2nd Sunday in Easter 2018 (Cycle B)
April 8, 2018
Acts of the Apostles 4:32-335
1 John 5:1-6
John 20:19-31
The author of the Acts of the Apostles, like most of scripture, does not identify himself. The only thing we know for certain is that he has written this to “Theophilus” which is translated as “lover of God.” Speculation is that he was an early Christian leader or a man of wealth who could afford to have a copy of the Gospel and Acts and would have them published or distributed to the early Christians.
There was much debate as to who the actual author was, and tradition has settled on an individual named Luke, who was supposed to be a companion to Paul. His name appears in 3 of Paul’s letters, and Colossians calls him “the physician.”
The debate centers around the fact that while Paul’s letters were widely known by the time he writes Acts, Paul’s major theological themes are not present. Also, descriptions of the same event differs from both their accounts of the event. Also, the gospel and Acts are written in the 80’s and 90’s, some 20 to 30 years after the death of Paul.
Regardless of the debates surrounding the Gospel and Acts, it has generally been accepted that Luke has written both, with the Acts being a continuation of the story of Jesus and the formation of the early church. Think of it as a second book in a series that continues to tell the story of the people, places and events as the church began to grow. The focus is on what is was as an early church and what they did to spread the growth of the Good News.
While in the gospel Luke writes about the events that lead to the death of Jesus, he explains it as part of God’s plan for the salvation of Israel, their hopes and promises. In Acts Luke shows how the early missionaries, Peter and Paul and others have carried out the plan of Jesus that He had given them to follow after His death and resurrection.
One of the major things Luke had to deal with is that it was thought that Christianity was a sect within the Jewish traditions since that is where the original followers came from. But when this “sect” began to admit non-Jews into it’s community, then it really turned things upside down. Luke attempts to show that first, God was making good on His promises to the people of the old covenant as it pertains to Jesus and what he was trying to do. Latter in Acts Luke acknowledges that the Good News was a blessing that was also bestowed upon the Gentiles.
Todays reading takes up with Luke’s explanation/summary of how the community of believers continued to grow, even after Peter and John have been forbidden by the Jewish authorities to preach about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. His emphasis is on the group of believers came to live together as a community and shared all that they had with each other. They did not claim the possessions they had as belonging to themselves, but that they were to be shared by all in the community. If they had a house, they sold it and brought the proceeds to be distributed among the entire community, each individual receiving what they needed.
Our epistle today is from 1 John and the beginning of the last chapter. John is making the point that faith is vital for those who claim to be followers of Jesus, and that if we are true followers then God will love us in return. When we love God, we love all He has created.
When we love God, then there is no burden, there is not any commandment, there are not any obstacles that get in our way of following God and living by His commandments.
He asks the question “who, then is conqueror of the world?” He answers his own question by saying that anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. John then proceeds to point out that the Spirit testifies to this truth. The summary for them and us today is that for any believer in the Son of God, has eternal life.
John’s gospel today has many meanings, but the central one we need to be aware of is faith, belief in Jesus as the Son of God. There are two appearances of the resurrected Jesus and they each have important meanings. In the first appearance, Jesus has come to the disciples even though the room they were in had the doors are locked because they were afraid of the Jews. They rejoiced when they recognized the Lord in their midst. Jesus then imparts the Holy Spirit upon them and forgives them for leaving Him in His time of need. This gift of forgiveness they are to share with the world.
In the second appearance Thomas is able to see and feel the wounds that Jesus suffered and he believes immediately. In the loving way that Jesus does, He tells Thomas that he believes because He has seen Him, but that all who come to belief in Him even if they have not seen will be blest.
The original ending to John’s gospel is next where John writes that Jesus will do many other signs that are not written in His book, but that these were the ones that were written down to help others understand and come to belief that Jesus was the Son of God who died for our sins.