Friday of the Fifth
Week of Easter
(Acts 15:22-31; John
15:12-17)
Today’s first reading
reports the most consequential decision of the Church in history. It tells how Church leadership universally
agreed to dispense non-Jews from practicing the Jewish law. Effectively, it turned the Church from a sect
of Judaism to a separate religion. It is
worthwhile to understand how the decision came about.
Paul, Barnabas, and
Silas travel to an assembly of church leadership in Jerusalem. There they defend their practice of baptizing
non-Jews who believe in Jesus. Peter
from personal experience note that non-Jews can receive the Holy Spirit. James also recognizes the Spirit’s testimony in
non-Jewish believers. He calls the
judgment of the assembly in the first place a decision of the Holy Spirit. When all the elders of the Jerusalem Church
agree, the practice is adopted. Soon
baptizing non-Jews becomes dominant in Christian evangelization.
We can be thankful for the decision of the Jerusalem assembly. Few of us would probably be Christians if our ancestors had to endure circumcision before being baptized. Perhaps more importantly, however, we need to recognize how Jews are our elder brothers and sisters in faith. Of course, Jesus lived and died as a Jew. Also, Jewish Scriptures enable us to understand Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a sect of Judaism, but it could not be a religion at all if it were not for the Jews.
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