20220519 DOCTRINES: AN INTERPLAY BETWEEN EXPERIENCE AND SCRIPTURE
19 May, 2022, Thursday, 5th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 15:7-21 © |
I rule that we do not make things more difficult for the pagans who turn to God
After the discussion had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the elders.
‘My brothers,’ he said ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers. In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.’
This silenced the entire assembly, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.
When they had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘listen to me. Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the pagans. This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:
After that I shall return
and rebuild the fallen House of David;
I shall rebuild it from its ruins
and restore it.
Then the rest of mankind,
all the pagans who are consecrated to my name,
will look for the Lord,
says the Lord who made this known so long ago.
‘I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has always had his preachers in every town, and is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):1-3,10 © |
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen, he who created all things,
and has granted his mercy to men.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 15:9-11 © |
Remain in my love
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.’
DOCTRINES: AN INTERPLAY BETWEEN EXPERIENCE AND SCRIPTURE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 15:7-21; PS 96:1-3,10; JOHN 15:9-11]
How do Church doctrines develop and get formulated? We must not imagine that doctrines come from on high and are given to us on a platter. This is why doctrines develop over time. Some doctrines are formulated in a basic nucleus form but over time, they are further elaborated and given a fuller meaning but never contradicting the original truth that had already been revealed. Yet such truths are never fully revealed and therefore could be deepened and understood much clearer over time. This is why the Lord said to the disciples, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (Jn 14:25f) Given new situations, the Church would have to reflect and discern how the Holy Spirit is working. To provide clarity and direction to the believers, doctrines are formulated to guide the faithful in the belief and practice of the faith.
Vatican II in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation teaches, “This tradition which comes from the Apostles develop in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through Episcopal succession the sure gift of truth. For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfilment in her.” (Dei Verbum 8)
Indeed, this deepening of the truth of what has been revealed continues through the interplay between religious experiences and the tradition, which includes, of course, the inspired scriptures received. Any doctrinal or theological development must be rooted in the context of new religious experiences and the change of social, cultural, economic and political situation but always referring to the inspired scriptures and unchangeable Tradition of the Church. This was so in the case of the Church leaders at the Council in Jerusalem when they were dealing with the new situation where there were many Gentile converts to Christianity. This created a cultural problem but rooted in theological stance.
What was the problem facing the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians? It was a happy problem in truth. Conversions among the Gentiles to Christianity were increasing. “They listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.” We read earlier, that on the way to Jerusalem “as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.” (Acts 15:3) Initially, the proclamation of the Good News was then directed to the Jews as Christ was supposedly to be the fulfilment of Judaism. But when the Jews rejected the gospel, Philip, Paul and Barnabas preached to the Gentiles. Even for St Paul, he always made it a point to preach to the Jews first and only when rejected, did he then turn to the Gentiles for he said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” (Acts 13:46f)
However, the admittance of the Gentiles into the Christian community unsettled the Jewish Christians because they considered themselves to be the Chosen People of God. They regarded themselves as descendants of Abraham of which the requirement was circumcision as commanded by God. (Gn 19:9-14) Because the Gentiles were not circumcised, they could therefore not be included as members of the Chosen People of God. Furthermore, by not observing the Mosaic Laws as well, they were considered unclean, hence making fellowship and communal meals unacceptable for the Jews.
So the crux of the question facing the early Christians was whether the Gentile Christians must first be Jews through circumcision and observance of the Mosaic Laws before they could be admitted to the Christian community. But this meant that Christians were not saved by Christ but by observance of the Jewish laws. Christ would then be simply seen as superfluous except to fulfil the Old Testament prophecy. Clearly, this contradicts the Christians’ claim that Jesus is the unique saviour of the world, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
So how did the early Church resolve this gnawing uneasiness among the Jewish Christians because some of them were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1) After hearing the conversion of the Gentiles to Christianity, the apostles and disciples had to consider this new development. St Peter gave three points to help the leaders deliberate and discern how the Lord was working in their lives. Firstly, he said “you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers.” St Peter was referring to the case of Cornelius, a Gentile who received the Holy Spirit even before he was baptized. Secondly, from that experience, his conclusion was that “God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith.” God is sovereign in giving His gift, the Holy Spirit to those whom He chooses. They were saved by grace and by faith. Thirdly, to refuse to admit the Gentiles would be hypocritical and going against God’s desire as they would be imposing a burden on them when “neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.”
St James substantiated the judgment of St Peter by citing from the scriptures. “This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say: After that I shall return and rebuild the fallen House of David; I shall rebuild it from its ruins and restore it. Then the rest of mankind, all the pagans who are consecrated to my name, will look for the Lord, says the Lord who made this known so long ago.” (cf Amos 9:11f) Indeed, Christianity is the fulfilment of the Old Testament when the prophets foretold that the Gentiles would flow to Jerusalem and be integrated into the People of God. (Isa 2:2-3; 25:6-8; 56:6-7; 60:2-22; Zech 8:23). But this did not require them to be converted to Judaism as the Jewish Christians thought. All that was required of them was simply faith in Christ.
After stating the doctrinal principles, St James drew up a decree that spelt out the practical steps to take. Whilst recognizing that circumcision and observance of the laws of Moses were not required, nevertheless, in Christian charity, for the sake of the Jewish Christians, they should be sensitive to their religious, moral and cultural practices. He said, “I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” So there was a compromise as well. Just because something is permitted, it does not mean that we should do it and as a result offend the sensitivities of others. St Paul himself later wrote, “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.” (Rom 14:14f) The paradigm has been set for the Church by the apostles in dealing with new developments in the Church, whether changing trends, circumstances or situations. We must discern as a Catholic community through a recognition of the situation but always taking direction from the scriptures as inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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