First Thoughts on Year B First Reading Acts Passages from the Lectionary
Easter 7
William Loader
Easter 7: 12 May Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
In
the mists of the beginnings of the early church Luke constructs a
picture of what might or must have been. Whether it was really so we
have no way of telling. So much of what Luke writes of the early years
is heavy with symbolism that it is hard to tell. Symbolism is already
apparent in the 120 people gathered. People in the ancient world knew
that that was 12 x 10. They would also know that there had been 12
disciples, most likely a deliberate numerical choice on the poart of
the historical Jesus because the movement he founded was based on the
hopes of Israel, the 12 tribes. One, Judas, had failed. By Luke's day
there were various explanations about what he did and how he died. The
diversity has invited speculation from seeing him as a supporter who
just wanted create the trigger for Jesus to assert himself to seeing
him as a traitor interested only in the money, the image of greed we
find in the fourth gospel.
Clearly there would have had to have been a replacement. At least, that
is the assumption in the way Luke has been told the story. It sounds
like there could be only 12 apostles and to qualify one must have been
with Jesus from the time of John the Baptist onwards. Later we hear of
conflict over such restrictions or at least of Paul making the claim,
as he regularly does in his letters, to be one of the apostles, even
though he did not qualify, at least on the basis of the criteria listed
in our passage. He advocated a much more open stance. Luke knows
traditions which called Paul an apostle, but here he seeks to confine
the role to these 12. Both in his gospel and in Acts Luke is concerned
with continuity and authority. The gospel begins with devout Jews in
the temple, of whom it could be said that they were true and faithful
people of Israel. Acts also begins with devout believing Jews, who
attend the temple. Whereas Mark has resurrection appearances of Jesus
occur in Galilee, in Luke they appear in Jerusalem. Even the geography
is changed because it too carried symbolism. Continuity is a priority.
Keeping a group of 12 intact belongs to this concern with continuity.
Order is also important, so Luke wants to show that the first believers
dealt with the problem of Judas' vacancy properly, at least judged by
the standards of the time. They prayed and "tossed a coin" as it were
and it was done. Luke may well have believed that such prayer will
guarantee the outcome is valid, uncontaminated by human interference.
It may have happened like that. It may be Luke's imagining. By more
informed standards it is no way to make decisions. Even the wildest
charismatic groups today would do better than that. We should not
complain. It is not the only assumption we do not share with the
ancient world. We do not share their views about creation's age, about
the shape of the world, about what causes illness, and much more. That
does not prevent us from finding our own sense of continuity amid the
discontinuity.
Luke will go in in his symbolic narrative to count 40 days during which
Jesus appears, at the end of which he ascends (which for us has also to
be symbolic - he did not go into orbit!), matching the famous sets of
40 days and 40 years of Jewish tradition. On that basis Paul's
encounter which comes later was not an appearance of the risen jesus
like those in the 40 days. He then dates the coming of the Spirit, in
appropriate symbolism, to the Jewish harvest festival, Pentecost, a
pilgrom festival to which Jews from all over their world gathered and
so an image of mission. The symbolism of breath and fire lends detail
to the scene where a mighty rushing wind blows and toungues of fire
appear on believers' heads. Knowing Jews would sense echoes of the
legend about Sinai that at the giving of the Law a flame came from
heaven, split in 70 parts, one for each nation of their world and only
one nation agreed to embrace it, Israel.
The continuity, so colourfully conveyed, is about being connected to
the God who was known in the past and would be known in the future as
the God who seeks to bring hope and liberation. God's Spirit seeks
continuity right through to our own time and right into our own
congregations and lives, not just in individuals but in the messiness
of groups with their patterns of leadership and organisation, parts of
the corporate body which deserves as much care and respect as do our
bodies as individuals. The issue is always continuity - continuity with
what God has done and is doing.
Gospel: Easter 7: 12 May John 17:6-19
Epistle: Easter 7: 12 May
1 John 5:9-13
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