Sixth Sunday of Easter – C
This “new teaching” created dissention and much controversy between them and Paul and Barnabas. Acts 15
I took a walk in one of Louisville’s city’s parks this past week as I reflected on this week’s Scripture readings. I walked for probably two and a half hours. Since we have been reading about the early church since Easter, my thoughts were influenced by what we have been reading in these passages from the Acts of the Apostles. I noticed one common thread running through these stories: the early disciples were filled with enthusiasm, gratitude and intense faith while they were at the same time being imprisoned, harassed, ridiculed, swamped by natural disasters, inundated by tumultuous changes – even facing death. Their problems make our problems look small and insignificant indeed. Even dissension and controversy shook the church in those early days. How can they be so happy, while dealing with so many problems and changes? Even in the midst of all their suffering, heart-wrenching changes and persecution, the church exploded with new members.
When I look at them and look at the church today, it makes me wonder whether our biggest problem today is nothing more than a serious crisis of faith. We live with more resources, more freedom, more opportunity than the church has ever known and yet we still don’t seem to know what commitment is about.
In the play “A Man for All Seasons,” the playwright, has Thomas More explain to his daughter Margaret why he could not go back on a commitment: “When a man makes a commitment, Meg, he puts himself into his own hands, like water. And if he opens his fingers to let it out, he need not hope to ever find himself again.”
Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word.”
Last week our readings re-introduced to us a word seldom used today: “self-sacrifice.” Today we meet another word also too lacking in our spiritual vocabulary: “commitment.”
The Acts of the Apostles gives us a vision of the early Church. At first, it is a vision of all believers living in harmony, holding all things in common and taking only what they need. As Acts of the Apostles progresses, however, we learn that the early Church was not as idyllic as first presented. Peter and Paul have some disagreements and bitter debates. One conflict that arises in the early Church is seen in our reading today, that of circumcision. Does a new Gentile believer have to become a Jew – therefore mandating circumcision – before being admitted to the company of believers?
We cannot appreciate the depth of the debate, but the Apostles understanding of Jesus’ desire for all people to be saved grows in the debate, and Gentiles are allowed to become members of the community. But it was a difficult thing to teach. Judas and Silas had to be sent along with Paul and Barnabas to prove they were telling the truth about this new teaching of the Apostles. Despite this rancor, the Acts continues to build its vision of a community of believers – the Church – working out its problems in a way that calls people to salvation.
However, there is a “but” in the story. There are still rules; moreover, there are commitments to be made. Acts and Revelation offer us tremendous visions of living with God within the Church and finally in the heavenly Jerusalem. They were written in a way that stretched the imagination. The writers wanted their readers to imagine something that is unimaginable, that is: life with God.
The “but” is this: “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” This requires commitment, a commitment to stay with God no matter what this world throws our way. It means that we must live a moral life befitting life with God. We must keep the Laws of God. Obeying God’s Law is an act of love. If we keep God’s Law of Love, God will come and make His dwelling with us. This is God’s commitment!
But, how committed to this vision are we? Do we honestly factor our desire for life with God into our decisions? Does our desire for life with God occur to us before we decide not to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays? Does it occur to us before we start crossing certain boundaries, e.g. flirting with married spouses, minding other peoples business, taking little things from the office, shorting our family or children time they deserve to have with us? Is our commitment such that we would consider some form of martyrdom before we would allow ourselves to violate God’s commands?
At the end of this liffe, shall we find ourselves in the new Jerusalem – or let life with God slip through our fingers like water?
Acts 15:12, 22-29
Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23