Santa Susanna (Rome)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Acts 4:1-12
Peter and John Are Arrested
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[1] And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, [2] annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. [3] And they arrested them and put them in custody until the morrow, for it was already evening. [4] But as many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of men came to about five thousand.
Address to the Sanhedrin
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[5] On the morrow their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, [6] with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. [7] And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "But what power or by what name did you do this?" [8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, [9] if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, [10] be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man is standing before you well. [11] This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. [12] And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
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Commentary:
1-4. On the Sadducee sect see the note on Matthew 3:7.
In this chapter St. Luke reports on the first conflict between the Apostles and the Jerusalem authorities. Despite the incident at the end of Peter's address, his words are still an instrument of grace, stirring his listeners to believe and moving them to love.
A large crowd gathered round Peter after the curing of the cripple, which brings on the scene the "captain of the temple", a priest second in line to the high priest whose function it was to maintain order. The priests St. Luke refers to here would have been those who were on for this particular week and were responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the temple.
5-7. These three groups--rulers, elders, scribes--made up the Sanhedrin, the same tribunal as had recently judged and condemned our Lord (cf. note on Matthew 2:4). Jesus' words are already being fulfilled: "A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20).
Annas was not in fact the high priest at this time, but the title was applied to him along with Caiaphas because of the authority he still wielded: he had been high priest and five of his sons succeeded him in the office, as well as Caiaphas, his son-in-law (cf. Josephus, "Jewish Antiquities", XX, 198f).
8-12. The Apostles' confidence and joy is quite remarkable, as is their outspokenness in asserting that "we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (verse 20). "This is the glorious freedom of the children of God. Christians who let themselves be browbeaten or become inhibited or envious in the face of the licentious behavior of those who do not accept the Word of God, show that they have a very poor idea of the faith. If we truly fulfill the law of Christ--that is, if we make the effort to do so, for we will not always fully succeed--we will find ourselves endowed with a wonderful gallantry of spirit" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 38).
Christians have a duty to confess their faith where silence would mean its implicit denial, disrespect for religion, an offense against God or scandal to their neighbor. Thus Vatican II: "Christians should approach those who are outside wisely, 'in the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech' (2 Corinthians 6:6-7), and should strive, even to the shedding of their blood, to spread the light of life with all confidence (Acts 4:29) and apostolic courage. The disciple has a grave obligation to Christ, his Master, to grow daily in his knowledge of the truth he has received from Him, to be faithful in announcing it and vigorous in defending it" ("Dignitatis Humanae", 14).
Pope Paul VI asked Catholics to check on any weak points in their faith, including ignorance and human respect, "that is, shame or timidness in professing their faith. We are not speaking of that discretion or reserve which in a pluralist and profane society like ours avoids certain signs of religion when with others. We are referring to weakness, to failure to profess one's own religious ideas for fear of ridicule, criticism or others' reactions [...] and which is a cause--perhaps the main cause--of the abandonment of faith by people who simply conform to whatever new environment they find themselves in" ([Pope] Paul VI, "General Audience", 19 June 1968).
8. Even in the very early days of Christianity Jesus' prediction is borne out: "Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils.... When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Matthew 10:17-20).
10. "Whom God raised from the dead": St. Peter once again bears witness to the Resurrection of Jesus, the central truth of apostolic preaching; he uses here the same words as he did at Pentecost. These are compatible with our holding that Jesus "rose by His own power on the third day" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God", 12). The power by which Christ rose was that of His divine person, to which both His soul and His body remained joined even after death separated them. "The divine power and operation of the Father and of the Son is one and the same; hence it follows that Christ rose by the power of the Father and by His own power" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", III, q. 53, a. 4).
"By the word 'Resurrection'," the "St. Pius V Catechism" explains, "we are not merely to understand that Christ was raised from the dead, which happened to many others, but that He rose by His own power and virtue, a singular prerogative peculiar to Him alone. For it is incompatible with nature and was never given to man to raise himself by his own power, from death to life. This was reserved for the almighty power of God. [...] We sometimes, it is true, read in Scripture that He was raised by the Father; but this refers to Him as man, just as those passages on the other hand, which say that He rose by His own power, relate to Him as God" (I, 6, 8).
11. St. Peter applies the words of Psalm 118:22 to Jesus, conscious no doubt that our Lord had referred to Himself as the stone rejected by the builders which had become the cornerstone, the stone which keeps the whole structure together (cf. Matthew 21:42 and par.).
12. Invocation of the name of Jesus is all-powerful because this is our Savior's own name (cf. note on Matthew 1:21). Our Lord Himself told His Apostles this: "If you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My name" (John 16:23), and they, trusting in this promise, work miracles and obtain conversions "in the name of Jesus". Today—as ever--the power of His name will work wonder in the souls of those who call upon Him. St J Escriva gives this advice: "Don't be afraid to call our Lord by His name--Jesus--and to tell Him that you love Him" ("The Way", 303); and the Liturgy of the Hours invites us to pray: "God our Father, You are calling us to prayer, at the same hour as the Apostles went up to the temple. Grant that the prayer we offer with sincere hearts in the name of Jesus may bring salvation to all who call upon that holy name" (Week 1, Monday afternoon).