Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

“The Trinity”
by Lorenzo Lotto, 1523

Readings for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter[1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Acts 11:19-26

Those who had been scattered by the persecution

that arose because of Stephen

went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,

preaching the word to no one but Jews.

There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,

who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,

proclaiming the Lord Jesus.

The hand of the Lord was with them

and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,

and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.

When he arrived and saw the grace of God,

he rejoiced and encouraged them all

to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,

for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.

And a large number of people was added to the Lord.

Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.

For a whole year they met with the Church

and taught a large number of people,

and it was in Antioch that the disciples

were first called Christians.

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Commentary on Acts 11:19-26

The story in Acts refers back to Acts 8:1-4, the flight of the Christian faithful from Jerusalem following the death of St. Stephen.  It is significant in the life of the Church for a few reasons.  First, because, as a consequence of bringing a large number of gentiles to believe in Christ by the Gentile converts and because they had no historical connection to Judaism, the non-Jewish converts identified themselves for the first time as Christians – separate from the Judaism. We note the action of the Holy Spirit is credited with this successful evangelization (as did St. John Chrysostom in his Homily on Acts 25 where he said “Notice, that it is grace which does everything.  And also reflect on the fact that this work is begun by unknown workers and only when it begins to prosper do the apostles send Barnabas.”[4]). This new vitality attracted not only Barnabas but Saul as well. 

The second reason this event is so important is that it tells us Christianity has traveled to Antioch, the third city in the Roman empire with a population of over a half million (behind Rome and Alexandria).  The spread of the Gospel is tremendously accelerated from this point.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (117:1a) All you nations, praise the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

His foundation upon the holy mountains

the LORD loves:

The gates of Zion,

more than any dwelling of Jacob.

Glorious things are said of you,

O city of God!

R. All you nations, praise the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

I tell of Egypt and Babylon

among those who know the LORD;

Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:

"This man was born there."

And of Zion they shall say:

"One and all were born in her;

And he who has established her

is the Most High LORD."

R. All you nations, praise the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:

"This man was born there."

And all shall sing, in their festive dance:

"My home is within you."

R. All you nations, praise the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

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Commentary on Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7

The psalm proclaims the centrality of Jerusalem (Zion) as the source of holiness.  The psalmist sings of how Jerusalem is the mother of faith and that, by implication, all are joined to her in faith.  Seen in the light of Christ, this unity can also be applied to the Church which brings all peoples to itself.

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Gospel: John 10:22-30

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.

It was winter.

And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.

So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,

"How long are you going to keep us in suspense?

If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe.

The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.

But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father's hand.

The Father and I are one."

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Commentary on Jn 10:22-30

We come at last to the conclusion of Jesus’ debates with the Jewish leadership.  He is in the temple precincts now.  He came there at a time when many of those from all over the region would be there, the Feast of Hanukkah.  They press him to state plainly whether or not he is the Messiah.  His final response, again using the “Good Shepherd” analogy, is a chain of logic that leads to his final statement: “The Father and I are one.”

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Reflection:

What evangelization was possible for the Apostles and those first Christians we hear about in the Acts of Apostles?  They were, for the most part, Jews who had seen the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets.  There were also some non-Jewish Greeks and members of other nationalities who had no affiliation with the Temple.  These would have had an even greater difficulty evangelizing others when they left Jerusalem.  They had no Bible to use, other than the difficult to come by, scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures.  These would have been kept in local Synagogues, not available for study or easy reference.  There was no formal Church to provide doctrine or even consistent teaching about the message Jesus brought. 

We must ask ourselves; what was the Gospel (as St. Paul put it) that they took out of Jerusalem to Antioch and the rest of the known world?  What would make us believe?  Without a Bible to point at or a Catechism to refer to what would we say?

To the Jews, it was relatively easier.  We would begin by telling them that the Messiah they were waiting for had come.  In the face of their disbelieving stares we would try to walk them through the prophecies from Isaiah and remind them of the promise of God to King David (the had after all heard stories aplenty about others from Palestine who had claimed this title – it was like the flavor of the week in that highly religious part of the world).  With some we might make progress. 

They would need to be convinced that the Messiah that was coming was not a “Royal Messiah” predicted in the non-canonical Book of Enoch.  Rather, the Messiah came from humble beginnings like the young shepherd David.  That comparison might strike a chord with some of the Jews as well.  But the tough part was still to come.  Many of those early Jews did not subscribe to the concept that there was a life after death.  So when we get to the part about Jesus being killed by the Romans (oh, and this was set up by the Sanhedrin) and then three days later rose from the tomb, many of them would laugh and turn away.

Some would stay to hear more or to challenge those who brought the Gospel to them.  And a lively philosophical debate might draw in some of the skeptics who might otherwise have dismissed the whole notion of the Messiah out of hand.  If those early evangelists were good at this type of philosophical/theological debate, they might win some converts.  It would have been even more difficult to do what St. Paul was later called to do, take that story to the Gentiles.  (We do note with interest that it seems like he always started with the Jews wherever he went.)

Apart from this interesting reflection on the early work of evangelizing the world, we must ask ourselves what story we bring to a disbelieving world.  How should we approach those who are skeptical or worse opposed to the message of Christ?  One of the principle methods not mentioned in the picture painted of those early efforts above is the attitude of Christ that must have been present in those faith filled adventurers in Christ.  To recall St. Paul’s words to the Philippians; “Your attitude must be that of Christ…”.  It is the whole package – words and demeanor that proclaim the Risen Lord.

Today, even as we reflect upon the difficulty of taking the Gospel to a world that had never heard it, we consider our own roles as well.  We ask for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we might be effective heralds of the Lord with all we meet this day.

Pax

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[1] ALTRE

[2] The picture used is “The Trinity” by Lorenzo Lotto, 1523

[3][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 re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

[4] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 790-791