Friday
of the Second Week of Easter
(Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15)
It goes without saying that Pharisees are not gospel
favorites. Many picked on Jesus because
they could not recognize that his healing on the Sabbath marked the dawning of
a new age. But the New Testament does
recall some Pharisees who helped Christ.
Nicodemus in the Gospel of John comes first by night to learn from him
and then in daylight to bury him. Paul
calls himself a Pharisee. In today’s
reading form the Acts of the Apostles a leading Pharisee defends the apostles
in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin.
Of course, Gamaliel does not accept Jesus. He only states that as a matter of policy
religious tolerance is more judicious than persecution. His reasoning is memorialized in the saying: “…if (Christianity) comes from God, you will not be able
to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Such religious tolerance was mandated by
Vatican II but with a different logic.
The Council taught that the human conscience is inviolable. No state or person has a right to interfere
with how an individual worships God.
During Easter time the first reading at mass from Acts guides our
recall of the early Church. Every day we
learn more of Christianity’s spread from Jerusalem throughout the world. From the readings we should realize that the
Church is guided by the Holy Spirit. She
has no reason to fear other faith traditions.
Indeed, there is need to dialogue with them concerning the experience of
God.
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