Friday, April 28, 2017

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.

Homilette for Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Mark 9:38-40)

In Robert Duvall’s movie “The Apostle” an evangelical preacher from Texas observes a Catholic priest in Louisiana blessing a fishing fleet. He does not betray any anger or envy. He merely reaffirms his own mission by saying something like: “They do things their way; and I do things my way.” Jesus shows this same kind of tolerance in the gospel passage today.

The Acts of the Apostles records several incidents of men preaching and trying to exorcize demons in Jesus’ name without authorization from the apostolic community. It probably happened just as frequently then as today when many free-lance preachers tell of Jesus. Like John in the passage we might like to prohibit them from doing so. Such action, however, would not only be censorship taking away the speaker’s right to free expression but also a violation of Jesus’ principle of toleration.

It is perfectly legitimate and even a duty for priests to warn the faithful of imposters who give the impression of speaking for the Church when they preach. But generally when we hear non-Catholic preachers talk of Jesus on television or the radio, we might listen a bit to what they are saying. They probably are not speaking against the Church and quite possibly have insights that may help us better appreciate the Lord.