4th Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2014

(Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10)

Peters speech after the Pentecost event continues in the Acts
reading. The accusation against the Jews as a whole people continues,
with the mention of Jesus whom you crucified. This leads to an
unexpected change of heart as they ask Peter, what they are to do.
Peter urges them to repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Some fundamentalists try to
impose a meaning on this baptism different from the Trinitarian
formula which we use in baptisms. Baptizing in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is simply the culmination
of study and reflection on divine revelation. We note the inclusion of
the Trinitarian formula at the end of Matthews Gospel (Mt.28:19)
when Jesus gathers with the disciples in Galilee and tells them to
baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. There are not different baptisms. Peters Pentecost speech
simply reflects an early formula which eventually evolved into a
Trinitarian formula later. Even though baptism in the name of Jesus
is consistent throughout Acts, it is not a different baptism from the
Trinitarian baptism into which it evolves.
Coming as it does at the end of Peters speech, Luke notes the
conversion of three thousand persons, which is Lukes way of saying
that Peters speech was a smashing success. Revivalist crusades today
like to make similar boasts, in line of course, with the mindset that
limits all success to New Testament models. Mass conversions on
such a scale mean very little. When the emotion wears away, many of
those swept up in most movements gradually fade away too.
Peters advice in the second reading is much more sober and
much more satisfactory for the long term: If you are patient when you
suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. This
behavior is modeled after Christ who left an example for us. It should
be noted that these verses of 1Peter are directed to slaves (or servants)
in Christian households. The Greek word used is oiketoi which means
literally members of the household, or house slaves or domestic
servants. The existence of slaves in Christian households must have
created certain tensions within those households. Advice like this may
not have done much to ease the tensions. Telling those who had no
rights anyway, to buck up under suffering such as this, was probably
not too warmly received, no matter how widely Peter intended the
advice to be distributed. By pointing to what Christ suffered, Peter
tries to put all human suffering in context.
Finally the Gospel turns to what might be called the Sheep
Section of John. The first part is a parable (or a number of parables?)
which runs through verse 5. The real point of the parable seems to be
that only thieves try to enter the sheepfold by climbing over a fenced
in area, rather than walking in through the gate. It is evident from the
end of chapter 9 that Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. They are the
ones who are called thieves and robbers.
Then Jesus claims to be the gate through which whoever passes
will be saved. The theme of salvation and giving life recurs throughout
Johns Gospel, so it is easily understood here. None who came before
Jesus could offer what he offers, which is salvation itself. Attentive
readers will probably hear an echo here of John 14:6 where Jesus says
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.

Fr. Lawrence Hummer