Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 9, 2011 - 7th Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 and John 17:20-26,926]Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,so he called out before the Sanhedrin,"My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
Paul's preaching in Jerusalem on his final trip there got him in trouble with the religious authorities (Sadducees) and the devout Jewish laity known as the Pharisees. They were ready to lynch him when the Roman commander intervened and called all the interested parties together. Paul cleverly reveals his background as a Pharisee, which immediately causes an uproar. The Pharisees had certain beliefs which the Sadducees (the priestly and aristocratic class) did not, because the latter accepted only the Torah (the Law of Moses) as scripture and claimed there was no authority for "resurrection or angels or spirits" in those five books. The Pharisees accepted a much wider range of writings. Paul had been a Pharisee before his conversion. He was also a Roman citizen by virtue of his origin in a Roman colony. The result of all of this would be his appeal to Caesar, leading to his final journey to Rome and his martyrdom.
This would all be perhaps an interesting bit of history were it not for the direct challenge to our own beliefs. Yes, there is considerable diversity in Judaism. As a campus minister at Tulane, I knew that during the High Holy Days there would be three different Jewish services on campus: Reformed, Conservative and Orthodox! There is a tremendous diversity in Christianity (from the very beginning, it should be admitted, and not just from the time of the Reformation) and the unity Jesus prayed for in the gospel scripture for today still seems a faraway goal. We are rapidly learning that there is considerable diversity in Islam.
The Catholic heritage is also diverse and even if there is a creed that we pronounce each Sunday which is shared by all the many liturgical traditions of the church, one wonders if that is what really holds us together. I imagine the Pope must feel at times that he is a shepherd of cats, not sheep! One can easily start a very lively argument by taking a stand on certain liturgical observances which one or another party consider an article of faith! Paul was counting on that tension and adversarial situation when he made his statement! It may be interesting and educational (and frightening) to learn about our diversity, but we will need a lot of prayer and effort to build our unity! AMEN