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In the Acts of the Apostles, the Sadducees judge the followers of Jesus to be inauthentic prophets.
In this crisis the apostles are favored by a miraculous release from prison (Acts 5:18–24). (For similar incidents involving Peter and Paul, see Acts 12:6–11; 16:25–29.) The real significance of such an event, however, would be manifest only to people of faith, not to unbelievers; since the Sanhedrin already judged the Twelve to be inauthentic prophets, it could disregard reports of their miracles.The well known text of John 3:16 in the Gospel declares Jesus’ purpose is to save, but his coming provokes judgment.
* [3:17–19] Condemn: the Greek root means both judgment and condemnation. Jesus’ purpose is to save, but his coming provokes judgment; some condemn themselves by turning from the light.Scott McClure wonders how often he is like the boy in the story of The Giving Tree, receiving God’s gifts without recognizing that they come from Him, or why they come from Him.
John reminds us that Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. And while God’s love is dependent neither on our reception of it nor on our recognition of him as the giver, we are still called to recognize his presence in our daily lives. Therefore, this Easter season, let us each make an effort to live our lives as prayers of thanksgiving in recognition of God’s enduring and unfailing love.Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Stanislaus, bishop & martyr and Catholic Culture website details the life of St. Stanislaus of Cracow who reminds us to seek the gift of fortitude.
Sometimes evil has to be confronted boldly, whatever the consequences. Brave men like St. Stanislaus of Cracow risked death in facing evil. There is little chance today that we will ever be in that danger, but we must always be willing to defend the truth, and it should be very clear, in the face of genuine evil, where we stand. Christ our Lord can expect no less from us. Say an extra prayer today for the gift of fortitude.Don Schwager asserts that If our love is guided by what is true, and good, and beautiful then we will choose for God and love him above all else. He quotes John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D., on The Intensity of God's Love and Our Response.
"The text, 'God so loved the world,' shows such an intensity of love. For great indeed and infinite is the distance between the two. The immortal, the infinite majesty without beginning or end loved those who were but dust and ashes, who were loaded with ten thousand sins but remained ungrateful even as they constantly offended him. This is who he 'loved.' For God did not give a servant, or an angel or even an archangel 'but his only begotten Son.' And yet no one would show such anxiety even for his own child as God did for his ungrateful servants..." "He laid down his life for us and poured forth his precious blood for our sake - even though there is nothing good in us - while we do not even pour out our money for our own sake and neglect him who died for us when he is naked and a stranger... We put gold necklaces on ourselves and even on our pets but neglect our Lord who goes about naked and passes from door to door... He gladly goes hungry so that you may be fed; naked so that he may provide you with the materials for a garment of incorruption, yet we will not even give up any of our own food or clothing for him... These things I say continually, and I will not cease to say them, not so much because I care for the poor but because I care for your souls." (HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.2–3)Friar Jude Winkler gives background on the conservative heritage of the Sadducees and their fear of the crowd who respected the apostles as messengers of God. In the very dualistic Gospel of John, Jesus purpose is to save but we have to choose to walk in the light and avoid the darkness.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Barbara Brown Taylor who writes in An Altar in the World that where Christians are concerned, our attitude to our bodies leaves us in the peculiar position of being followers of the Word Made Flesh who neglect our own flesh or—worse—who treat our bodies with shame and scorn.
My body is what connects me to all of these other people. Wearing my skin is not a solitary practice but one that brings me into communion with all these other embodied souls. It is what we most have in common with one another. In Christian teaching followers of Jesus are called to honor the bodies of our neighbors as we honor our own. In [Jesus’] expanded teaching by example, this includes leper bodies, possessed bodies, widow and orphan bodies, as well as foreign bodies and hostile bodies—none of which he shied away from. Read from the perspective of the body, his ministry was about encountering those whose flesh was discounted by the world in which they lived.In the tension between closed and open, contained and released, true goodness and beauty and the opposite we are thankful to God for so loving the world.
References
(n.d.). USCCB - NAB - Acts 5 - lantius.org. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from http://lantius.org/leew/project/bible/acts/acts5.htm
(n.d.). Acts 5.17-26. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/acts/5:17
(n.d.). John 3:16-17. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/john3.htm
(n.d.). Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html
(2018, April 10). Optional Memorial of St. Stanislaus, bishop & martyr - April 11, 2018 .... Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2018-04-11
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/
(n.d.). Amazon.com: John 3:16 T-Shirt, Three 16, 316 Colors Sports Jersey .... Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://www.amazon.com/John-T-Shirt-Colors-Sports-Jersey/dp/B01LBJJAJA
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