4th Week of Easter : Friday, 13th May 2022

Apart from his Letters, we have other examples of St Paul’s teaching, such as today’s first reading. It is, of course, doubtful that we have here a verbatim report of what Paul said at Antioch. We have, instead, part of a relatively standard summary of the doctrine, which was to be preached by everyone who undertook to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.

By comparing this and other similar passages in Acts with the Gospel of Mark, we can see that the early Church had come to some consensus about the essentials of the doctrine to be proclaimed. No doubt, each preacher presented the basic formulation of the doctrine according to his own style.

Thus, the first sentence of today’s passage is very typical of Paul, as we know him from his Letters. Though he had harsh things to say about Judaizers and was at times quite negative about the Law, it is clear that he never rejected the fact that he was a Jew. He never forgot that he too was a child of Abraham according to the flesh and therefore a “brother” to the Jews he addressed in the synagogue. He is respectful and affectionate in his approach to them.

Lord, teach us to be respectful to all Your children even as we preach the absoluteness of Your truth.