Acts 5:17-26 “Speak to the people all the words of this Life”
17 But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is, the party of the Sad′ducees, and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison. 19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and taught.
Now the high priest came and those who were with him and called together the Sanhedrin and all the senate of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the sentries standing at the doors, but when we opened it we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were much perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And some one came and told them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
For a moment I’d like to look sympathetically at the religious leaders. They were responsible for keeping good civil and theological order in the Temple, the heart of Jewish life and worship. Members of the Sanhedrin—the governing council—had their own theological differences (over belief in the resurrection, the weight to give to the teachings of the rabbinic fathers for example), but they were united in aiming to keep the Roman occupiers on side, preserving good order and upholding their teaching and governing authority. With the followers of Christ now showing some mettle, the religious leaders are faced with a theologically uneducated, lay group of defiant and unauthorized, un-vetted, unapproved troublemakers attracting popular attention.
The apostles had already been put in prison once before. They had been told “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). And here they were again doing the same thing.
But this is where my sympathy ends. Look at how self-referenced the leaders were. All they could see was defiance to their authority. They didn’t see the miracles of healing and the crowds hungry for a good word. They didn’t see the miracle of the empty prison. And they didn’t see the miracle of the empty tomb. Their all-consuming passion to preserve their authority blinds them, and so all they see and hear is defiance that must be punished. And so they miss the wonders of God right in front of them.
Update
Much of yesterday was spent with Metropolitan Tikhon and the officers, catching up and going over work that needs doing in the wake of the recent Metropolitan Council and Holy Synod meetings. One of the aims of the last few years has been to strengthen the connection between the dioceses and the central church, and thus strengthening our identity, vision and mission as the Orthodox Church in America. One of the successful ways this has been done is to meet annually at the chancery with the diocesan chancellors and treasurers from across the OCA. Part of yesterday’s conversation with the Metropolitan was to discuss plans for the next such meeting, set for January 27, 2015.
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I went in by train to New York City yesterday evening to meet my wife and some family members for supper. I got to Penn Station early and had a chance to walk around the bustling streets near Madison Square Garden at rush hour, past Macy’s, the Salvation Army Christmas kettles, enjoying the crowds and even the city noise (it’s pretty quiet at the chancery in Oyster Bay Cove.) It was also pleasant to discover a quirky little Roman Catholic parish open for prayers. I say “quirky” because it was very old-fashioned 1950’s piety and décor and they were about to start a Latin Mass. A little group of women up at the front were reciting the rosary. The bulletin highlighted “The Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena.” I have none of this in my background and don’t find it especially attractive, but it struck me that at the most basic level of simply being open this is what all our Orthodox churches can be: an oasis of Christ in the midst of a frantic and noisy world.