Fr Kevin Kilgore

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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.”

The Word of the Lord.

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Reading through the Acts of the Apostles reveals the inspiring journey of the early Church. These Christians lived with immense courage and conviction as they faced poverty, persecution, and in some cases, death for their beliefs.

To edify each other, they lived in community, they pooled their resources together, they prayed, and fasted often.

However, life within the early Church was not without conflict. Although there was an abundance of grace at work in their hearts and communities, they were still human. Like us, they wrestled with uncertainty and sin.

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One of the earliest problems the Church faced was that of growth. While the first Christians were Jewish converts, a steady stream of Gentiles started flooding the Church. 

On the surface, that was great news! The Church was growing! But beneath that growth arose the issue of identity. The Jews saw themselves as God’s chosen people. Even Jewish converts carried this conviction in their hearts.

The Gentiles were seen as different, or worse, impure. As a result, some Gentiles complained about being treated like second class citizens. Some of the religious leaders tried resolving the issue by requiring everyone to follow Old Testament rituals. 

But Peter insisted that faith in Christ is enough.

“Why are you placing a yoke on their shoulders that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?” he says. “On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Although this issue was formally resolved – all were to be treated equally – there remained work to be done in terms of removing a judgmental eye or prejudice from some people’s hearts.

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It remains a challenge for the Church to create a culture of openness, mercy, and welcome as some still debate who is or isn’t “worthy” of welcome, of the Sacraments, or how many hoops one must jump through before being embraced. 

May Peter’s words remind us that in spite of our differences – whatever they may be – we are all equal, beggars before God.  

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Image credits: (1) Was Blind But Now I See, Michael Valliant (2) New Covenant Church (3) Williamsburg Presbyterian Church

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Gospel: John 15: 1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel offers two simple lessons in the spiritual life:

Bear fruit, and be pruned.

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The first is the easier of the two: bear fruit. 

Do good in the world. Love. Forgive. Be generous, kind, compassionate, merciful. Follow the teachings of Christ.

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The second is more challenging: be pruned.

Most plants have two types of branches – those that are fruitful and those that are withering.

Withering branches are the dark, limp ones. They must be pruned because they sap energy and nutrients from the vine while bearing no fruit. It’s a fascinating truth: withering branches take energy to die.

Perhaps we can find a withering branch or two in our own hearts, which must be nipped: a grudge, anger, jealousy, selfishness, a certain temptation, or an unhealthy relationship. Things that sap our energy without giving life in return.

Christ, the Divine Gardener, wants to prune these through prayer and the Sacraments.

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Occasionally, even fruitful branches must be pruned in order to bear more fruit. Meaning, sometimes we have to give up things that are “good” for things that are “great.”

For example, sometimes we need to trim our social or sports schedules in order to make more time for God. 

We may need to cut back on household expenses in order to give more away. 

We may need to nip our appetites to remind ourselves of our deepest hunger. As Jesus himself said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

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Bear fruit. Be pruned.

May Jesus, the Divine Gardener, continue working in our hearts today.

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Image credits: (1) Christ and Saint Mary Magdalene at the Tomb, Rembrandt (2) Word of Grace Church (3) fillyourheartgardens.com

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Acts 14: 19-28

In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.

The Word of the Lord.

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Holy Week reveals how fickle human beings can be. On Palm Sunday, Jesus ascends into Jerusalem like a king. People shout “Hosanna!” while laying palm branches at his feet. But on Good Friday, they turn and shout, “Crucify him!”

Saint Paul later experiences the same type of whiplash, from being praised to persecuted. In our first reading, the crowds nearly stone him to death, dragging him out of the city, leaving for dead.

But only a few verses prior, the crowds worshipped Paul, mistaking him for a god, after he healed a crippled man. Paul literally tore his clothing in anger at them, urging the crowds to believe – not in him – but in the power of God!

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Fortunately, Paul did not give up on the flock he adopted as his own.

After being nearly stoned to death, he awakens under a pile of rubble, comes to his senses, and walks right back into the very same city, preaching to the same people who threw stones at him.

His courage cut many to the heart. They came to see, Paul was either a madman wishing for a death sentence, or he was exactly who he said he was – an Apostle who witnessed the Risen Christ.

His message to them converted many. “Christ died for our sins,” he said. “In accordance with the scriptures, he was buried, raised from the dead, then he appeared to Peter and the others, and last of all he appeared to me.”

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Sometimes we may experience the same type of stubborn resistance to the Gospel when sharing our faith with others – even family members and friends. 

But Jesus and Saint Paul remind us to never give up. Our unrelenting thirst for souls lends credibility to our message that Christ loves us and has been raised from the dead! Alleluia!

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Image credits: (1) Tennessee Bible College (2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (3) Bible Study Media