5th Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2015
10 AM & 12 Noon Liturgies
J.A. Loftus, S.J.
Most of us know from everyday life that often we have to
scratch beneath the surface of things a bit before finding out what’s
really going on. Reading a daily newspaper is one good example.
We know one cannot always just read headlines and find truth.
Reading sacred scriptures is another example—even though
scratching the scriptures only became possible for Catholics in the
mid-twentieth century. But scratching is important in the search
for truth. Now no one realizes more than I that exegesis does not a
great homily make. But sometimes it does help. So today this
homily will be more informational than inspirational. Let’s scratch
together a little bit.
The Easter season comes filled with scripture passages that
offer stunning glimpses into the earliest church communities. And
the glimpses are not always flattering. Despite the pictures of their
bravado and courage in proclaiming the resurrected Jesus, they
really were in completely uncharted waters. For every charismatic
figure like Stephen, or Barnabas or Paul, there is a Peter or James
sitting in a room trying to figure out how to maintain this growing
clan. It was by no means easy to maintain or to grow.
There are conflicts apparent even in the scriptures
themselves—the very ones that we still read every Sunday. Today
is a wonderful example. The reading today from the Acts of the
Apostles might seem to be “a straightforward piece of historical
narrative, creating no problems in interpretation.” That’s what the
biblical scholar Reginald Fuller suggests. But one would be
mistaken. It is very clearly a Lucan version of a story.
Compare it with Paul’s own autobiographical description
found in his letter to the Galatians (1: 18-19). It’s Paul’s first visit
to Jerusalem. But Paul’s own account emphasizes his entire
independence of the Jerusalem apostles. On his first postconversion visit he says he merely saw Cephas and accidentally ran
into James during his fifteen-day stay. Paul says, “I did not confer
with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who
were already apostles before me….”
Luke offers us a very different account today. Luke has Paul
anxious to join up with the apostles. But they were frightened of
him and only Barnabas could calm their fears. Luke has Paul, once
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introduced to the apostles, “going in and out with them,” a phrase
in other Lucan writings that means they had “intimate
companionship” together.
They both had “an ax to grind.” Paul’s was the illustrate that
he was an “independent” apostle, but just as real as the others. And
Luke’s was to illustrate that there was continuity between Paul and
Peter and the others.
Strange divergences in the accounts. Wonder why there
apparent here? History and theologies have already crept into the
very earliest written accounts we have. History makes a difference
just because Luke and Paul are writing at very different times in
the development of the early church. And time, history, made a
difference.
Theologies also make a difference because already in these
early times the efforts to explain what they were experiencing
were taking widely divergent tracts. They were themselves
already scratching below the surface of their memories and
experience.
The gospels themselves are not immune to these early forces
of history and theologies in shaping the early community’s faith.
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The author of John’s gospel is writing decades later than either
Paul or Luke. And by this time heresies are already solidifying, the
most notable being the highly spiritualized and idiosyncratic
Gnostic heresies.
The image of the vine and the branches is a beautiful and
most likely authentic image of Jesus. But the author of John’s
gospel himself allegorizes it into neat compartments. He tells us
that Jesus says, “I am the vine and my Father is the vine-grower and
my Father takes away every branch that does not bear fruit.” It
becomes for John an image of judgment.
Why? It is because this is really a rather direct attack on the
Gnostic theories that by his time are prevalent in the young
Christian community. Notice that to the faithful community John
says, “You are already pruned by the word, so just remain in me.”
Only by remaining in this truth will you bear much fruit.
So I supposed it’s comforting to know we are all already
pruned. But it’s kind of harsh for those still searching, still
wandering, still doubting.
But the original image used by Jesus is an image of Spring.
Look around! We have abundant vines and branches sprouting
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right now. And no matter now gnarled and twisted, no matter how
buried under mounds of snow and ice, life flows again where it will.
Just look when you walk outside.
Let’s shift the allegory and return to the world of the parable.
Think now of the soil, the ground, the earth as the Father; Jesus as
the vine; and us as the branches. God’s Spirit flows in them all and
still blows where she will. And always will! God’s Promise!
As I said, exegesis on its own does not a homily make. But I
hope our little journey helped a bit. Peace!
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