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Episodes from the early church

Fifth Sunday of Easter (A), Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 (Lectionary 052, April 24, 2005)

This Sunday’s reading continues the series that might be called "episodes from the early church." On the second Sunday of Easter we saw a short summary of the state of the earliest times of the church. On the third and fourth Sundays of this Year A, we heard two selections from Peter’s evangelical discourse after the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On this fifth Sunday we see the church dealing with some of its earliest inner tensions.

Our text begins by telling its readers that the community was in a state of continued growth. Yet not everything was peaceful and quiet. There were groups in the community that found it hard to get along together. These groups were two. The Hellenists were Jewish Christians, presumably born outside of Palestine, whose native language was Greek. The Hebrews were Jewish Christians who were native to Palestine, who spoke Aramaic, and who read the Scriptures in Hebrew. In all probability, there were cultural and practical differences between these two groups beyond the use of different languages, things like attitudes to temple worship, for example, and the matter of openness to contact with gentiles. They were all Christians, but there were differences between them.

What caused their differences to come to a head was a very practical matter. Apparently there were daily distributions of food for the poor, specifically for widows, overseen or carried out by the apostles. Now a complaint is raised by the Greek speakers that their widows were not being cared for as carefully as the Hebrew widows were. The apostles perceive that something has to be done. They call the people together (Hellenists and Hebrews alike). It seems to be taken for granted that something has to be done differently, but the apostles say that they can’t take on any further responsibilities for feeding the widows. Their responsibility is leading the community in prayer and in preaching. Increased demands for material care would have to be taken care of by somebody else. So the apostles propose a new level of ministerial service in the church. In conjunction with the community, they choose seven men who would be called to dedicate themselves to the service of the widows, Greek widows as well as Hebrew. All those chosen for this service have Greek names and presumably were Greek speakers. The apostles prayed over them and laid hands on them, a customary Jewish way of designating a person for a task and invoking divine blessings and power.

Our text continues with another statement about the ongoing increase of membership in the church. It may be that, by this general statement, Luke intended to suggest that the extension of the apostles’ ministry to the seven men was pleasing to God and in accord with God’s plans for the church.

There are many things worthy of notice is this episode of early church history. One is that what we have here is an example of how increased needs call for increased and innovative structures. A new level of ministry arises out of the Greek widows’ needs. It was no longer just the apostles who had responsibility for the well-being of the community. Others could be called, too.

Another important lesson here is that tension in the church is not new. From the earliest days various groups in the church have had trouble getting along, but, under the leadership of the apostles, these tensions are resolved in a way that leads to the betterment and strengthening of the community.

In addition, this Sunday’s reading teaches us that there are different levels of ministry in and for the church. The apostles had their role to play, which they realized they should not give up to play another role. They were to pray and preach. Others were to "serve at table." That doesn’t mean that all apostles were better than everybody else but only that different persons could carry out different kinds of service.

Finally, this reading also teaches us that tensions can be resolved and that their resolution can promote greater unity in the church. It wasn’t necessary for the Greeks to stop being Greeks, or the Hebrews to stop being Hebrews. What was necessary was that all of them have their needs attended to in the context of the one Christian community and in the service of the one Lord Jesus. This initial lesson in dealing with diversity would prepare the Christian community to deal not just with different kinds of Jews but even with gentiles all over the world. One might say that the decisions taken in today’s episode constitute cornerstones of the catholicity of the church.

For reflection and discussion

What productive tensions have I experienced in the Church?

What service do I provide to the community of faith?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk Episodes from the early church Fifth Sunday of Easter (A), Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 (Lectionary 052, April 24, 2005) This Sunday’s reading continues the series that might be called "episodes from the early church." On the second Sunday of Easter we saw a short summary of the state of the earliest times of the church. On the third and fourth Sundays of this Year A, we heard two selections from Peter’s evangelical discourse after the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On this fifth Sunday we see the church dealing with some of its earliest inner tensions. Our text begins by telling its readers that the community was in a state of continued growth. Yet not everything was peaceful and quiet. There were groups in the community that found it hard to get along together. These groups were two. The Hellenists were Jewish Christians, presumably born outside of Palestine, whose native language was Greek. The Hebrews were Jewish Christians who were native to Palestine, who spoke Aramaic, and who read the Scriptures in Hebrew. In all probability, there were cultural and practical differences between these two groups beyond the use of different languages, things like attitudes to temple worship, for example, and the matter of openness to contact with gentiles. They were all Christians, but there were differences between them. What caused their differences to come to a head was a very practical matter. Apparently there were daily distributions of food for the poor, specifically for widows, overseen or carried out by the apostles. Now a complaint is raised by the Greek speakers that their widows were not being cared for as carefully as the Hebrew widows were. The apostles perceive that something has to be done. They call the people together (Hellenists and Hebrews alike). It seems to be taken for granted that something has to be done differently, but the apostles say that they can’t take on any further responsibilities for feeding the widows. Their responsibility is leading the community in prayer and in preaching. Increased demands for material care would have to be taken care of by somebody else. So the apostles propose a new level of ministerial service in the church. In conjunction with the community, they choose seven men who would be called to dedicate themselves to the service of the widows, Greek widows as well as Hebrew. All those chosen for this service have Greek names and presumably were Greek speakers. The apostles prayed over them and laid hands on them, a customary Jewish way of designating a person for a task and invoking divine blessings and power. Our text continues with another statement about the ongoing increase of membership in the church. It may be that, by this general statement, Luke intended to suggest that the extension of the apostles’ ministry to the seven men was pleasing to God and in accord with God’s plans for the church. There are many things worthy of notice is this episode of early church history. One is that what we have here is an example of how increased needs call for increased and innovative structures. A new level of ministry arises out of the Greek widows’ needs. It was no longer just the apostles who had responsibility for the well-being of the community. Others could be called, too. Another important lesson here is that tension in the church is not new. From the earliest days various groups in the church have had trouble getting along, but, under the leadership of the apostles, these tensions are resolved in a way that leads to the betterment and strengthening of the community. In addition, this Sunday’s reading teaches us that there are different levels of ministry in and for the church. The apostles had their role to play, which they realized they should not give up to play another role. They were to pray and preach. Others were to "serve at table." That doesn’t mean that all apostles were better than everybody else but only that different persons could carry out different kinds of service. Finally, this reading also teaches us that tensions can be resolved and that their resolution can promote greater unity in the church. It wasn’t necessary for the Greeks to stop being Greeks, or the Hebrews to stop being Hebrews. What was necessary was that all of them have their needs attended to in the context of the one Christian community and in the service of the one Lord Jesus. This initial lesson in dealing with diversity would prepare the Christian community to deal not just with different kinds of Jews but even with gentiles all over the world. One might say that the decisions taken in today’s episode constitute cornerstones of the catholicity of the church. For reflection and discussion** What productive tensions have I experienced in the Church? What service do I provide to the community of faith?

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