At the end of yesterday’s First Reading, we saw the members of the Sanhedrin infuriated by the boldness of Peter and his companions and wanted to put them to death. In today’s continuation of this account (Acts 5:34-42) Gamaliel, a Pharisee, stood up and ordered that the accused disciples be put out of the chamber for a short time. He warned his fellow council members not to be too hasty in their judgements. He gave two examples of leaders, Theudas and Judas the Galilean, who started rebellious movements and, in both cases, attracted a large following of supporters.
The Jewish historian Josephus mentions the revolts of Theudas and of Judas the Galilean. They must have taken place about the time Jesus was born. We don’t know much about Theudas, but we do know that Judas led a revolt against paying tribute to Caesar. Although his revolt was crushed, it lived on in the party called the Zealots. We know that one of the apostles, Simon (not Simon Peter), is described as a being Zealot (Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:15). In both cases, after the leaders died their movements fell apart and their followers scattered.
Gamaliel suggested that, on the basis of these experiences, this ‘Jesus’ movement should be left alone. Their leader had also died and what was happening now might be just a flash in the pan.
This kind of phenomenon occurs constantly and is frequently seen, even in our own Church. Like Gamaliel, we should have confidence in the principle that, in the long run, the truth will always prevail. In one sense, Gamaliel was correct. Truth did prevail.
We sometimes get very concerned about new ideas or new movements that surface in our Christian communities. In the current debates about married priests, women priests, and strange ideas about marriage and sexuality and transgenderism, while troubling, we should be confident that in the long run, truth will ultimately win out, whatever trendy decisions we now make.
The Sanhedrin was persuaded by Gamaliel’s argument, but they still had to express their anger. They ordered apostles flogged. This would have been according to Jewish law: 40 lashes minus 1 (the Romans, who scourged Jesus, had no such limitations). This judgement harkens back to what happened to their Master. Although declared innocent by Pilate, Jesus was still subjected to the scourging. The Council then repeated their orders for the apostles to stop preaching.
Far from being cowed or depressed, Peter and his companions left the court rejoicing that God judged them worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10‑12)
Today’ Gospel reading (John 6:1‑15) begins Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, with its strong Eucharistic overtones. In our Easter chronology, we bypass Chapters 4 (the Samaritan Woman) and Chapter 5, that were featured in earlier Gospel readings. Today we hear John’s take on the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, a story we find in all four Gospels but which, in John, has some unique characteristics.
As Jesus crosses the Sea of Tiberias, more commonly known as the Sea of Galilee, large crowds follow him along the shore. The crowd’s motive in pursuing Jesus was because of the “signs that he was doing for the sick.” The implication is that they were not following Jesus for his own sake or because of his teaching. Strictly speaking, they were not disciples, wanting to learn from the Master, but they were people hoping to get some of that healing they had heard so much about. We, too, are like that at times, when we pray for God to give us this, or give us that. We do not always have a commitment to the mission of the Kingdom.
When Jesus comes ashore, He goes up the mountain and sits down with his disciples. The crowd had not yet arrived. There are echoes here of Moses climbing Mt. Sinai to speak with God. Jesus is the new Moses, and his disciples are the nucleus of God’s new people. The feeding also occurs close to Passover, a time soon to be linked with the new Passover in the death and resurrection of Jesus; and with the Eucharist, which is the new Passover meal. The whole chapter is linked to this.
Seeing the vast crowd approaching, Jesus teasingly asks Philip, always presented as being somewhat simple and naïve, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip came from Bethsaida (John 1:44), which was nearby, it was logical to ask him as a ‘local boy’. If Philip had any insight into who Jesus really was, he might have given a different answer. As it was, he sees no solution: “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” Then Andrew, Peter’s brother, mentions that there is a boy (someone insignificant) who has five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish. Obviously, that would not go very far.
But that is all Jesus needs. Clearly, this boy had brought himself lunch for his visit to the country. He could have been selfish and kept his lunch for himself. But, in his childish openness to the needs of others, he made a little contribution for the good of the crowd. Perhaps others did the same thing, sharing what little they had so that all could be fed.
Jesus frequently uses “insignificant” people in doing his work. How many times have I been chosen to be an instrument of God’s work? How many times have I failed to recognize some person I regarded as being of no importance who was, in fact, bringing me something from God? How often have I not recognized God’s presence in what needed to be done?
Jesus now gets all the people, 5,000 men (no need to count the insignificant women and children), the Gospel account tells us, to sit down on the grass. (In meadows of green grass, the Lord lets me lie down. … [He] prepares a table before me. (Psalm 23:2,5)) Then, in a ritual reminiscent of the Eucharist, Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, and distributed to all who were there. All had more than enough to satisfy their hunger, and the disciples are instructed to gather up all what is left over. Twelve baskets (one for each disciple) were filled. The boy provided the offering, but the Lord gave the increase. That is still the role of the Church today.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!