In today’s first reading, the two apostles are about to be sentenced, when Gamaliel makes his intervention. Who was Gamaliel? He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a heavy-hitter, a teacher and mentor of the then infamous Saul, persecutor of Christians, who turned into the glorious Saint Paul. This was Saul’s pre-conversion guide.
Gamaliel himself studied under the school of Hillel and may have actually been his grandson. He was a leading exponent of a more liberal and humane interpretation of the Law, and was respected by the council members whom he will now address privately after the apostles are sent out of the assembly’s chamber.
He warns them not to be too hasty in their judgements because God has his way of fading false movements into insignificance, or, to bolster the beauty of true movements that are divinely instituted. Gamaliel utilizes two examples with his colleagues – Theudas and Judas the Galilean – who had both started rebellious movements, one of which was a revolt against paying tribute to Caeser, which was quite the contentious issue back then as we see in the challenge the pharisees had tried to ensnare Jesus with when they asked him if it was lawful to do so. Each of those movements gained a hefty following initially, but then as God would have it, eventually both began to deteriorate into a historical sidenote.
This was Gamaliel’s reasoning;
“So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”
Wise words…if you ignore the fact that he is not taking the resurrection of Christ, which is what the apostles are preaching, seriously. The Risen Lord is indeed a sign that everything was true, and was from God. No other founder of any other religion ever, including Moses, had foretold and actually risen from the dead! Gamaliel was considered a wise man, so what does this tell you about true wisdom? That it’s gotta come from God. Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Where there’s even a hint of pride, our wisdom will be severely impaired. This is what we’re also seeing in Gamaliel’s rejection of the obvious signs God has manifested.
Nevertheless, Gamaliel convinces the Sanhedrin to heed his advice, but they give the apostles a nasty send off. They had them flogged, which meant 40 lashes minus 1 according to Judaic law, repeated their orders for them to stop their preaching in “this name” (the blessed name of Jesus) and only then did they let them go. Far from despairing or feeling they had somehow failed God, we are told that Peter and his companions left the court and:
“…they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name of Jesus.”
And is this not what Jesus foretold in the Sermon on the Mount?
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”
Matthew 5:10-12.
Our vision needs to extend beyond what is merely seen or experienced through the senses. This is what our Lord was also indicating when he spoke of how this vision cannot be attained unless one be born anew. We need new eyes to see, and a new heart to love with, and a mind that can penetrate the often gloomy state of affairs here below. Of course, Jesus is always our model.
Jesus feeds thousands and thousands of people miraculously in today’s reading. They’re so shocked at the scope of this miracle that they wanted to force him to become their king. This saddened Jesus on two counts. First of all, he was already a King: The King of Kings.
Secondly, it meant that they were still thinking in mundane terms. The kind of glory and victory and the battles they were thinking about were entirely focused on this life alone, this world, overthrowing the Roman occupation and annihilating their enemies. We tend to lose sight of the fact that our home is not here, and that God has made us to be pilgrims in this world, as beautiful as it is at times, but everything we see around us will one day fade away.. except people. People, God has made to be immortal. Hence the importance of how we relate to one another! Even if we live to a hundred, and may we all do so, but even if we live to a hundred, it would still be like we’re in the womb of our mothers getting ready to be born. For what’s a hundred years compared to trillions without end?
Are we beginning to get a better picture of what kind of a King Jesus was, therefore? His kingdom, unlike the kingdoms of the world, has no end, and this was prophesied in the Old Testament by God through his prophets, that an offspring in the lineage of David would possess a kingdom that would last forever. Now, here’s the kicker… the wonderful kicker… that kingdom began in seminal form with the Incarnation of Christ among us, and is for the receiving in the here and now. It’s not about a thousand year reign, because we’re already in that reign now.
Saint Augustine for example, and the Church at large, interprets the thousand year reign of Christ as starting immediately from his death on the cross, through which he reconciles Man to God, where a moment of peace is ushered into the world before he returns in glory. More to it however, his kingdom (and these are Jesus’ words); his kingdom does not come in a way that is seen by man, for the kingdom of God is within you. Jesus says, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘Look there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” The context of Jesus’ statement is a question put to Him by His Pharisee detractors who had asked when the kingdom of God would come (verse 20).”
Let us not aspire to worldly crowns, or the wealth of this world, or wait for Jesus to come and rule as king in this world for a thousand years. He already rules, now, in Heaven, but also in those who believe and who truly love him and are trying to build that unique, mystical and profound relationship with him. He rules now in those who, sharing in his Kingship through Baptism, have conquered their passions and truly love their enemy. This takes a true soldier of God! He rules now in those who have accepted his beating heart within them, through the reception of his Body and Blood which he gives us each time we walk up in blessed radiance (should we be found in a state of grace) to receive him. This is the King, whose love for you, will never die.
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