Tuesday after Pentecost
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles states that when the apostles who were in Jerusalem had heard that Samaria had heard the word of God they sent Peter and John to them, who prayed that they would receive the Holy Ghost. “For he was not yet come upon any of them, but they were only baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”
There had been a long history of conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans. Originally there had been a united kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon. This had divided after Solomon’s death into the kingdom of Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The southern kingdom of Judah regarded the northern kingdom as apostate and the situation was further inflamed after the latter was conquered by the Assyrians. The kingdom of Judah eventually also fell to the Babylonians, but many of the people subsequently regrouped and restored the temple. It is clear from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that there was tension between the returned exiles and the Samaritans in the north. The subsequent history after that is not altogether clear. The Samaritans accepted only the first five books of the Bible, the Torah and claimed that worship should take place at Mount Gerizim in Samaria and not in Jerusalem. The situation was further inflamed after the Jews under their leader Hyrcanus attacked and destroyed the Samaritan temple. It was a volatile and unstable state of affairs that was always liable to descend into violence.
The proclamation of Jesus was primarily directed to the lost sheep of the house of Israel rather than the Samaritans and Gentiles. However, there were occasional encounters with Samaritans such as the woman at the well recorded in St. John’s Gospel and the only one of the ten lepers who were healed who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan according to St. Luke’s Gospel, which also includes the parable of the Good Samaritan. It was clear that, although the Samaritans were technically aliens and heretics, the preaching of the Gospel was for all, not simply the Jews. It was therefore natural that after proclaiming the good news to the people in Jerusalem and Judea, the early Church should then seek to evangelise in Samaria. This initiative was taken by Philip, one of the seven (usually considered the first deacons) appointed to assist the apostles. St. Peter and St. John later themselves went to Samaria to lay hands on those who had been baptised so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. This is usually seen as the earliest evidence for what would later be called the sacrament of confirmation.
It has sometimes been supposed on the basis of this passage that, whereas baptism is necessary for the remission of sins, the Holy Spirit is not received until confirmation or chrismation has taken place. This does not seem to be a sound deduction, especially since the classical liturgies of the Church make clear that the Holy Spirit is received in baptism, and that the gift received in confirmation is for strengthening the faithful. It is a particular gift of the Holy Spirit that is given in confirmation by the imposition of hands rather than the first time the Holy Spirit has been received. The gift of the Spirit in baptism is for regeneration and in confirmation for strengthening.
St. John’s Gospel (which we heard today) records that Jesus said that he who enters not by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in another way is a thief and a robber. He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The porter opens to him and the sheep hear his voice. He calls them by name and leads them out. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. They do not follow strangers because they do not recognise their voice. Jesus explained the meaning of the parable by saying: “I am the door of the sheep. All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers; and the sheep heard them not. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in and out and find pastures. The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”
St. Augustine states: “The pagans therefore may say, “We live good lives”, but if they enter not in by the door, what doth that profit them whereof they make their boast? A good life is profitable to a man if it lead unto life everlasting, but if he is not to have life everlasting, what shall his good life profit him? Neither indeed can it be truly said that they live good lives, who are either so blinded as not to know, or so puffed up as to despise, the end of a good life. And no man can have a true and certain hope of life everlasting, unless he know the true life, which is Christ, and enter in by that door into the sheepfold.
There are many such, who try to persuade men to live good lives and not be Christians. There are many who would fain climb up some other way, for to kill and to destroy, and are not as the good shepherd, who is come to keep and to have. There have been philosophers who have treated many subtle questions of right and wrong, who have been the authors of many distinctions and definitions, who have completed many exceedingly clever arguments, who have filled many books, and have proclaimed their own wisdom with braying trumpets. These dared to say to men: Follow us, embrace our school of thought, and you will find therein the secret of a happy life. But these were not of them who enter in by the door; they came not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy.”
Let us therefore rejoice that our faith is not a philosophy offering good advice, but is rather the proclamation of good news of redemption through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Let us continue to uphold that same faith in our own time and place.
by the Revd Dr Robert Wilson PhD (Cantab), Old Roman Apostolate UK
Leave a Reply