Friday of the Second Week of Easter

April 12, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041224.cfm

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(Gamaliel said to the Sanhedrin)

So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

Acts 5:38-39

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Gamaliel is one of the most mysterious characters of the Christian Testament. After his wise intervention on behalf of the Apostles, he becomes an indistinct flicker in early Christian history. He is venerated as a saint in Eastern Rites. Tradition suggests he became a Christian but there is no real evidence.

No matter the way his life played out, Gamaliel teaches us what courage, wisdom, patience, and respectful judgment looks like in a highly critical situation.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We ask God to deepen in us the gifts of holy courage and wisdom that we may patiently judge the realities of our lives in order to find the grace they carry.

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Prose: from Pirkei Avot 1:18

Gamaliel is a highly honored teacher in the Jewish tradition. He is quoted in the following text from the Pirkei Avot.

Pirkei Avot, which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewish tradition.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: On justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16).

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Music: Heaven’s Window – Peter Kater