20220429 THE GAMALIEL PRINCIPLE
29 April, 2022, Friday, 2nd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 5:34-42 © |
They were glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name
One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them. And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’
His advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.
They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 © |
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead:
have mercy on us, triumphant King.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:1-15 © |
The feeding of the five thousand
Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.
Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
THE GAMALIEL PRINCIPLE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 5:34-42; PS 27:1,4,13-14; JOHN 6:1-15]
In today’s first reading, it was through the intervention of a member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, that saved the lives of the apostles and also the unintended assistance given to the early Church to grow in strength and number. Gamaliel who was well respected by the whole people was known for his wisdom, moderation and prudence. So he asked to have the apostles taken outside for a while so that he could address the Sanhedrin privately. He gave them two examples of how two founders, Theudas who had four hundred followers and Judas who started the revolutionary movement were killed and their movements dissolved eventually. Hence, his advice was simply this: “that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.”
The question we want to reflect on is whether this principle is universally applicable. Did Gamaliel make a wrong calculation, allowing the Jesus Movement to grow unexpectedly? Perhaps he and the Sanhedrin were betting on the fact that it would end up like the rest of the movements. Or was Gamaliel unsure of the Jesus movement and thought it would be better for time to judge the authenticity of their claims as he was sincerely wanting to find out for himself the truth of their claims? At any rate, Gamaliel, being a righteous man and wanting to also obey God, sought to allow the movement to run its own course to the end.
Apparently, in his case, the judgement as seen by Christians on hindsight is the right one. One could argue that it was because what the apostles proclaimed is indeed the truth that Christianity, which began from a small group of uneducated disciples of Jesus, grew from strength to strength, recruiting not just the slaves, the poor and the marginalized in society but also the middle and upper classes, especially among the Gentiles. And this was verified by the miracles the apostles performed and the coherency of their preaching. The Christians were able to live together in spite of their diverse backgrounds and social status. What could have brought them together if not a common experience of the Risen Lord? Christ is the cause of their unity in diversity.
But most of all, the truth of their claims was substantiated by their boldness in testifying to what they believed without reservations. Indeed, even after being flogged and warned “not to speak in the name of Jesus, they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name. They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.” The conviction to suffer for witnessing to Christ was testimony to their faith in Jesus. If it were a hallucination or a story made up by them, it would be difficult to explain why they saw it as a grace and honour to suffer for the name of Jesus. They must have remembered what the Lord warned them when He said, “Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles.” (Mt 10:17f)
So applying to the growth of Christianity, the principle of Gamaliel appears to be valid. But it cannot be applied to every situation. How do we account for the popularity in modern trends where faith in God is seen as superstitious and naïve? How do we judge the modern perspectives of faith, sex, marriage, children and gender? Does it mean that just because more are subscribing to divorce and same sex relationships it means that it is from God? What about those long-established religions like Hinduism, Islam, Taoism and Buddhism? Would all Christians consider that because they also withstood the test of time, that they are also from God and of divine origin? Hence, all religions are the same, with Jesus being one of the masters.
This is why, when it comes to applying the Gamaliel principle, it is not so simple as what we think. These are complicated matters and not easily discernible. To say that if it is from God it will last, and those from man will not withstand the test of time, might be difficult to judge because evil can also thrive. How long for it to exist before it is to be considered as from God would also be relative. And even if it were from God, just like the Old Testament laws and rituals for atonement given by Moses, and even the customs, these were eventually replaced by the New Covenant.
So there must be other signs to establish the validity of this basic principle which in itself is true. In the case of the early Christians, it was substantiated by the transformation of their lives, living in unity and fellowship with each other despite the diversity in social status, races and languages, the works of wonders performed by the apostles and most of all, the courage to testify to the Lord. In other words, if it is from God, it will last and if it is from man, it will disappear over time. Hence, the gospel of John gives us seven signs to demonstrate the divine identity of our Lord.
In today’s gospel, Jesus provided another sign of His true identity. He portrayed Himself as the New Moses who would lead the people to new life, a new-found freedom. “Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick”, a reminder of how the Israelites left Egypt after the works of wonders Moses performed before Pharaoh, forcing him to let go of the Hebrews. They crossed the Red Sea and the Egyptians pursued after them when they left Egypt. That St John was alluding to this event is noted when he began by saying that “It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.”
The miracle of the multiplication of loaves therefore must be understood in the context of the Passover. Like Moses and his men, “Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples.” Jesus, like Moses, assumed the authority to teach and to command the people to obey the laws of God. Like Moses who provided manna for the Hebrews in the desert, Jesus showed His authority by multiplying five loaves and two fish for five thousand men, excluding women and children who were hungry and at a deserted place. At the end of the meal, Jesus said to the disciples, “Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.” This reminds us of Moses’ command to his people not to collect too much manna but just enough for the day, “Everyone is to gather as much as they need. The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” (Ex 16:16,18)
Finally, we are told at the end of the gospel, “the people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.” Indeed, Jesus is perceived to be the New Moses who would deliver them from their enemies. Unfortunately, the enemies of Jesus were sin and our selfish wants. We need to be delivered from our greed, lust, anger, lack of integrity and selfishness.
For the Jews, they were thinking in terms of a spiritual and military saviour that could free them from the Romans so that the kingdom of Israel could once again by established. This explains why when they found out that Jesus was a man of non-violence and refused to take up arms against the Roman Army, he was deposed as a fake messiah. Of course, there were also the vested interests of the Temple Priests. Jesus was a threat to their status quo. So the priests conveniently and expediently spread rumours about Jesus. To fellow Jews, Jesus was charged with blasphemy for claiming to be the Messiah. To the Romans, the priests presented Jesus as a political enemy of Rome for claiming to be the King of the Jews when they claimed that they had no king except Caesar. So the jealousy of the religious priests caused Jesus to be executed on the cross for a political crime that He did not commit. But God vindicated Him by raising Him from the dead, proving that Jesus was of divine origin! For us, His resurrection is the ultimate proof of His identity.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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