3rd Sunday of Easter
ACTS 5:27-41
The high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a while. And he said to them,
“Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
This text is the culmination of the first serious persecution of the first community, in the person of its “leaders.” The sequence of events is as follows:
• After Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, a movement of conversions begins.
• Peter and John in the temple heal a lame man and Peter takes the opportunity to preach Jesus again. New conversions occur.
• The priests appear, arrest them, put them on trial, and release them, warning them not to preach in the name of Jesus.
• The apostles continue to preach and heal in the name of Jesus. (Gospel of last Sunday).
• They are arrested again, but miraculously released during the night. And they go to preach in the temple.
• Then they are arrested again. The narrative goes like this:
“Someone came and announced, ‘The men you put in prison are standing in the temple teaching the people.’
Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And they brought them and set them before the council. The high priest questioned them….”
And it is the text we read today in the Eucharist. This account of persecutions soon leads to the violence of the persecution that ends with the stoning of Stephen and the consequent dispersion of the Church of Jerusalem, from which follows the evangelization of other regions.
The texts have a strong historical character. Undoubtedly they reflect the situation of the first community of Jerusalem. However, they are strongly ideologized. The situation is presented in a very “missionary” way. The fervent community, the general acceptance of the people, the obstinacy of the leaders, the miraculous help received by the apostles, the content of the sermons and declarations which are professions of faith of the first community. It is therefore a history interpreted as “history in the spirit.”
It is striking the correct behavior of the “Council,” so different from the arbitrariness recorded by the evangelists in the process of Jesus.
On all these aspects we believe that two should be highlighted:
The Profession of Faith
“We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
This profession of faith is identical to the one formulated by Peter in his Pentecost speech, which we considered last Sunday, and it undoubtedly reflects the faith of the first community. The formula “the God of our fathers raised up Jesus… to grant repentance to Israel…” is striking. We are facing a very Jewish faith, very close to the mindset of the Judeo-Christian churches.
The Persecution
The first community suffers the same fate as the Master. Well-regarded by the people, bearer of health and the Word, rejected by the leaders of the people, it suffers for this reason and does so with joy, as a confirmation of its mission as Witnesses of the Risen One and the presence of His very Spirit.
REVELATION 5, 11-14
Then I heard the murmur of many angels. There were millions and millions of angels surrounding the throne, the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders. And they said in a loud voice:
“The Lamb who was slain,
is worthy to receive power and wealth,
wisdom and strength,
honor and praise.”
And I also heard all the creatures of the universe saying:
“Let all praise
the one who sits on the throne,
and also the Lamb!
Call Him wonderful,
and forever admire His power.”
The four living creatures said, “Amen!”, and the twenty-four elders knelt down and worshiped the one who sits on the throne, and the Lamb.
The similarity with last Sunday’s text is notable, and its content is the same, with some variation in the symbols. The Christology of the previous text has already moved to the Christology of the Johannine writings. Jesus exalted as Christ and Lord of the Universe. We have already reached a “cosmic” Christology, so characteristic of Revelation.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.