Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Lectionary: 280

There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.


And a large number of people was added to the Lord.

As I have read the words of our Holy Father Pope Francis I am struck by his emphasis on discernment. This practice has been a particular contribution of Saint Ignatius and his Jesuit disciples. And, typically of many Jesuit contributions, unwelcome in parts of the Church. During an age of massive social disruption and change, it is timely that we should have a papal Disciple of Saint Ignatius with a gift for discernment; and perhaps telling that he is the first Jesuit pope.

The revolution in the Christian movement which Saint Luke describes was not as huge as that we’re experiencing, but it was hugely important. A reform movement among Jews evolved into a new religion among gentiles. Perhaps Jesus saw this all along, as Pope Benedict XVI has argued, but his disciples surely did not. They were astonished when non-Jews surged into their gatherings.

Barnabas and Saint Paul, then Saints Peter and James recognized the Holy Spirit in this movement. If they could neither keep the gentiles out nor set up a separate (but equal) church for them, they had to invite them into the fellowship. 

Perhaps Jesus saw this development when he told his disciples to carry the message to the ends of the earth. It could not be for Jews alone. It could not be limited to Asians. It had to include Europeans and Africans; and then Americans and Australians and Micronesians. 

Nor could its mental constructs -- its philosophy -- be confined by the Platonism of the first century Mediterranean basin. Future insights, sciences, technologies and discoveries would find their true meaning in the light of the gospel. 

Can the Christian adapt fast enough to accommodate all that thought? Probably not. Our brains grow old and crispy, and our thoughts become brittle. But God, who is forever young and forever old, who is Present in every moment, knowing neither past nor future, continually reveals the ineffable mysteries of truth to the open, discerning mind.