May 6, 2011
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
By Melanie Rigney
(Gamaliel the Pharisee told the Sanhedrin this about the apostles:) “Have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)
One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord. (Psalms 27:4)
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” (John 6:3-4)
Piety
Lord, I can be so literal when it comes to the questions in my life. Help me to be open to Your answers.
Study
It’s all about listening.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks a question different from the one that Philip answers. “Where can we buy enough food?” he asks. The apostles should all know the answer, based on what happened at the wedding at Cana. “Trust in our Father” might have been appropriate. “Ask everyone to share as they can” might have been a good answer as well. Even, “I don’t know; there’s no place nearby” would have come closer to answering the question.
But instead, Philip anticipates a problem Jesus hasn’t asked him to address, in essence saying, “We don’t have enough money.” One has to wonder how dumbfounded Philip was later, after Andrew identifies the boy with the loaves and fishes, after the miracle of the crowd being fully fed, after…
We don’t know much about what happened to Philip after Pentecost. He’s there at the beginning of Acts when members of the Apostolic College are identified, and that’s it. The Catholic Encyclopedia says today’s Gospel and two other mentions in John’s Gospel depict him as “a naïve, somewhat shy, sober-minded man.”
Now, there’s nothing wrong with being sober-minded. Practicality is a quality often lacking in today’s world. But when it prevents us from being open to possibilities and shutting down options before they’ve even been explored, the road becomes narrow, and we are diminished.
Better, then, to emulate Gamaliel the Pharisee, who even though he was not a follower of Christ, advised his Sanhedrin colleagues against killing the apostles, saying that if their work were of this world, it would burn itself out; if not, putting the men to death would not end it anyway.
By being open to God’s possibilities, Gamaliel broadened his own journey immeasurably. According to tradition, the Catholic Encyclopedia says, this teacher of St. Paul secretly converted while remaining a member of the Sanhedrin to help the Christians.
Action
What is Jesus asking to test you? What will your response be?
