CCC Cross Reference:
Acts 15:10 578
Ps 96:2 2143
Jn 15:9-10 1824; Jn 15:9 1823
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Reading 1
Acts 15:7-21
After much debate had taken place,
Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters,
“My brothers, you are well aware that from early days
God made his choice among you that through my mouth
the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart,
bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit
just as he did us.
He made no distinction between us and them,
for by faith he purified their hearts.
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test
by placing on the shoulders of the disciples
a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.”
The whole assembly fell silent,
and they listened
while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders
God had worked among the Gentiles through them.
After they had fallen silent, James responded,
“My brothers, listen to me.
Symeon has described how God first concerned himself
with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:
After this I shall return
and rebuild the fallen hut of David;
from its ruins I shall rebuild it
and raise it up again,
so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord,
even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked.
Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
known from of old.
It is my judgment, therefore,
that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols,
unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
For Moses, for generations now,
has had those who proclaim him in every town,
as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Mass Readings
First reading Acts 15:7-21
After the discussion had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the elders.
‘My brothers,’ he said ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers. In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.’
This silenced the entire assembly, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.
When they had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘listen to me. Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the pagans. This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:
After that I shall return
and rebuild the fallen House of David;
I shall rebuild it from its ruins
and restore it.
Then the rest of mankind,
all the pagans who are consecrated to my name,
will look for the Lord,
says the Lord who made this known so long ago.
‘I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has always had his preachers in every town, and is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath.’
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95(96):1-3,10
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel John 15:9 - 11
Jesus said:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Thursday of the 5th Week of Easter
From: Acts 15:7-21
Peter's Address to the Elders (Continuation)
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[7] And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. [8] And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us; [9] and He made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. [10] Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? [11] But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.
James' Speech
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[12] And all the assembly kept silence; and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. [13] After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brethren, listen to me. [14] Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. [15] And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written, [16] 'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up, [17] that the rest of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, [18] says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old.' [19] Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those the Gentiles who turn to God, [20] but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood. [21] For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."
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Commentary:
7-11. Peter's brief but decisive contribution follows on a lengthy discussion which would have covered the arguments for and against the need for circumcision to apply to Gentile Christians. St. Luke does not give the arguments used by the Judaizing Christians (these undoubtedly were based on a literal interpretation of the compact God made with Abraham--cf. Genesis 17)--and on the notion that the Law was perennial.)
Once again, Peter is a decisive factor in Church unity. Not only does he draw together all the various legitimate views of those trying to reach the truth on this occasion: he points out where the truth lies. Relying on his personal experience (what God directed him to do in connection with the baptism of Cornelius: cf. Chapter 10), Peter sums up the discussion and offers a solution which coincides with St. Paul's view of the matter: it is grace and not the Law that saves, and therefore circumcision and the Law itself have been superseded by faith in Jesus Christ. Peter's argument is not based on the severity of the Old Law or the practical difficulties Jews experience in keeping it; his key point is that the Law of Moses has become irrelevant; now that the Gospel has been proclaimed the Law is not necessary for salvation: he does not accept that it is necessary to obey the Law in order to be saved. Whether one can or should keep the Law for other reasons is a different and secondary matter.
As a gloss on what Peter says, St. Ephraem writes that "everything which God has given us through faith and the Law has been given by Christ to the Gentiles through faith and without observance of the Law" ("Armenian Commentary, ad loc.").
11. St. Paul makes the same point in his letter to the Galatians: "We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified" (2:15f).
"No one can be sanctified after sin," St. Thomas Aquinas says, "unless it be through Christ. [...] Just as the ancient fathers were saved by faith in the Christ to come, so we are saved by faith in the Christ who was born and suffered" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 61, a. 3 and 4).
"That thing is absolutely necessary without which no one can attain salvation: this is the case with the grace of Christ and with the sacrament of Baptism, by which a person is reborn with Christ" ("ibid.", q. 84, a. 5).
13-21. James the Less, to whose authority the Judaizers had appealed follows what Peter says. He refers to the Apostle by his Semitic name -- Symeon – and accepts that he has given a correct interpretation of what God announced though the prophets. In saying that God had "visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name" he seems to be giving up the Jewish practice of using "people" to refer to the Israelites (Exodus 19:9; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2) as distinct from the Gentiles--gain the central message of Paul, that baptized pagans also belong to the people of the promise: "You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19).
James' concurrence with what Peter says and the fact that both are in agreement with the basic principles of Paul's preaching indicate that the Holy Spirit is at work, giving light to all to understand the true meaning of the promises contained in Scripture. "As I see it, the richness of these great events cannot be explained unless it be with help from the same Holy Spirit who was their author" (Origen, "In Ex Hom.", IV, 5).
James immediately goes on to propose that the meeting issue a solemn, formal statement which proclaims the secondary character of the Law and at the same time makes allowance for the religious sensitivity of Jewish Christians by prohibiting four things--1) the eating of meat from animals used in sacrifice to idols; 2) avoidance of fornication, which goes against the natural moral order; 3) eating meat which has blood in it; and 4) eating food made with the blood of animals.
These prohibitions are laid down in Leviticus and to be understood properly they must be read in the light of Leviticus. The Jews considered that if they ate meat offered to idols this implied in some way taking part in sacrilegious worship (Leviticus 17:7-9). Although St. Paul makes it clear that Christians were free to act as they pleased in this regard (cf. 1 Corinthians 8-10), he will also ask them not to scandalize "the weak".
Irregular unions and transgressions in the area of sexual morality are mentioned in Leviticus 18:6ff; some of the impediments will later be included in Church law on marriage.
Abstention from blood and from the meat of strangled animals (cf. Leviticus 17: 10ff) was based on the idea that blood was the container of life and as such belonged to God alone. A Jew would find it almost impossible to overcome his religious and cultural repugnance at the consumption of blood.
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From: John 15:9-11
The Vine and the Branches (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [9] "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; abide in My love. [10] If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
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Commentary:
9-11. Christ's love for Christians is a reflection of the love the Three Divine Persons have for one another and for all men: "We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
The certainty that God loves us is the source of Christian joy (verse 11), but it is also something which calls for a fruitful response on our part, which should take the form of a fervent desire to do God's will in everything, that is, to keep His commandments, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who did the will of His Father (cf. John 4:34).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
and your joy be complete.’
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