5th week in Easter Time, Wednesday – 10th May 2023 – Acts 15,1-6; Jn 15,1-8
Conservatives and Progressives
The first reading presents the account of the very first Church council. The early church was struggling to incorporate the Gentiles into “the Way.” The struggle involves whether the non-Jews need to fully practice Judaism or not. The matter does not concern a central doctrine of faith but a tradition. The issue at stake was circumcision. Here the community is said to be divided between conservatives who saw the need for continuity with the past and those who saw the need for change with changing circumstances. Paul and Barnabas had seen how genuinely many Gentiles had accepted the Christian faith. They did not see that compulsory circumcision should be part of the package for all converts. However, there is much to learn from this experience of the early church. There is certainly a need for continuity if the Church is to retain its identity and its links with its origins. At the same time, if the Church is to present its message in a way that is meaningful, it must also be ready to make the necessary adjustments in areas which, though they may have a long tradition, are not central and have outlived their meaningfulness. There will always be a measure of tension between conservative and progressive thinking. Both are necessary and a sign of a living church. But this must be a matter of diversity and not division. What is vital is that people on each side be open to frank and sincere dialogue. In spite of serious differences, we see dialogue taking place among the apostles in today’s reading.
