Things of Heaven
Apr 20: Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
Hey, I actually found a way to tie the first reading to the Gospel! No idea if it was intentional or not, but I’ll take credit for identifying it, anyway.
Reading 1
Acts 5:27-33
When the court officers had brought the Apostles in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them, "We gave you strict orders did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."
When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.
The Sanhedrin are livid that the Apostles are teaching in Jesus’ name again.
The Apostles—
So the Sanhedrin invoke a law from Deuteronomy to put them to death.1 Ironically, the specific text is "The LORD, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you fear; his commandments shall you observe, and to his voice shall you listen; him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast."
Which is exactly what the apostles are doing! The Sanhedrin don’t see it.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I find it interesting that the psalmist switches between “poor” and ‘just” willy nilly. Because those obviously aren’t the same thing. A poor person can be unjust and a just person can be just.
But what it reminds us is, being just doesn’t mean everything will go well for you all the time. “Many are the troubles of the just man.”
God will help; He hears your cry. But you don’t know when or how.
Alleluia
Jn 20:29
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Poor Thomas. But good new for us!
Gospel
Jn 3:31-36
The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
Grammar and punctuation in Ancient Hebrew are kinda weird. It’s not really clear whether these lines are from Jesus, John the Baptist, or John the Evangelist2 (like yesterday).
In any case, the point is clear—Jesus comes from Heaven. We should be listening to Him, as the Apostles did in the first reading, not the people who come from the Earth, like the Sanhedrin.
I’d like to confess that I’ve been writing these for months, and I still haven’t even once spelled “Evangelist” correctly on the first try.