Pass It On
May 20: Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Today’s readings are about teaching lessons, in opposite ways. In the first reading, Apollos is corrected explicitly and clearly, so he can amend his preaching. Jesus, on the other hand, tells us why He has been speaking in metaphors and similes.
Both methods are valid at different times for different reasons. A good preacher knows when and how to use both.
Reading 1
Acts 18:23-28
After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples.
A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.
Apollos was a Christian, but he didn’t have a full understanding of baptism.
Paul straightens him out, and Apollos becomes a great teacher. Paul even mentions him in his first Letter to the Corinthians: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.”1
Just like a farmer can’t actually see what’s happening inside a seed, we can’t see see what’s happening in someone’s heart when we share the Good News. It might become obvious, like with Apollos, but it might not. It might take someone a long time to come around, and we may never actually see it. But, like Paul, we have to have faith that God will cause the seed we plant to grow.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 47:2-3, 8-9, 10
R. God is king of all the earth.
All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God is king of all the earth.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God is king of all the earth.
The princes of the peoples are gathered together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
For God's are the guardians of the earth;
he is supreme.
R. God is king of all the earth.
Part of the greatness of Christianity is bringing the world together. The Israelites considered them separate from the rest of the world for so long, the idea of bringing them together with everyone else seemed to require an act of God.
And yet, it’s Jesus who came out of Israel, and His followers, like Paul, who reached out beyond their borders and brought everyone they could together, so that God would be recognized as the king of all the Earth.
Alleluia
Jn 16:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I came from the Father and have come into the world;
now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”2 Jesus was with us for only a short time, but He’s eternally with God. But he laid a path for us to follow, so we can all be with the Father.
Gospel
Jn 16:23b-28
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
"I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."
Jesus spoke in figures of speech3 for a few reasons. A lot of what He says, in particular about his death and resurrection, would be pretty unbelievable until it happened. So He speaks in a kind of coded language, which becomes obvious once you hear about the events of Holy Week.
He was also being safe. Using “dark sayings,” as they’re sometimes called, meant he’d have some plausible deniability with the Pharisees until the time was right.
But perhaps most importantly, these phrases were memorable. The utility of the previous two reasons passes once Jesus has risen from the grave. But He knew the Church would outlive Him in His time on Earth, after the ascension, and they would need ways of spreading the Word.
The Golden Rule, the Beatitudes, “the stone that the builders rejected,” “good Samaritan” — we still remember these thousands of years later.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but he was also a good orator who helped His audience remember the lessons.
John’s preferred phrasing, over “parables.”