Sirach 4 – He begins with lines
of advice on dealing with the poor, the angry and the destitute, “for if a man
curses you in the bitterness of his soul, his maker will hear his imprecation.
Gain the love of the community, bow your head to a man of authority. To the
poor man lend an ear, and return his greeting courteously” (4:7-9).
“Whoever
loves her [wisdom] loves life, those who wait on her early will be filled with
happiness” (4:12). For, “though she takes him at first through winding ways,
bringing fear and faintness on him, plaguing him with her discipline until she
can trust him, and testing him with her ordeals, in the end she will lead him
back to the straight road, and reveal her secrets to him” (4:17-18).
“Fight
to the death for truth, and the Lord God will war on your side” (4:28).
Sirach 5 – “Do not give your
heart to your money, or say, ‘With this I am self-sufficient’. Do not be led by
your appetites and energy to follow the passions of your heart” (5:1-2).
“Do
not be so sure of forgiveness that you add sin to sin, and do not say, ‘His
compassion is great, he will forgive me my many sins’: for with him are both
mercy and wrath, and his rage bears heavy on sinners. Do not delay your return
to the Lord, do not put it off day after day” (5:6-7).
Sirach 6 – “Do not give in to the
promptings of your temper, in case it gores your soul like a mad bull; in case
it gobbles up your leaves and you lose your fruits, and are left like a
withered tree” (6:1-3).
“Let
your acquaintances be many, but your advisers one in a thousand. If you want to
make a friend, take him on trial, and be in no hurry to trust him; for one kind
of friend is only so when it suits him but will not stand by you in your day of
trouble” (6:7-8).
“A
faithful friend is a sure shelter, whoever finds one has found a rare treasure,
a faithful friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth. A
faithful friend is the elixir of life, and those who fear the Lord will find
one. Whoever hears the Lord makes true friends, for as a man is, so is his
friend” (6:16-17).
“[F]rom
your earliest youth choose instruction, . . .[c]ultivate her . . . and wait for
her fine harvest” (6:18-19).
“Listen,
son, and take my warning, do not reject my advice: put your feet into her
fetters, and your neck into her harness; give your shoulder to her yoke, and do
not be restive in her reins; court her with all your soul, and with all your
might keep in her easy; go after her and seek her; she will reveal herself to
you; once you hold her, do not let her go. For in the end you will find rest in
her and she will take the form of joy for you: her fetters you will find are a
strong defense, her harness a robe of honor” (6:23-29).
Sirach 7 – “Do no evil, and evil
will not befall you” (7:1).
“Do
not ask the Lord for the highest place” (7:4). A long series of “do nots”
follows:
“parade
your virtue,” “scheme to be appointed judge,” “wrong the general body of
citizens,” “be impatient in prayer,” “neglect to give alms,” “laugh at a man
when he is sad of heart,” “draw up a lying indictment,” “tell lies,” “make
long-winded speeches,” “shirk wearisome labor,” etc.
Then
it turns to family obligations, respect for religious leaders, concern for the
poor. “In everything you do, remember your end [your mortality], and you will
never sin” (7:36).
Acts 5 – Ananias and his
wife Sapphira, together, seek to join the community but only half-heartedly,
deceitfully. They have land and sell it as new believers were wont to do. But
instead of turning over everything, they keep a portion of the proceeds. Peter
knows though and challenges Ananias: Why “has Satan filled your heart to lie to
the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?” (5:3)
Ananias didn’t need to do any of this. It’s the lie that is the bad thing.
Ananias “fell down and died” at Peter’s words. A little while later the same
happens to his wife (5:10). Luke tells us that “great fear seized the whole
church and all who heard of these things” (5:11). This is the first use of the word church. A Jerusalem Bible
note says it is adopted from the OT to signify the messianic community. In Mt
16:18, Jesus uses it to Peter. In the OT
it designates the community of “chosen people,” particularly the community of
the desert period. Jesus seems to indicate that the eschatological community is
to have its beginning here on earth in the form of an organized society whose
leader he appoints. In Acts the term refers to the community of believers
in Jerusalem, but soon is applied to the communities established by the
apostles outside of Jerusalem.
Many
signs and wonders are done by the apostles. Believers are added in great
numbers (5:14). They “even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them
on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he
came by” (5:15). The Sadducees finally take action out of jealousy (5:17). They
arrest the apostles and put them in prison. But during the night “an angel [a slap at Sadducees disbelief in angels] of the Lord
opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple
and tell the people the whole message about this life’” (5:20). Jerusalem Bible note says literally
it is “all the words of this Life.” This is the message of salvation (13:26)
and life.
The
authorities send to the prison to have them brought, but they learn that they
are not there and are preaching in the temple. They send the captain of the
temple police to get them there; they are brought without violence out of
concern that the people will react badly against them. The high priest questions them and
reminds them they were warned once. Peter says, “We must obey God rather than
any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, who you had
killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader
and Savior [JB - seen as reference to titles applied
to Moses, once again implying the Jesus is the New Moses. See 7:35, Heb 2:10
and 12:2] that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has
given to those who obey him” (5:29-32).
This
speech enrages them. A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, has the
apostles put out for a while so he can advise the group. His advice is to leave
these men alone. If “this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will
fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case
you may even be found fighting against God!” (5:38-39). The council is
convinced by his argument. Still they have the apostles flogged and ordered
again not to speak in the name of Jesus. But they did not cease to teach in his
name and “proclaim Jesus as the Messiah” (5:42).
Ray Brown notes anachronisms in Gamaliel’s speech. The revolt of
Theudas, which he mentions, had not yet taken place, and Judas’ revolt had
taken place 30 years earlier—assuming the session took place around 36 AD.
Brown also notes that Luke, unlike other
gospel writers does not include Pharisees among Jesus’ enemies, and this appeal by a leading Pharisee for
patience in dealing with Jesus’ followers would also indicate less friction
than others sometimes indicate between Christ and the Pharisaical party.
