Wednesday of Week 4 of Easter – First Reading
Commentary on Acts 12:24 – 13:5
There are three great missionary journeys of Paul described in Acts of the Apostles and today we see the beginning of the first. (Incidentally, he is still being called ‘Saul’ at this stage. The switch to ‘Paul’ is noted a few verses after the end of today’s reading—see Acts 13:9.)
Saul and Barnabas had just returned to Antioch from Jerusalem where they had brought relief supplies to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were suffering from famine. Such mutual support of brothers in need is an essential element of Christian community living. This is surely what the Gospel means when Jesus tells his Apostles that, after leaving all things for him, they will find a hundredfold mothers, brothers, sisters, houses…in a true Christian community, no one will be in want.
With them they brought John Mark. Was he the young man who fled naked on the night of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52)? The writing of the second Gospel is attributed to him and he accompanied Barnabas and Saul on part of their first missionary journey.
We are also told today of a number of people in the church at Antioch described as ‘prophets’ and ‘teachers’. These two terms have very specific meanings in the New Testament and refer to particular ‘charisms’ (Greek, charis—meaning specific spiritual gifts) with which certain people were endowed. It does not identify in the group which was which, although there could be an overlap. However, these two roles are usually regarded as distinct charisms. The role of the prophet was to have a deeper insight into where God was calling the community to serve. The prophet was a visionary and a pioneer and led the way into new ways of proclaiming the Gospel.
The charism of the ‘teacher’ (Greek, didaskalos—from which the word ‘didactic’ is derived), on the other hand, was his ability to instruct others on matters of morality and doctrine—instruction usually based on the Scriptures.
The role of the teacher was to communicate the common tradition in the community. The teacher conserves and hands on. Paul, in a way, had both charisms, but was very much the prophet in the sense described. He was the great innovator, in contrast to Peter, who was the keeper of the tradition.
The five prophets and teachers here named—Barnabas, Symeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (a friend of Herod the Tetrarch) and Saul—now represent the governing body of the church of Antioch. They all seem to be Hellenistic, Greek-speaking Jews, and it is possible that the names are listed in order of importance with Barnabas at the head and Saul taking the last place. It seems he was still on probation.
It suddenly becomes clear to the community in their common prayer and fasting that God is calling Barnabas and Saul for a special evangelising work. Paul’s first missionary journey does not arise from his own initiative, but is a response to the call of the Spirit made known as the community prays and fasts. Then, as a sign of missioning, all lay their hands on the two missionaries. They are to go and preach in the name of the community which has sent them.
About the upcoming journeys of Paul and his companions, it is recommended that during the coming days one consult a map, often found in good Bibles or on many biblical websites, to follow the course of the three missionary journeys and see just where the places mentioned are to be found.
They set off by going down to Seleucia and from there to Cyprus (Barnabas came from Cyprus). Seleucia was the seaport of Antioch, 27 km (16 miles) to the west and 8 km (5 miles) upstream from the mouth of the Orontes River. There were many Jews on the island and the Gospel had already been preached there.
They landed at Salamis, a town on the east coast of the central plain of Cyprus, near present-day Famagusta. (This town is not to be confused with the more famous place in Greece where the Greeks had a notable victory over the Persians.)
The first objectives of the two missionaries are the Jewish synagogues. This will become the pattern of all the mission journeys. The idea was always to approach the Jews first on the principle that they had the first claim to hear the Gospel. It would be only after their refusal to accept the message that Paul would turn to the local Gentiles.
From today’s readings we could ask ourselves:
- To what extent do I give spiritual and material help to those in need in my community?
- Am I a teacher or a prophet in my community? Or do I have some other charism by which I contribute to the well-being of my community?
- In what ways do I spread the word of the Gospel in my immediate environment? Am I known to be a committed and caring Christian?
Wednesday of Week 4 of Easter – Gospel
Commentary on John 12:44-50
Today we come to the end of what is called the “Book of Signs” (chaps 1-12) of John’s Gospel. Through these signs—seven of them—Jesus clearly indicates who he is and what his mission is.
Today’s passage is a recapitulation of all that has been said in the “Book of Signs.” The text says that Jesus “cried aloud” and spoke. This gives extra emphasis to what Jesus is proclaiming. It is once again a call to believe in Jesus where ‘believing in’ means much more than mere acceptance of the truth of his words. It implies that there is also a personal commitment to Jesus and to his mission.
And to believe in Jesus is also to believe, to surrender oneself entirely, to the One who sent him—the Father. All through this Gospel Jesus emphasises the inseparability of the Father and the Son.
I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.
This phrase implies Jesus’ pre-existence as the Eternal Word as well as indicating that he came with a mission—to bring light into darkness.
To put one’s faith in Jesus is to put one’s faith in God the Father, from whom he comes. And whoever really has insight into Jesus knows that he is in touch with God himself. As he has said before, Jesus is a light taking away the darkness with which we are surrounded. He also spells out more clearly than before what happens if we reject him and prefer darkness to light:
I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world but to save the world.
Jesus has come to bring salvation, to bring wholeness to the world and not to condemn it. But, he says:
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge…
The sun’s role is to give light, but when there are obstacles to that light we get shadows. That is not the sun’s doing. Jesus, too, is the Light of the world. But, because of certain behaviour on our part, there are shadows and even darkness.
The ‘word’ of Jesus is a challenge. It offers us a way of living and of inter-relating with God, with others and with ourselves. If we choose another way we have only ourselves to blame when our lives go downhill. But Jesus is always there to lift us up. We only need to stretch out our hand and he will take it into his own.
Jesus tells us that his Father’s commands—which he also observes—mean eternal life. Everything that Jesus did was the carrying out of his Father’s will. We are called to follow the same path. If only we could realise that to follow Jesus is not to fit ourselves into a straitjacket, but is a way to total freedom.
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