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Every actor, from the days of the first
flickering silent pictures to the cinematic extravaganzas exhibited
today, has lamented that some hack editor has left his best work to
rot on the cutting room floor. This creative difference of
opinion between actor, director and editorial personnel has more than
once resulted in the
police restoring order at a Hollywood party at which an earnest
conversation about artistic merit had become, shall we say, somewhat
less professional.
While we can be assured with a reasonable certainty
that Saint Paul would not resort to violence, we may be equally certain
that neither would he react kindly to one of his best scenes being
removed from the drama that we call the "Acts of the Apostles."
Yet in today's first reading this is precisely what has occurred.
The Liturgist gives us Acts chapter 13, verse 14, which concludes
with, "On the sabbath they entered (into) the synagogue and took
their seats." The text then resumes at Acts chapter 13, verse 43
with, "...many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and
urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God." The words
that are here excluded, the words of verse 15 to verse 42, which fell
to the cutting room floor,
comprise the words of the sermon that Paul gave at the synagogue on
that first sabbath day in Antioch of Pisidia.
Surely the individual or committee responsible
for selecting the Scriptures that form the basis of our daily worship
must have a thoroughly reasoned explanation as to why the words of Paul
would be excluded from today's text, but, as a Catholic layman, it is
beyond me to determine just where within the church the authority for
editing the Holy Scriptures might reside. Before I became Catholic, I
had supposed that responsibility for this sort of thing must come from
God Himself. I've had modern Catholics tell me that this kind of
attitude makes me a fundamentalist. While this may or may not be
true, I prefer to believe that it just makes me cautious.
Therefore, I feel obligated to return these words of Paul to their
proper place within today's assigned scripture, so that they may be
shared with all of you. In the long run, I would much rather risk
the wrath of the liturgical editor than that of Saint Paul -- or
Christ! And, as you will hear, Paul would be most justified in
this case to make the claim that some of his best work had, indeed,
ended up on the cutting room floor.
The bonus for you is that you get to hear the
Gospel today preached from the lips of Saint Paul himself. It is
always a treat. Observing Paul preach is like watching Babe Ruth
play baseball or Muhammad Ali box. It's like seeing Michael Jordan play
basketball or Tiger Woods play golf. It is knowing that you are
witness to something special. It is seeing the standard
established by which all that do the same will forever more be
judged. In the world of Christian preaching, Paul is that
standard by which all others are judged. While his letters prove
him to also be a theologian of similar merit, it is his sermons, as
preserved for us by Saint Luke in the Book of Acts, that carry all the
power and intimacy of a live performance by Paul the Evangelist.
Any preacher that truly and effectively proclaims the Gospel will tell
you that it is Paul that showed him how to do it. Any evangelist
that is honest will also be humble enough to tell you that Paul's words
will win more souls to Christ today than the rest of us will in our
lifetimes. Combined.
And so, far be it from me to deprive you of the
words of Paul the Apostle; a man that has for two thousand years been
the second most revered figure in Scripture next to Jesus
himself. The words that follow are why. And so, allow me to
spool up this clip from the cutting room floor and, without further
adieu, present to you this scene from the director's cut of Acts
13. The setting is the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. We pick
up the story when:
On
the sabbath they entered (into) the
synagogue and took their seats.
After the reading of the law and the
prophets,
the synagogue officials
sent word to them, "My brothers, if one of you has a word of
exhortation for the people, please speak."
So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and
said, "Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing,
listen: The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and
exalted the
people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he
led them out of it and for about forty years he put up with them in the
desert. When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of
Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance, at the end of about
four hundred and fifty years. After these things he provided
judges up to Samuel (the) prophet. Then they asked for a king. God gave
them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty
years.
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he
testified, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.' From this man's descendants
God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior,
Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of
repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his
course, he would say, 'What do you
suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am
not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
"My brothers, children of the family of
Abraham, and those others among
you who are God-fearing; to us this word of salvation has been
sent.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,
and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that
are read sabbath after sabbath. For even though they found no
grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to
death, and when they had accomplished all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. But God
raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who
had come up with him from
Galilee to Jerusalem. These are (now) his witnesses before the
people. We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that
what God promised our ancestors
he has brought to fulfillment for us, (their) children, by raising up
Jesus. As it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my son;
this day
I have begotten you.' And
that he raised him from the dead never to return to corruption he
declared in this way, 'I shall give you the benefits assured to
David.' That is why he also says in another psalm, 'You will not
suffer your holy one to see corruption.' Now David, after he had
served the will of God in his lifetime, fell
asleep, was gathered to his ancestors, and did see corruption.
But the one whom God raised up did not see corruption.
You must know, my brothers, that through him
forgiveness of sins is
being proclaimed to you, (and) in regard to everything from which you
could not be justified under the law of Moses, in him every believer is
justified. Be careful, then, that what was said in the prophets
not come about: 'Look on, you scoffers, be amazed and disappear.
For I am doing a work
in your days, a work that you will never believe even if someone tells
you.'"
As they were leaving, they invited them to
speak on these subjects the following sabbath.
After the congregation had dispersed, many
Jews and worshipers who were
converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and
urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
Well, I certainly have nothing to add and
there is nothing here that needs elaboration. And so I leave you with
this exhortation from Paul and Barnabas to "remain faithful to the
grace
of God" And when selecting the Scriptures for our worship, the
liturgist is urged to do likewise and resist any temptation that
results in the Gospel message ending up on the cutting room
floor. The church must always protect and proclaim the word of
God, "For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: 'I
have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach
the ends of the earth.'" The church is urged to
... "Be careful, then, that what was said in the prophets not come
about." |
Paul's
First
Missionary
Journey |
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Acts
13:14, 43-52
A reading from the Book of Acts:
Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch
in Pisidia.
On
the
sabbath they entered
the synagogue and took their seats.
Many
Jews and
worshipers who
were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
On
the
following sabbath almost the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.
Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.”
The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this
and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers
and the leading men of the city,
stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,
and went to Iconium.
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
The
Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5
R. (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Introduction
to Reading
2
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
A reading
from the Book of
Revelation:
I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The Word of the Lord:
Gospel:
John 10:27-30
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
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