Br. John R. Barker, OFM

Jan 09 2025

Scripture Study for

In Acts, the gospel proclamation radiates from Jerusalem, eventually reaching Rome. Just previous to this passage, we read that persecution in Jerusalem has scattered the disciples “throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria” (8:1). Philip, one of the seven “deacons” chosen in last week’s reading, finds himself among the Samaritans, a people long estranged from Jews. His preaching of the Jewish Messiah, accompanied by healings and exorcisms, leads nevertheless to many being baptized. This might be considered something of a reconciliation between Jew and Samaritan, and therefore a sign of the kingdom of God. The effect of the baptisms is completed with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the apostles.

The letter of Peter supports persecuted Christians in their struggle to remain faithful to Christ. Echoing one of the Beatitudes, the apostle reminds his audience that they are blessed who suffer because of righteousness (3:14). Righteousness means, among other things, responding to hostility as did Christ, the Lord of their hearts: with peace and gentleness. The animosity they face for being Christians constitutes a temptation to respond in kind, a temptation that should be resisted, lest they act with a bad conscience and do evil. Those who suffer for Christ can be strengthened by the reminder that he too suffered and although he died “in the flesh,” he now lives “in the Spirit.” His followers can expect the same.

The Last Supper discourse continues with Jesus’ promise of the Spirit. He has just assured the apostles that he will not abandon them but will return to take them to the Father (see last week’s Gospel). Now he promises them that in the meantime, he will send “another” Advocate, suggesting that the Spirit will do for them what Jesus did. And indeed the Spirit is a Spirit of truth, as Jesus himself is the truth (14:6). He then reverts to his promise to return, using language that emphasizes the mutual indwelling of Christ and his followers. It is on the basis of this indwelling that the followers are commanded to love Jesus, and thus be loved by the Father and by Jesus. To those who love, God the Father and the Son will be revealed.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

The early Christian community comprised both Jews (Hebrews) and Gentiles (Graeco-Roman). Social divisions between them were not easily overcome, even in the care of the needy. The apparent neglect of the Gentile widows, whether intended or not, presents itself to the apostles as a practical problem that needs to be addressed structurally. They cannot take time from their particular ministry to make sure that everyone’s needs are met. Yet they recognize the importance of solicitude for needy widows and others, as shown not only by their desire to choose men with good reputations, known to be filled with the Spirit and wisdom, but also by their prayer and imposition of hands.

Peter’s audience has been born anew through the word of God (1:23). This word draws them to the Lord, who is building them into a temple where they will offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Like Israel, Christians are to be for God a chosen race, a holy and royal priesthood, and a holy nation, whose purpose is to proclaim the praises of God, and thus draw others to God as well. Like Peter’s audience, Christ too was rejected by those without faith and thus became a stumbling block for them. Yet he remains alive to nurture and support them, the living cornerstone on which the church is founded.

In his farewell discourse at the Last Supper, Jesus assures his followers that they are not to be perturbed by his imminent departure, because he goes to the Father, where he will prepare a place for them. When he returns, he will take them there. Yet they will not be going someplace completely unknown to them. Indeed, the way to the Father they already know because they know Jesus, in whom they have met the Father. Not quite getting it, Philip asks that they actually see the Father, “that will be enough for us”(!). Jesus reminds his followers once again that in him they have actually seen the Father because the Father is in him.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

In concluding his Pentecost speech, Peter points out to the Jerusalem crowd that Jesus, whom he has just shown to be Lord and Messiah, was the same Jesus they had crucified. Realizing that they have committed such a grievous crime, the crowd wonders what is next for them. Peter’s response comes as a relief: God has not condemned for crucifying Jesus. Rather, they are offered the gift of repentance, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit. The promises God made to them as Abraham’s children are now fulfilled in Christ. Rather than chastisement, Peter holds out the promise of life, if they will allow themselves to be saved by the same Christ they condemned to death.

