ACTS 5:27-33: THURSDAY'S READING FOR REFLECTION
manuel tuazon, ocds
A.M.D.G.
For: Thursday, April 9, 1997
2nd Week of Easter
From: Acts 5:27-33
The Apostles Before the Sanhedrin
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[27] And when they (the captain and the officers) brought them (the
Apostles), they set them before the council. And the high priest
questioned them, [28] saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in
this Name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and
you intend to bring this Man's blood upon us." [29] But Peter and the
Apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. [30] The God of
our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree.
[31] God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give
repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. [32] And we are
witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given
to those who obey Him."
[33] When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
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Commentary:
29. The Apostles' failure to obey the Sanhedrin is obviously not due to
pride or to their not knowing their place (as citizens they are subject
to the Sanhedrin's authority); the Sanhedrin is imposing a ruling which
would have them go against God's law and their own conscience.
The Apostles humbly and boldly remind their judges that obedience to
God comes first. They know that many members of the Sanhedrin are
religious men, good Jews who can understand their message; they try not
so much to justify themselves as to get the Sanhedrin to react: they
are more concerned about their judges' spiritual health than about
their own safety. St. John Chrysostom comments: "God allowed the
Apostles to be brought to trial so that their adversaries might be
instructed, if they so desired. [...] The Apostles are not irritated
by the judges; they plead with them compassionately, with tears in
their eyes, and their only aim is to free them from error and from
divine wrath" ("Hom. on Acts", 13). They are convinced that "those who
fear God are in no danger, only those who do not fear Him" ("ibid.")
and that it is worse to commit injustice than to suffer it. We can see
from the Apostles' behavior how deep their convictions run; grace and
faith in Jesus Christ have given them high regard for the honor of
God. They have begun at last to love and serve God without counting
the cost. This is true of Christian maturity. "In that cry "serviam"!
[I will serve!] you express your determination to `serve' the Church of
God most faithfully, even at the cost of fortune, of reputation and of
life" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way", 519).
The Church often prays to God to give its children this resilience:
they need it because there is always the danger of growing indifferent
and of abandoning the faith to some extent. "Lord, fill us with that
spirit of courage which gave your martyr Sebastian," his feast's
liturgy says, "strength to offer his life in faitful witness. Help us
to learn from him to cherish your law and to obey you rather than men"
("Roman Missal").
A Christian should conform his behavior to God's law: that law should
be his very life. He should obey and love God's commandments as taught
by the Church, if he wishes to live a truly human life. The law of God
is not something burdensome: it is a way of freedom, as Sacred
Scripture is at pains to point out: "The Lord is my portion, I promise
to keep Thy words. I entreat Thy favor with all my heart; be gracious
to me according to Thy promise. When I think of Thy ways, I turn my
feet to Thy testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep Thy
commandments. Though the cord of the wicked ensnare me, I do not
forget Thy law. At midnight I rise to praise Thee, because of Thy
righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all who fear Thee, of those
who keep Thy precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of Thy steadfast
love; teach me Thy statutes" (Psalm 119:57-64).
Conscience, which teaches man in the depths of his heart, gradually
shows him what the law of God involves: "Man has in his heart a law
inscribed by God. His dignity lies in observing this law, and by it he
will be judged (cf. Romans 2:15-16). His conscience is man's most
secret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God, whose
voice echoes in his depths. By conscience, in a wonderful way, that
law is made known. [...] The more a correct conscience prevails, the
more do persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and try to be
guided by the objective standards of moral conduct" (Vatican II,
"Gaudium Et Spes", 16).
Good and evil are facts of life. A person can identify them. There
are such things as good actions--and there are evil actions, which
should always be avoided. The goodness or badness of human actions is
not essentially dependent on the circumstances, although sometimes
these can affect it to some extent.
Like the eye, conscience is designed to enable a person to see, but it
needs light from outside (God's law and the Church's guidance) to
discover religious and moral truths and properly appreciate them.
Without that help man simply tires himself out in his search; he seeks
only himself and forgets about good and evil, and his conscience
becomes darkened by sin and moral opportunism.
"With respect to conscience," [Pope] Paul VI teaches, "an objection can
arise: Is conscience not enough on its own as the norm of our conduct?
Do the Decalouges, the codes, imposed on us from outside, not undermine
conscience [...]? This is a delicate and very current problem. Here
all we will say is that subjective conscience is the first and
immediate norm of our conduct, but is needs light, it needs to see
which standard it should follow, especially when the action in question
does not evidence its own moral exigencies. Conscience needs to be
instructed and trained about what is the best choice to make, by the
authority of a law" ("General Audience", 28 March 1973).
A right conscience, which always goes hand in hand with moral prudence,
will help a Christian to obey the law like a good citizen and also to
take a stand, personally or in association with others, against any
unjust laws which may be proposed or enacted. The State is not
almighty in the sphere of law. It may not order or permit anything it
likes; therefore not everything legal is morally lawful or just.
Respect due to civil authority--which is part of the Gospel message and
has always been taught by the Church--should not prevent Christians and
people of good will from opposing legislators and rulers when they
legislate and govern in a way that is contrary to the law of God and
therefore to the common good. Obviously, this legitimate kind of
resistance to authority should always involve the use of lawful
methods.
It is not enough for good Christians to profess PRIVATELY the teaching
of the Gospel and the Church regarding human life, the family,
education, freedom, etc. They should realize that these are subjects
of crucial importance for the welfare of their country, and they should
strive, using all the usual means at their disposal, to see that the
laws of the State are supportive of the common good. Passivity towards
ideologies and stances that run counter to Christian values is quite
deplorable.
30. "Hanging Him on a tree": this is reminiscent of Deuteronomy 21:23:
if a criminal is put to death "and you hang him on a tree, his body
shall not remain all night upon a tree, but you shall bury him the same
day, for a hanged man is accursed by God." This is a reference to
crucifixion, a form of capital punishment which originated in Persia;
it was common throughout the East and was later adopted by the Romans.
32. God sends the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him, and, in turn, the
Apostles obey the indications of the Spirit with complete docility.
If we are to obey the Holy Spirit and do what He asks us, we need to
cultivate Him and listen to what He says. "Get to know the Holy
Spirit, the Great Stranger, on whom depends your sanctification.
"Don't forget that you are God's temple. The Advocate is in the center
of your soul; listen to Him and be docile to His inspirations"
([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way", 57).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentary
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland. Printed in Hungary.
"The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries" is currently available in
the New Testament version only.
"Nihil Obstat": Stephen J. Greene, "Censor Deputatus".
"Imprimi Potest": J. O'Carroll, Diocesan Administrator, 15 October
1987.
Reprinted with permission from the U.S. publisher (see below).
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