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FfflMa Alive!!
Thursday, May 20, 1999
The great story told in the
Acts of the Apostles
By Father Dale Launderville, OSB
Catholic News Service
X he Acts of the Apostles tells the
story of the rapid spread of the good
news about Jesus Christ to the ends of
the earth. The Holy Spirit empowered
the disciples to proclaim God’s salva
tion to all peoples, even at the cost of
imprisonment and martyrdom.
Now, the spread of the faith took
place in the midst of conflict and dan
ger. However, the outcome was
scarcely in doubt for those convinced
God had foreordained that Jesus
would be handed over to death (Acts
2:23) and then raised up and exalted
at God’s right hand (Acts 5:31-32,39).
Peter was leader of the Twelve. On
Pentecost, he proclaimed to all as
sembled in Jerusalem:
“Let the entire house of Israel know
with certainty that God has made him
both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus
whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
Those who received this message
asked what they should do. Peter in
structed that they should repent, be
baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
This pattern of initiation into the com
munity of believers was repeated
throughout the Acts of the Apostles; it
lives on in the church of the present
time.
The community of believers in Acts
held everything in common. New
members would sell all their posses
sions, entrust the proceeds to the
apostles and thereby take care of the
needy (Acts 2:44; 4:34-37). They
trusted that God would provide for
5:1-11), neglect of the Greek-speak
ing widows showed that the ideal
unity of the Pentecost experience
could begin to break down.
To counter this, deacons as special
CNS photo of painting of Saints Peter and Paul by Johann Gurer
God’s saving actions in Israel from
Abraham to Solomon and concluding
with a strong condemnation:
“You stiff-necked people, uncir
cumcised in heart and ears, you are
he Acts of the Apostles tells
the story of the rapid spread of
the good news about Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. The Holy
Spirit empowered the disciples to proclaim God’s salvation
even at the cost of imprisonment and martyrdom.”
m
them, and thus spent their time in
prayer, thanksgiving and the com
mon life.
In Acts 3, Peter and John healed a
lame man at the temple gate by the
command, “In the name of Jesus of
Nazareth, stand up and walk.” This
miraculous deed provided the occasion
for Peter to proclaim that it was the
crucified and risen Jesus who had
healed the lame man.
That event led Sadducees to put
Peter and John in prison (Acts 4:3). In
their defense, the two claimed, “We
cannot keep from speaking about
what we have seen and heard” (Acts
4:19-20).
As the community of believers
grew in Jerusalem, conflict arose
between Greek-speaking believers
and Hebrew-speaking believers
about distribution of food to
Greek-speaking widows. Just as the
avarice and deceitfulness of Ananias
and Sapphira showed that the ideal
of holding everything in common
was difficult to sustain (Acts
administrators were appointed to
carry out the daily distribution of food
(Acts 6:1-6).
■ ■ ■
The deacon Stephen, responding to
charges that he spoke against the
temple and the law of Israel, gave a
speech (Acts 7) to the high priest and
the council recounting the history of
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just
as your ancestors used to do” (7:51).
Stephen charged them with be
traying and murdering Jesus, “the
righteous one” (7:52). Stephen’s direct
confrontation with leaders in Jerusa
lem resulted in his martyrdom
through stoning (7:58-59).
The conflict about interpreting the
law and the tradition of Israel erupted
not only between Jewish officials and
believers in Jesus, but also among
members of the new believing com
munity.
An important set of practices set
Jewish people apart from gentiles: di
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etary laws. Peter received a vision
that removed the restrictions on eat
ing unclean foods; a heavenly voice
instructed him, “What God has made
clean, you must not call profane” (Acts
10:15).
Peter then visited the house of the
gentile Cornelius and proclaimed the
good news about Jesus. This led to the
baptism of Cornelius’ household
(10:44-48).
Circumcision was another impor
tant practice setting a member of
the Jewish community apart from
gentiles. St. Paul, prior to his dra
matic call to be a disciple of Jesus
(Acts 9:1-22; 22:3-15; 26:9-18), was
a committed Pharisee serving vari
ous Jewish communities in the
Mediterranean world. With his call
to follow Jesus, Paul was commis
sioned to be a missionary to the gen
tiles (9:15).
He did not think circumcision
should be required for gentiles as a
step on their way to incorporation
into the Christian communities.
Other Jewish Christians disagreed.
Acts 15 recounts an important
meeting in Jerusalem to resolve this
issue.
The compromise by this “Jerusa
lem council” stated that gentiles need
not be circumcised but should “ab
stain only from things polluted by
idols and from fornication and from
whatever has been strangled and from
blood” — regulations enjoined on resi
dent aliens in Israel according to
Leviticus 17-18.
Throughout his life, Paul main
tained reverence for the law and the
temple. His conflict with the Jewish
community and certain Jewish Chris
tians centered upon the interpretation
of the law.
However, Paul’s opponents
claimed he radically changed the
law by teaching that circumcision
was not essential for salvation (Acts
21:21).
The decisiveness and committed
action of the apostles and disciples
manifested Jesus Christ’s continuing
presence in the middle of the first
century. Through their preaching,
healing and example, the good news
was brought to the ends of the earth
(Acts 28:23-30).
(Benedictine Father Launderville
is a Scripture scholar at St. John’s
University, Collegeville, Minn.)
Self-improvement has to do with doing better when it comes to health, exercise, human understanding or
personal relationships. There are programs and books to help us accomplish these things. (My doctor wants me to
“do better” by losing 10 pounds!)
Lots of us want to do better by making some of our good qualities really shine. But how close is “self-
improvement” to “conversion” as the Bible presents it? Is conversion a call to polish ourselves up a bit?
Pope John Paul II devoted a chapter to “conversion” in his 1999 apostolic exhortation on America. He called
conversion “a change of mentality” that “fosters a new life.”
The pope wrote: “To speak of conversion, the gap between faith and life must be bridged. Where this gap exists,
Christians are such only in name.” He called conversion “a lifelong task” for everyone.
St. Paul was converted, as the Acts of the Apostles shows. His attitudes, beliefs and actions changed completely.
In the process, Paul became blind; then he was enabled “to see” again. It seems he saw everything differently. I
think that’s the point.
David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive!
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