In his letter, Peter continues to develop the implications of being Christian. He reminds his persecuted audience that in his own suffering, Christ showed them how to remain faithful as “aliens and sojourners” (2:11) in a hostile world. Jesus did not respond to insults with insults, or to threats with threats of his own. The death of Christ was part of God’s mysterious plan to free Christ’s followers from their sins and equip them to “live for righteousness.” Jesus’ followers have been healed not only of the wounds of past sins, but also from sinful inclinations to hurt those who hurt them, “worldly desires that wage war against the soul” (2:11). Jesus shows them a better way and guards those very souls against which the world (and worldly desires) wage war.

The image of the people of God as God’s flock is a venerable biblical metaphor. In Jesus’ figure of speech, the “thieves and robbers” who have illicitly entered the sheepfold are the Pharisees and other opponents, who do not have the people’s best interests at heart. Although he will soon call himself the good shepherd, here Jesus refers to himself as the gate for the sheep, an image that focuses on his role as the one who gives access to God, the source of life. Whereas others who claim to shepherd the people in fact only lead them to destruction, Jesus alone guides God’s flock to abundant life and salvation.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

Peter’s speech at the beginning of Acts explains the meaning of the coming of the Spirit, the effects of which his audience has just witnessed. Despite doing good deeds, Jesus was put to death, yet resurrected, a sure sign that he was not under God’s judgment but was, on the contrary, God’s Messiah. The citation from Psalm 16 demonstrates that this resurrection was part of a divine plan foretold long ago. This same resurrected Christ is the source of the Holy Spirit, whose coming they have witnessed. Jesus himself, his works, his death, his resurrection and exaltation, and the coming of the Spirit are all the fulfillment of God’s “set plan.”

Peter reminds his audience of persecuted Christians that their permanent home is with God in Christ. They are sojourners who must not put their hope or faith in this world, but in Christ alone. Only in this way can they receive their eternal inheritance, which has been “bought” for them by Christ’s blood. Christ came so that those who believe in him might draw closer to God. By believing in the gospel, these new Christians (many of whom, as Gentiles, had not known the God of Israel) have come to believe in the God who brought it about. It is this God, and not the world or its many gods, in whom Christians are called to hope and have faith.

One of the chief obstacles to accepting that Jesus was the Christ was his crucifixion. Jews especially would find such an apparently failed Messiah incredible. As Jesus reveals through his opening of the Scriptures that the Messiah was indeed “supposed” to “suffer these things,” his listeners shed their despondency, realize that Jesus could have been the Messiah, and now find his resurrection credible. This lesson comes home to the disciples when they see Jesus “breaking the bread,” recalling to them the night he told his apostles that his body and blood were being given up for them. In light of the scriptures and his own words, the death of Jesus is seen not as an “accident” but ordained as a gift.

Jan 08 2025

Scripture Study for

The new life in Christ manifested itself in the lives of the disciples through learning the Christian proclamation, caring for each other, and prayer. The apostles themselves not only teach but heal and, as with Jesus, the crowds are amazed at what God accomplishes through them. Communal life is marked by simplicity and sharing, countering cultural tendencies toward selfishness. The prayer of the disciples involves traditional forms of Jewish liturgy but also specifically Christian prayer of “breaking bread.” In all they do followers of Christ present a powerful, positive witness to what it means to live the Way, and this evangelization in word, deed, and prayer draws many others to Christ.

Peter is writing to Christians who are struggling to remain faithful to their baptismal calling, which has alienated them from their society and perhaps their families. Thus his letter begins with encouragement: They have received an inheritance from God that can never be taken away from them against their will. This inheritance is an imperishable treasure that others cannot touch, steal, or destroy because it is not here on earth, but with God. Peter focuses on the necessity to have faith (mentioned three times) that Christ will see their souls through any persecution. Suffering is cause for joy because it strengthens faith. Suffering for Christ brings them closer to their goal, the inheritance waiting for them safely with Christ.

The fearful disciples have hidden from the world. Into their fear comes Christ, who twice proclaims peace and sends them back out into the world. Their mission is not only to forgive (or retain) sins, but to proclaim Jesus as God’s Messiah, proof of which claim is his resurrection. While the disciples have the advantage of actually seeing the resurrected Christ, those to whom they are sent will not. Thus the story of Thomas emphasizes the necessity for those who are not able to “see the mark of the nails in his hands” to believe on the strength of the witness of others that Jesus of Nazareth, crucified as a criminal, is in fact “Lord and God.”