6th Sunday
of Easter
Last Sunday we saw that Paul
and Barnabas had achieved some success in their mission to the Gentiles. We
were told that they "had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles."
However, we see in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles that an
important obstacle has arisen. Jewish converts to Christianity were insisting
that Gentile converts undergo the rite of circumcision in order to be saved. In
other words, the Gentiles would have to become Jewish before becoming
Christian.
Our reading today tells us
that this news caused such dissension and debate that Paul and Barnabas were
chosen to go to Jerusalem and get the opinion of the Apostles. Today's reading
jumps over the meeting in Jerusalem, which some have called the first Council
of the Church. It just gives us the end result. If we read chapter 15 of the
Acts of the Apostles, we will see that there was quite a discussion on the
matter of circumcision. Apparently it took the intervention of the two most
respected Apostles, Peter and James, to decide the issue.
It seems clear that even
after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter did not fully understand
that Jesus had come to save all, whether Jew or Gentile. Only afterwards did
Peter's encounter with the Roman centurion, Cornelius, lead him to see the
light.
Now
I really understand that God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation
he
who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Peter's conversion to this
point of view makes him side with Paul in the great debate at the council.
James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, comes up with a workable compromise by
suggesting that the Gentiles only observe some basic principles that Gentile
converts to Judaism had always observed. Of course they could not eat food
tainted with idol worship. Of course, they could not eat meat tainted with
blood since blood, the source of life, belonged only to God. Of course, they could not practice
incest or marry a close relative. But on the subject of circumcision, the
message was clear. This is what the council meant when it said to the
"brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia,"
It
is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not
to place any burden on you beyond these necessities...
It is hard to overestimate
the importance of this decision. Not only does it open the way for the
Gentiles, it also brings Christianity to a new level, the level which our Lord
intended all along. Circumcision was the mark of a Jew. However, not every Jew
who was circumcised turned out to be in our Lord's words, "a true son of
Abraham." If you did not obey the will of God or if your life made a
mockery of his commandments, were you really a Jew? Remember the parable where
a father asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard. The first son said yes,
but failed to show up. The second refused but eventually thought better of it
and went to the vineyard. Our Lord asked, "which one did the will of the
father?"
Today's gospel shows that the
same principle holds true for Christians. In His discourse to the Apostles at
the Last Supper Jesus said,
Whoever
loves me will keep my word,
and
my Father will love him,
and
we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Just being born a Christian
does not make one a true son of the Father. Even Baptism only opens the door of
faith. Even today there are some who echo the words of those Jewish converts in
Antioch when they argue that "outside the Church, there is no salvation."
The saying is true but the real question is, "Who is in the Church?"
For example, what about the billions of Chinese who had never heard the name of
Jesus but who honored their father and mother and who were steadfastly devoted
to their children. Using Peter's definition are they inside or outside the
Church?
We know that like the Angel,
Clarence, in Frank Capra's film, "It's a Wonderful Life," we all have
to earn our wings. Charles Borromeo was the son of a wealthy and powerful Roman
family who became a Cardinal of the Church at the age of 24 because of his
influential relatives. He was one of the great intellects of his day and played
a leading role in reforming the Church during the Protestant Reformation. But
it was only when as Bishop of Milan, he personally risked his life by
ministering to the sick and dying during a great plague that he became St.
Charles Borromeo.
Sometimes I think that people
have the wrong idea of ecumenicism. Some think that if people would only give
up or water down some of their beliefs, they could reach a common ground.
Unfortunately, we've seen believers in every faith try this approach only to
wind up believing in nothing. The more a Jew is a true son of Abraham, the more
a Moslem is a true follower of Allah, and the more a Christian keeps the word
of the Lord, the more chance they will have to meet together in that beautiful
heavenly city that St. John describes in today's second reading.
If we all practiced our
faith, we might even see benefits here and now.
Peace
I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
###
Reading 1. Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Reading II. Revelation 21: 10-14, 22-23
Gospel. John 14:23-29 (going to the Father).
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