Bible Tuesday for Easter VI, 2015

Acts 10:44-48

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

These are the last verses of a very important event in St. Peter’s life. Kosher adherence to Judaism was, and is, a confusing balance of on the one hand evangelism and hospitality to Jews and Gentiles, and on the other hand purity practices. Leviticus makes clear that faithful Jews must avoid that which is unclean, whether food, clothing, buildings, animals, or people. Over and over again in the books of the prophets (ie: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.) insist that pure, humble hearts and lives are what God wants, but pure and humble accoutrements of life are what most Jews give to God.

The gospel of Luke is the story of God coming to humanity in the flesh and establishing a new law, a new kind of purity. “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as your love yourself.” No longer is purity gotten through perfect adherence to the Torah. Purity comes through faith in the one who is pure, Jesus, and faithful discipleship to him. This teaching of Jesus challenged every aspect of the disciples’ lives. What could be eaten or worn, who one could speak with, what and who one could touch, who one could marry, how one does business, what vocations were acceptable, all this was blown wide open through Jesus’ teachings.

Such radicle changes to every aspect of life came more easily to some disciples than others. Philip trotted right off and started evangelizing to Samaritans, while Peter stayed in Jerusalem and hung close to the Temple. But God would not let Peter nurse his prejudices and stymie the faith. One would hope this marvelous vision of table cloth full of things to eat, and subsequent miraculous visit to the home of Cornelius would be enough to convince Peter of God’s warmhearted welcome to all humanity, but it wasn’t. There are several other episodes of Peter’s prejudice against non-Jews and God calling him out, both in Acts and in the epistles attributed to Paul.

“I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Peter, Acts 10:34-35

Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

This psalm is a celebration of military victory of either Israel or Judah against a non-Jewish enemy. The right hand of a king or queen is traditionally the center of that monarch’s might, military power. The psalmist attributes this triumph to God’s right hand and arm. Why does God bring about this win? The psalmist states it is because of God’s covenant with Israel and Judah, as illustrated by God’s “steadfast love and faithfulness”.

The psalmist goes on to adjure all of Israel and all of creation to praise God for God’s faithfulness, and righteousness.

I John 5:1-6

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ[a] has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5 Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

A careful read of this text reveals several issues that the early church faced. A huge issue for those first few generations of Christians was the challenge of how to be faithful Jews as well as believe that Jesus was the Messiah come to fulfill the law and gospel. The second issue was how to be a follower of Jesus and associate with those who were heretofore unacceptable: Gentiles having to be in the same faith community with those crazy, standoffish, fastidious Jews, and Jews must not only associate with traditionally unclean Gentiles, but actually welcome them as brothers and sisters.

In 1 John, the writer attempts to ameliorate difficulties the Jews have been having with this new life. If one is faithful to Yahweh, then that one is also faithful to the son of Yahweh, Jesus. While Jesus gave one commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself,” this author states a much more traditionally Jewish approach by stating that we show love to God by obeying God’s commandments (“commandment” is translated “Torah” or “Law”).

In this last verse of our pericope, the author discusses “water and blood”. In this case, the author is referring to baptism and Christ’s crucifixion which produced Christ’s bleeding. In Catholic tradition, when “water and blood” are referred to, they mean not baptism and crucifixion, but rather what flowed out of Jesus after his death, when the Roman soldier shoved a spear into Jesus side. For this reason, the Roman Catholic Church has the presiding priest pour not only wine into the Eucharistic chalice, but also a splash of water, echoing what flowed from Jesus, post mortem.

John 15:9-17

9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants[a] any longer, because the servant[b] does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Jesus presents this lecture to the disciples on Maundy Thursday just before the last supper. Notice the law that John uses, “ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…” Right relationship with God revolves upon keeping the Torah. Jesus simplifies and augments the Torah in verse 12 when he gives his own command, “Love one another as I have love you.”

If salvation in Jesus is dependent upon this command of Jesus, then salvation is impossible, as very few people are willing to be crucified for those who persecute and torment them, and no one is able to act as Jesus did without thoughts of self righteousness.

When Jesus uses the term, friend, to describe his disciples (reminder: disciple does not mean “the twelve”only but men, women, and children who traveled with Jesus regularly) this term in Greek means: colleague, peer, person with whom there is intimacy. How do we embody friendship in Jesus? What does it mean to us that Jesus deems us friends?