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Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A, April 20, 2008

First reading, Acts 6:1-7

The Historical Situation: By the time of Jesus, Judaism was old enough to have numerous divisions. Members of more than one Jewish group became Christians, but, human nature being what it is, maintained some of their old factionalism. "Hellenists" means, in general, people of Greek heritage, language or culture. Here specifically it means Greek-speaking Jews who had become Christians. (The integration of non-Jews into Christianity comes a little later, and will cause an even bigger controversy. Stay tuned!) Neglect of one such group by church authorities of another group is behind the events narrated here.

A Theological Reflection: The apostles ratified the choice of these community servants by praying over them and laying hands on them. The church could have met its needs without such ritual. The apostles' choice to solemnize it this way suggests something very interesting about service in the church. They seem to be saying that the role of community servant is worthy of what would become known as ordination. That is, service is so important in the life of the church, that we cannot be the church if we're without mutual service. There are religions that zealously guard the purity of their doctrine, their ritual, or their moral codes, but are without this orientation toward service. For us, it cannot be so. Service constitutes the church, as do word and sacrament.

Proclaiming It: In reading this, pronounce the names of the servants confidently. It doesn't matter how you accent them; just don't stumble on them verbally and thereby distract the congregation from the story. Note that the larger story of Acts continues, "The word of God continued to spread." Make that an important part of your proclamation, too.

Second Reading, 1 Peter 2:4-9.

The Historical Situation: Our ancestors in the faith had once been slaves in Egypt, then nomads in Sinai, then settlers for a few generations, then exiles in Babylon. So the notion of a permanent home, one made (at least in part) of stone, held great appeal for them. Thus it's natural for Peter to use the stone metaphor to describe the place of Jesus in the plan of God and in our lives.

Proclaiming It: Peter contrasts those who accept Jesus as their cornerstone with those who stumble on the stone. As is often the case when a New Testament writer quotes the Old Testament, meanings are not immediately clear to us twenty centuries later. To help the congregation get this, study the passage carefully, until YOU get it, until each sense-line makes sense to you and fits into a logical whole in YOUR mind. That's the best favor you can do for those who will hear your proclamation.

Several other commentaries on these passages. All are thoughtful, all quite readable, from the scholarly to the popular.
Links may be incomplete more than a few weeks before the "due date."
Lutheran pastor and college teacher Dan Nelson's notes for a study group. (Covers a different first reading). Father Roger Karban's 2002 reflections on these readings

his 2005 column,

and his 1999 column on the same readings

Father Karban's most recent columns

Father Frank Cleary's 2002 column from the Saint Louis Review. The Text This Week; links to homilies, art works, movies and other resources on the week's scripture themes Saint Louis University's excellent new site for Liturgy preparation

Most welcome here is Reginald Fuller's commentary on all the readings.

The Lectionary selections in the frame at the left, if any, are there for your convenience. The publishers of the page in that frame have no connection, except for membership in the one Body of Christ, with the publisher of this page. Likewise the publishers of the pages on the links above.

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Last modified: Sat Apr 9 21:39:25 CDT 2005