Friday and Saturday, May 27-28: two meditations

Scripture: lectionary # 289. Acts 15:22-31. Psalm 57:8-9.10-12. John
15:12-17:

"Love one another as I have loved you." Jesus words are carefull listened
to and carried out by his dear friends, his apostles. We see this after
his resurrection in the concern the apostles have for both the Jews and the
Greeks (Gentiles) who had concern for the Hellenistic Jewish widows who had
not as much help at first. This lead to the calling forth of the diakonoi,
the deacons, who were seven in number and whose names we heard last week in
our readings. This week's readings shows us the same concern for the
Gentiles who were new to the call of Jesus. Did they have to follow all the
rules and prescriptions of the Mosaic Law? Or was it the concern of the
leaders to show them the kindness of God by exempting them from certain
ritualistic observances that were not the essence of the message of Jesus.
Certainly, the ten words or ten commandments had to be observed by all who
entered the new forms of community. We already learned of the identity of
this group as the Christianoi or the Christians who were first named at
Antioch. Antioch and Jerusalem were now at the center of the focus of the
followers of Jesus. Paul and Barnabas were the apostles who opened doors
of hope to the Gentiles at Antioch, while Peter, James, and John were the
leaders of the Jerusalem communities.

Fortunately, through following the inspirations of the Spirit the church
was growing rapidly, and now with the Gentiles become so numerous what was
it that they had to observe? The consensus of the apostles and disciples d
decided upon three simple rules for the newcomers: they were to abstain
from meat offered to idols, they were to avoid drinking the blood of
strangled animal meat, and they were to abstain from illicit sexual unions.

Some call this the first great council of the Church. Vatican II would be
the twentieth of such councils thus stretching near housand years. The
first council took place in Jerusalem, the most recent in Rome. A letter
was written by those who met in Jerusalem and then sent to the faithful in
Antioch. Silas and Judas Barsabbas brought the "encyclical" to Antioch
where it was read and joyfully accepted. Another milestone in the emergin
Church was reached; Barnabas and Paul would be the apostles ministering to
the Gentiles, while Peter and James led the faithful in Jerusalem.

It was the unity, peace, and love that Jesus had bestowed on them and which
they enjoyed in this new beginning.
Our prayer this day is the following taken from the words of Jesus: "Your
fruit must endure, so that all you ask the Father in my name he will give
you. The command I give you is this, that you love one another." (John
15:17). Amen. Alleluiah.

May 28:
Scripture: Lectionary 290. Acts 16:1-10. Psalm 100:1-2.3.5. John 15:18-21.

Yesterday, we heard Jesus speak of our love for one another. Today, he
tells us we will be hated, rejected,and persecuted as he was. Jesus
teaches us that our lives go on both in good times and in times of sorrow
and struggle when others turn their back on us and even hate us. Not
everyone in his time listened to him nor will they listen to his followers
in our time, but Jesus' words have prepared us for whatever comes our way.
Jesus keeps telling us to love one another despite what we experience and
feel around us. Indifference will also make us feel the pain in our trust
and belief in Jesus. The Psalm reminds us of who God is and who Jesus is
for us: "The Lord is good: his kindness endures forever and his
faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:5).

We sometimes even experience the failure of our leaders. Peter is
confronted by Paul for not obeying what he had learned from the Lord. Paul
says in Galatians: "When Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch I directly
withstood him, because he clearly was in the wrong. He had been taking his
meals with the Gentiles before others came who were from James. But when
they arrived he drew back to avoid trouble with those who were circumcised.
The rest of the Jews joined in his dissembling, till even Barnabas was
swept away in their presence. As soon as I observed they were not being
straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I had this to say in the
presence of all: "If you who are a Jew are living according to Gentile ways
rather than Jewish, by what logic do you force the Gentiles to adopt Jewish
ways?" (Galatians 2:11-14).

Paul however fails for he gives in to the same tendency as Peter when he
circumcises Timothy whose mother was Jewish and whose father was Gentile.
This shows that he had confronted Peter, but then failed to live up to what
he expected of him. He is behaving in a similar way perhaps out of human
respect. We hear from some preachers and writers that these were only
"venial sins". We, however, are to avoid such duplicity and weaknes for
God has also commanded us to be as wholesome and perfect as God is or as
Luke would have us to be as merciful to one another as God is merciful to
us. (see Matthew 5:48 and Luke 6:36).

Again we need to come back to the commandment of love and also to allow the
Holy Spirit to guide us in making the right decisions that bring about
growth in unity and peace among the members of the Body of Christ, the
Church. Amen. Alleluiah!