| Reading 1 | Response | Reading 2 | Gospel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acts 9:26-31 | Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32 | 1 Jn 3:18-24 | Jn 15:1-8 |
| RCL: Acts 8:26-40 | RCL: 1 Jn 4:7-21 |
Eastertime: different ways of living out discipleship
In the Easter season, Jesus appears to his disciples and explains his resurrection’s meaning; reveals himself as good shepherd, true vine, and one who has laid down his life; and prays for those whom he sends into the world. This week’s readings focus on developing discipleship practices.
First reading (Acts 9:26-31)
The first reading is the fifth part of an eight-week, semi-continuous reading from the Acts of the Apostles, written in the late 80s by the same author as Luke’s gospel. Acts continues the story of Jesus and his believing community: the resurrected Jesus returns to the Father and sends the Spirit. Luke’s sequel is the story of the Spirit’s continuing actions in Jesus’ believing community, primarily in the words and actions of Peter and Paul.
In today’s pericope, Paul makes his debut in Jerusalem as a believer in Jesus. Because the Jerusalem community knew Paul only as a persecutor (“they were all afraid of him,” see Ac 7:58-8:3), Paul needed Barnabas’ testimony and sponsorship to make him creditable and acceptable to the Jerusalem leadership and disciples. (Gal 1:18-20 may refer to this visit.) Paul explains his personal encounter with Jesus (Ac 9:3-5), conversion, and mission (Ac 9:19-20). As in Damascus (Ac 9:23-24), Paul’s preaching about Jesus gets him in trouble, this time with the Jerusalem Greek-speaking Jews (“Hellenists”). The disciples get him out of town and send him off to his hometown (“Tarsus”) in Cilicia. Despite the episode with Paul, Luke’s closing summary describes the believing community’s growth as peaceful and abundant throughout the region.
The Lectionary editors chose this reading to show how the risen Jesus, through the Spirit, continues to work in the ekklesia.
Second reading (1 Jn 3:18-24)
The second reading is the fourth part of a six-week, semi-continuous reading from the First Letter of John. John the Elder wrote his letters (1 John, 2 John, 3 John) between 100-115 AD to various Johannine communities (ekklesiais), a network of house-churches probably centered around Ephesus. He urges the communities to unity by clearly stating teachings on the incarnation, the love command, the Spirit, the nature of sin, and end-time expectations.
In today’s pericope, the Elder reassures his believing community that, although their hearts might be troubled, they do have eternal life. A recent schism destabilized and traumatized the Johannine community (1 Jn 2:18-19). To encourage his community, the Elder presents evidence that disciples “do love in deed and truth.” First, disciples who “keep [God’s] commandments (“love one another” and “believe in the name of Jesus”) and “do what pleases” God, already belong to the “truth.” Second, disciples who are unsure if they “belong to the truth” should be further consoled (“reassure our hearts,” “have confidence in God”) by God’s continuing care (“receive . . . whatever we ask”). Next, if disciples still feel anxious (“whatever our hearts condemn”), they should know that “God is greater than our hearts;” that is, God loves us and judges us with greater kindness than we judge ourselves. In ancient thought, the “heart” is the seat of human moral choices; today we would call it conscience. Finally, God continues to abide (“remaining in [God] and [God] in us”) in the believing community, and disciples experience God’s presence in the Spirit (“the Spirit [God] gave us”).
The Lectionary editors chose this reading to continue the Easter story of Jesus’ transformative and saving act, and to see how disciples interpret and reinterpret Easter.
Gospel (Jn 15:1-8)
In John’s gospel pericope, Jesus metaphorically describes how he continues to remain-in-relationship with his disciples, sustaining and nourishing them. Using a vineyard image, Jesus connects his unity with the Father and his unity with his disciples. Hebrew scripture uses vines and a vineyards as symbols of Israel (Ps 80:8-19, Is 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ez 17:6-8, Ez 19:10-14, Hos 10:1, Ec 24:27). Jesus opens his metaphor with an “I AM” saying, suggesting that he envisions the disciples as the restored Israel.
- The Father’s pruning. The Father is “the vine grower” who tends the plants, cutting off non-productive branches, and cutting back good branches so those branches will produce more fruit. Jesus wordplays on the words “take away” or “cut off” (αἴρω/aírō) and “prune” or “cut back/make clean” (καθαίρω/kathaírō), which sound similar in Greek. Jesus also puns on καθαίρω/kathaírō‘s double meaning (“to prune” and “to purify, to make clean”), telling the disciples that his teaching (“the word I spoke to you”) has already “cleaned them up” to bear abundant fruit.
- “Remaining-in-relationship” with Jesus. Jesus is the “vine” that connects, nourishes, and sustains each branch. John uses the Greek verb μένω/ménō, which means “to remain” or “to abide,” to emphasize discipleship’s relationship aspect: μένω/ménō includes the idea of remaining in relationship or continuing in association. John describes his own believing community’s experience: those who broke relationship with Jesus and left the community (the schism in today’s second reading) stopped producing spiritual fruit and became spiritually dead. Remaining-in-relationship with Jesus makes the Father’s glory visible in a disciple, who continues Jesus’ mission: to reveal the Father to the world.
Summary and reflection
Jesus’ resurrection has many meanings and many implications. Throughout the Easter season, the readings invite us to reflect on this cosmos-changing event. Luke shows the recently converted Paul seeking connection with the Jerusalem community. John the Elder consoles his fractured community with evidence that they are remain-in-relationship with God. Jesus’ vine metaphor suggests that remaining-in-relationship also means acting in service and love to glorify God.
The resurrection gives us hope and purpose, but daily life’s differing human views and competing needs can quickly blunt our best intentions. Today’s readings highlight different ways to discover and to practice discipleship. We sympathize with Paul, whose zeal causes fights wherever he goes, while we also appreciate the believing community, who work quietly as the Spirit builds up its numbers. We get comfort from the Elder, who urges us to trust God’s loving-kindness and to love one another, although we might still worry that we’re not doing enough. We need only to listen to Jesus, who calls us to remain-in-relationship with him and continue his work in the world.
—Terence Sherlock
The Lectionary In Context 