Evangelization and Truth

In my last post I suggested that perhaps it's time for our bishops to act and defend the Church's teachings, especially when these teachings are dismissed by nominally Catholic politicians as irrelevant or just plain wrong. I see this as part of the bishops' responsibility for evangelization. In today's post, I hope to extend that seme responsibility to all of the faithful, to you and to me, as we make our journey through the small slice of time and space in which God has placed us. In our parish Bible Study, we're currently studying the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, so I thought the example of St. Peter would provide us with a good starting point.

In chapter four of the Acts of the Apostles, we find a Spirit-filled Peter standing before the local authorities, with the young apostle, John, at his side. The two apostles faced a crowd of local notables: the high priest, Caiaphas; his predecessor and father-in-law, Annas; and a collection of Jerusalem's most distinguished "leaders, elders, and scribes." This was the Sanhedrin, a kind of governing council and supreme court. Largely aristocratic, the Sanhedrin's members included representative of the most influential noble and priestly families. 

Although the Sanhedrin possessed significant power, they remained subservient to the Roman authorities. Most of these men were probably Sadducees, although the Sanhedrin also included Pharisees and others among its members. The Sadducees were responsible for maintaining the Temple and many were counted among the priests who performed the Temple sacrifices. Theologically, though, they differed greatly from most contemporary Jews, especially the Pharisees. Sadducees did not accept the immortality of the soul, rejected the idea of an afterlife and the resurrection of the dead, and did not believe in the existence of angelic or spiritual beings. As you might expect, they tried to make this life as comfortable as possible. They would have agreed with the old Schlitz beer commercials of the 1970s: "You only go around once...grab all the gusto." We can understand, then, why they did not appreciate anyone who threatened to upset the status quo, especially their relationship with the Romans.

Why were Peter and John standing there facing these men? The drama began the previous day when Peter and John passed through the Temple gate and encountered a beggar, a man crippled from birth. Peter said to him:

“I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk” [Acts 3:6].

The man was instantly and completely healed. Peter had then gone on to proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ to the Jewish crowds gathered within the Temple precincts at Solomon's Portico. His preaching led to a remarkable result:

"...many of those who heard the word came to believe and the number of men grew to about five thousand" [Acts 4:4].

This, of course, was too much for the Jewish authorities who had the two apostles arrested. After a night in custody, Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin for questioning. They were asked a single question:

“By what power or by what name have you done this?” [Acts 4:7]

Inspired by the Spirit, Peter gave the perfect response, a brief but remarkable sermon:

“Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.

He [Jesus] is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” [Acts 4:8-12].

Here we have a true homiletic gem. Within it we find a statement that offers us one of Christianity's absolute truths. Reread Peter's last sentence in which he provides the perfect declaration of salvation that comes to the human race only through Jesus Christ.

In Peter's words we encounter the universality of the Christian message, a message we are called to proclaim to every human being. Just consider Jesus' final words to the disciples before His Ascension to the Father:

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” [Mt 28:18-20].

This is a command by Jesus, a three-fold command: (1) make disciples of all nations; (2) baptize them; and (3) teach them. And it's followed by a promise: "I am with you always." If we are called to "make disciples of all nations," Christianity, then, is truly catholic. With these words, we realize God desires all to be saved through Jesus Christ [Acts 2:21; 1 Tim 2:3-4; 2 Pt 3:9] Although "for God all things are possible" [Mt 19:26], He instructs us to help bring this about through sacramental Baptism, supported by the continued presence of Christ's Holy Spirit in the teaching authority -- the Magisterium -- of the Church.

We are called to follow Peter's example and always proclaim the truth to those who do not believe. The problem, however, is that so many Christians, including many Catholics, seem either to reject this command of Jesus or simply fear to express the truth. Too many of us have grown a bit wobbly when it comes to evangelizing in truth. We either water down the Church's teaching or fall prey to a kind of syncretism in which all religions are considered okay. Once, while teaching a course on World Religions to a class of Catholic catechists and teachers, I was surprised when many thought there was no need to evangelize Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, or others who reject our Christian faith. As one high school teacher said, "As long as they follow their religion's teachings, I'm sure they'll be okay with God." Well, that may be true, but that's God's call, not ours. We're called to obey Him, to evangelize, to follow the example of the apostles. We must always remember: you and I cannot convert anyone; we simply plant seeds, or water and fertilize the seeds others have planted. God, and only God, brings all to fruition.

Like the apostles, we Christians have been commissioned to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world, the entire world. This doesn't mean we do it arrogantly or haughtily. Not at all. We are commanded to do all this with love, but to love without forsaking the truth. As Peter told the beggar: "...what I do have I give you." We must do the same, give whatever we have, however the Spirit inspires and equips us. We must also live the truth of Jesus Christ so others will recognize Jesus Christ in us, just as we see Jesus Christ in them. And in doing so, we must also be ready to stand for the truth even at the cost of our lives, these days an increasingly likely possibility.

Homily: Wednesday 9th Week of Ordinary Time

Scripture and the Power of God (Wednesday, June 5)

Readings: Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a  • Psalm 25 • Mk 12:18-27
 
Today’s Gospel reading includes the verse that actually led me to want to study Sacred Scripture more deeply. It was about 40 years ago, and I recall hearing this passage read one morning at daily Mass. When I heard Jesus say: “Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” [Mk 12;24] I was truly surprised.

It was then I realized I was really no better than the Sadducees. I, too, didn't know the Scriptures as I should. Yes, Jesus told them flat-out that they were wrong. And after explaining why, in case they hadn’t understood Him, He told them once again they were wrong.

