Word to the Wise
Monday, May 10, 2010 - St. Antoninus of Florence, O.P. [Dominican Friar and Bishop]
[Acts 16:11-15 and John 15:26 - 16:4a]You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone kills you will think he is offering worship to God.
The gospels were put into written form only after the information and stories (and reflection on them) had been in circulation for some years. When they were written down, they were written in the midst of the experience of various communities - i.e. persecution and expulsion from synagogues - and reflect the reaction of the communities to their experiences. One might hear it being said, "Don't get discouraged! Jesus warned us this would happen. Remember when he said........?" The Farewell Discourse contains a number of those "memories" which were evoked by the situation of the community from which the Gospel of John arose. One of those memories, in the quote given above, will have a familiar sound. It warns that some of the persecution would have a religious motivation! This continues to be a problem for humans everywhere. Some get the idea that they are the "sword of God" and anyone who believes differently is an enemy to be destroyed. Ask St. Paul before his conversion! The teachings of Jesus are demonstrably against violence but we Christians have conveniently ignored that for centuries. Whatever other religious traditions do to justify violent action, we cannot quote Jesus as authority for violent behavior and claim that we are "offering worship to God" by destroying someone else. The Gospel of John simply reminds us that the problem is an old one. AMEN
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