalm, love prevails.

The psalmist appears to be in a state of desperation.  At times, we too can identify ourselves with such a situation.  However, he does not give up hope when he asks the LORD to. "Save me in YOUR love" in the very last words.  There also are prophetic words in this psalm as JESUS HIMSELF in Luke 23:46 utters the words, "Into YOUR hands I commend MY spirit."  JESUS once again shows us the way, even at the last hour.  Our hope and trust in the LORD can be restored by repeatedly praying with this psalm.)

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The Story Of Stephen

"Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.  Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia.  They argued with Stephen, but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.  As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, 'We heard him speak against Moses and against GOD.'

So, they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law; they took him by surprise, seized him and brought him before the Council.  Then they produced false witnesses, who said, 'This man never stops speaking against our Holy Place and the law.  We even heard him say that JESUS, the Nazorean, will destroy our Holy Place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.'  And all who sat in the Council fixed their eyes on him; and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel." - Acts 6:8-15 

(Philip will be mentioned in Acts 8:5 and 21:8.  Stephen is the only one remembered here. 

Being a Hellenist, Stephen did not share the blind faith of the Jewish people in their temple and its rituals.  He understood that the Church had to become free from the patterns of the past and move away from the Jews, if they refused to believe.

Stephen's long discourse before the Sanhedrin [the Great Council] is an outstanding summary of the Old Testament.  It emphasizes the increasing initiatives of GOD who calls, gives, promises, corrects and saves.  Confronting this untiring love is the permanent rebellion of Israel who despises GOD and rejects those HE sends.  The prophet Hosea, eight centuries before CHRIST, already expressed the drama of the rejected love of GOD by HIS people [Hosea 11:1-4].  Stephen proclaims it again: the drama reached its culmination when JESUS, the Son-of-GOD-made-man, was nailed to the cross [Acts 2:23; 3:15; 4:10].

Stephen dies as CHRIST did.  He becomes the first martyr [martyr means witness].  He is a witness to CHRIST because he proclaims HIM, but even more so because he does as CHRIST did, he forgives his murderers.

Like Peter after the Pentecost, Stephen still hopes for a conversion of the Jewish people: a minority at least will be converted.  This hope will fade in time with the persecutions raised against the Church.  The murder of Stephen would be the first sign leading the converted Jews to understand that apostolic work must be undertaken beyond the frontiers of the Jewish fortress.)

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Fulfill the Commandment Of Love

"My little children, I write to you, that you may not sin.  But if anyone sins, we have an intercessor with the FATHER, JESUS CHRIST, the Just One.  HE is the sacrificial victim, for our sins, and the sins of the whole world.

 How can we know that we know HIM?  If we fulfill HIS commands.

If you say, 'I know HIM,' but do not fulfill HIS commands, you are a liar, and the truth is not in you.  But if you keep HIS word, GOD's love is made complete in you.  This is how we know that we are in HIM:  he who claims to live in HIM must live as HE lived." - 1 John 2:1-6 

 

(The second criterion for love of GOD:  to obey the commandments that are summarized in love.  Do we perhaps pretend to know GOD and to believe?  If so, it must be measured by the love we have for others.

An old commandment, because it is the first one we learned in the Church; a new commandment, because the world must constantly, and in new ways, discover the power of love.)

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The Choosing Of Assistants

"In those days, as the number of disciples grew, the so-called Hellenists complained against the so-called Hebrews, because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.  So the Twelve summoned the whole body of disciples together, and said, 'It is not right, that we should neglect the word of GOD to serve at tables.  So, friends, choose from among yourselves seven respected men, full of Spirit and wisdom, that we may appoint them to this task.  As for us, we shall give ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.'

The whole community agreed; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit; Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenus and Nicolaus of Antioch, who was a proselyte.  They presented these men to the apostles, who, first prayed over them, and then, laid hands upon them.

The word of GOD continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; and even many priests accepted the faith. - Acts 6:1-7  

(JESUS did not spell out for HIS apostles how they were supposed to organize the Church.  And a conflict arose between two social groups.  The Jews, called Hebrews, had never left their land and they spoke Aramaic.  The Hellenists were those who had lived abroad and who usually spoke Greek.  They may have followed the Essene movement and refused to participate in temple rituals.  They felt uncomfortable with the liturgy and community life and their frustrations were growing.  In fact, the apostles identified more readily with the Hebrews, and it became necessary to give some autonomy to the Hellenists with their own people being in charge.  This was probably the birth of a Greek-speaking church, with a Greek liturgy.

The community chose seven men.  Since their authority had to come from CHRIST, it had to be passed on by the apostles.

The candidates must be filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, because they are not only entrusted with material services.  And even if it were only for material services the Church would have much to suffer from competent administrators who lacked the Spirit of the Gospel.  Were these seven men the first deacons?  Luke mentions nothing beyond service, and "deacon" denotes servant, usually steward.  In fact, this term, "deacons," will from the start give the meaning of every ministry in the Church: ministry means "service" [1 Corinthians 12:15].  Ministers are at the service of the community assembled by the Spirit to witness to the salvation given by JESUS.   All through the centuries, the ministers of the Church would be tempted to misuse the role entrusted to them for the good of the community.  Many will take advantage of their "service" to put themselves over the community: they will let others serve and honor them and will not hesitate to be called princes of the Church.  What is true for those called to a high rank in the hierarchy is equally true for all those priests or lay people entrusted with lesser responsibilities: all must remember the words of JESUS [Luke 22:24-27].)

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