He didn’t mince words, did He? It would seem Jesus was more concerned with the truth than He was about preserving the Sadducees’ self-esteem. Setting an example for the Church, He didn’t hesitate to speak magisterially, to teach the truth, and to do so with authority. As many who heard him "were astonished at his teaching because He spoke with authority" [Lk 4:32]

Well, this dialog between Jesus and the Sadducees made an impression on the younger me. I realized that I, too, really didn’t understand the Bible. Neither did I grasp the origin of the Church’s teachings in so many areas. And so began my life-long journey with Sacred Scripture. And I’m still being surprised by what I encounter.

Ironically, a surprise struck yesterday when I focused on the entirety of that verse. Listen again…“Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” [Mk 12:24]

I’d never really gotten past Jesus’s reference to “the Scriptures.” I’d never really thought very much about His reference to the “power of God.” And yet that reference is so central to what Jesus was teaching the Sadducees.

The Sadducees not only didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead; they believed in no afterlife. They didn’t believe in angels. They believed only in what they read in the Torah, the first five books of Scripture. Only the Torah was inspired.

Of course, Jesus goes right to the second of those books, the Book of Exodus, and shows them how life after death, the resurrection of the dead, is confirmed by the Word of God to Moses.

The Sadducees hadn’t recognized this, because they were very smart people, among the most educated of those first-century Jews; and so like many of today’s very smart people, they rejected the truth of the Resurrection because…well, because people simply don’t rise from the dead.

I suppose they’re right…people don’t rise from the dead. They don’t rise from the dead without God’s help; and that’s what Jesus was telling them.

You Sadducees have forgotten about the power of God. Do you really think God would create you in a wonderful act of personal love, and reveal Himself to you, and provide you with guidance and protection…do you really believe He’d do all this and then let you rot in a grave?

No, He loves you more than this. You have forgotten about the infinite power of your Creator.

Sometimes we forget as well. Sometimes we fall into despair because we don’t accept the power of God in our lives, the very power that brought each of us into being.

God’s power is working constantly throughout the world and in each of our lives. Take a moment today to thank God for that power.

Homily: Wednesday, 9th Week of Ordinary Time

Readings: 2 Tim 1:6-12; Ps 123; Mk 12:18-27

For someone who was offering His hearers redemption and eternal life, Jesus certainly had to put up with a lot during His public ministry. Of course, that’s the thing about the Good News that Jesus preached: For many folks it was too good…too good to be true. At least that’s what the local religious leaders seemed to think – both the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Because they couldn’t believe, despite all the miracles they’d witnessed, they had to discredit the One who delivered the message. Herod had already taken care of John the Baptist; now it was time to take care of Jesus Himself. Now it was time to take the so-called Good News that Jesus preached, and turn it into bad news.

In yesterday’s Gospel passage we saw the Pharisees and Herodians trying to trap Jesus; today it’s the Sadducees. These Sadducees, though, are a different breed. The Sadducees were a definite minority, but a significant and influential minority. Their ranks included wealthy landowners and merchants as well as those who collaborated with Rome. And the Sanhedrin, that governing body of the Jews, included many Sadducees.

In one respect they were the pragmatists of their day, the ones who didn’t want to rock the boat and risk upsetting their nicely settled lives. Actually, they were pretty similar to many of today’s politicians.

Religious minimalists, they accepted only the Torah, the first five books of Scripture as God’s word. Because there’s no specific mention of an afterlife in the Torah, the Sadducees didn’t believe in it, and were determined to discredit anyone whose teaching centered on it. And so they confronted Jesus with this ridiculous scenario in an attempt to ridicule the idea of a next life.

But Jesus does what no rabbi had ever done. Jesus shows them how the Torah supports the idea of an afterlife. The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are among the most prominent figures in the Torah. In Exodus, the second book of the Torah, God proclaimed himself “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” If these men are just dead, Jesus explains, then God is reigning over a kingdom of death, not a kingdom of life!  God doesn’t reign over those who no longer exist. God reigns over the living. God reigns over Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all who went before, and all who will come after.

Jesus and the Sadducees

And so what can we learn from these pragmatists, from these Sadducees who believed that this life is all there is? I suppose the first thing that becomes clear is that if someone believes only in death, then they will see only death, and they will see it everywhere.

We have a loving God, a God of the living, not a God who creates us and then disposes of us as if we were simply rubbish. No, we have a God who promises us eternal life through the power of Christ’s Resurrection. It’s through Jesus, the creative Word of God that you and I are brought into being, that we are given the gift of life.

Jesus, “the way, the truth and the life”, calls us to believe in life. Reject the way of the world, He tells us, the way of today’s Sadducees and pragmatists. Reject the way of death.

Jesus, when responding to those trying to entrap Him, just tells them they’re wrong and settles the question. He doesn’t offer some clever compromise, because truth can’t compromise with a lie, and life can’t compromise with death.

In the same way, the Church that Jesus founded, the Church guided today by His Holy Spirit, will not compromise with the lie of death. That’s why the Church consistently teaches the truth of life, and condemns all those symptoms of the culture of death that plague our world.

Brothers and sisters, we must not be like the Sadducees. We must not receive God’s Word and His Church’s teaching by tortuously reworking Scripture to fit our own viewpoint. We should make our prayer a desire to embrace fully, with our entire being, the fullness of the Revelation as it is given in the teaching Tradition of the Church. 

Then we can enter into the fire of God’s love and life, and like the angels, be immersed in the presence and life of God along with all creation. Let our prayer place us there.

Thy Kingdom come! Thy Kingdom is!