So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves fighting against God.
Anti-intellectualism runs deep in American culture. With their knowledge of history and broader experience of the world, intellectuals struggle with the "common sense" of people whose daily life is also a struggle with classism, racism, illiteracy, and poverty.
The intellectual Gamaliel urged his colleagues in the Sanhedrin to tolerate the absurd claims of the Galileans that the crucified Jesus had been raised from the dead and appeared in the city. "We've seen this before, and how many times?"
Jerusalem had a history of messiahs. To this day, Jewish and Christian messiahs appear in all parts of the world and they always come to Jerusalem! And the City knows what to do with them. In Jesus's day, their energy evaporated with their death. If this latest messiah had resurfaced after the man was crucified, let it be. It can't be from God. The LORD will see us through! How many kings, emperors, tyrants, messiahs, and fools have we already outlasted?
Everyone agreed with Gamaliel. But they couldn't resist the urge to beat the disciples anyway. Who only laughed about their mistreatment. As Marlon Brando said in The Wild One, "My old man used to hit me harder than that."
Actually, their apostolic faith was affirmed by the abuse:
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.
Our gospel today invites us to consider the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. It will be followed by several readings from John 6. This teaching also faces high winds of opposition from the common sense of skeptics who see only small wafers and tiny sips of wine. They wonder why Catholics go to such bother to honor the Sacrament when they might be doing other, more useful things. Why all this stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight during the Mass? Can't you just relax and let the preachers do their thing? Sure we honor the Lord but it's not that important! He doesn't care that much!
We Catholics have never got over our urgent, apocalyptic sense that, "Now is the hour of salvation!" We must honor God; we should never be far from his Presence. He has sent his Son into our world, this sorry place where we live, and our hearts gravitate around the tabernacle like planets around a star and moons around a planet.
We are endlessly fascinated; and, despite this world's million distractions and occasional abuse, God distracts us back into himself. We cannot forget what we have seen and heard because we see the signs he performs everywhere.
It is an extraordinary privilege to be Catholic, to belong to the Lord and these Sacraments, and to follow this Way. Like intellectuals but even more so, we remember our history and the deeds of the Lord. They are real and persuasive for us. We'd follow him into the wilderness if we have to.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.