This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church

 Reading 1, Acts 4:13-21

13 They were astonished at the fearlessness shown by Peter and John, considering that they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus;

14 but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer.

 15 So they ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin had a private discussion.

 16 ‘What are we going to do with these men?’ they asked. ‘It is obvious to everybody in Jerusalem that a notable miracle has been worked through them, and we cannot deny it.

 17 But to stop the whole thing spreading any further among the people, let us threaten them against ever speaking to anyone in this name again.’

 18 So they called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus.

 19 But Peter and John retorted, ‘You must judge whether in God’s eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God.

 20 We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.’

21 The court repeated the threats and then released them; they could not think of any way to punish them, since all the people were giving glory to God for what had happened.

Gospel, Mk 16:9-15

 This Gospel reading is an interesting choice, as all scholars are agreed that it is NOT original and was added because the available manuscripts stopped at 16: 8 “And they told nobody for they were terrified.” Scholars are not agreed as to whether the Gospel simply finished with these words or whether subsequent verses were lost in transmission. The “new” ending is simply a summary of what can be known from the other Gospels, so there is no point in commenting on it. On the other hand, I can record my own conviction that Mark’s gospel is meant to finish at verse 8. Mark does not tell us about the disciples meeting with the risen Lord, because each reader has to go to his/her own Galilee to encounter him, in their own lives. 

Paul's meeting with the risen Jesus

 The passage from The Acts focuses on the courage of Peter and John, who are quite able to handle the “educated” leaders without giving an inch. When the religious establishment is in trouble or scents a problem it often acts in this threatening way. There is evidence that the Vatican, if not the Pope, has been trying to bully critics of priestly sexual abuse into silence. I hope members of the Catholic Church will have the courage to stand firm, in the truth.

My own church is currently carrying out an investigation into members attitudes to homosexual clergy. Nobody is allowed to speak publicly on this issue meantime. The important issue, all are agreed, is the unity of the church. Indeed, that’s just the attitude we’re criticising in the Catholic Church. All of us at least know this: homosexual ministers have been amongst the most creative, faithful, and hard-working of our work-force. We must never hide this truth, and we must say to those who would silence us, “You must judge whether it is right to listen to you, and not to God.”

 The apostles have acted in the “name” of Jesus, that is, in the authority and character of Jesus, and a man has been healed. The religious leaders find this healing very inconvenient, and want to ban the use of Jesus’ name. Those who would have us act always “in the name of the church”, must be told that only the name of Jesus can be our authority.