The Path of Salvation: Antioch's Debate and the Parable of the Vine and the Branches
May 1, 2024 - Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Acts 15:1-6; Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5; Jn 15:1-8
In today's Psalm, the psalmist rejoices because he was invited to go to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem: “I rejoiced because they said to me, 'We will go up to the house of the LORD.' And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem” (Ps 122:1-2). But I am not sure whether Paul, Barnabas, and other leaders of the Church in Antioch rejoiced while deciding to go up to Jerusalem to solve the first theological crisis of the nascent Church. The debate was about the manner of salvation: are we saved by grace or by the works of the Law?
Imagine for a moment that the debate was won by those who advocated that: "It is necessary to circumcise [the Gentiles] and direct them to observe the Mosaic law" (Acts 15:5). What would be the consequences? Well, I do not know. Some predict that the Church would probably remain a tiny group within the Jewish religious environment, admired by the Gentiles for their lofty religious ideas and moral lifestyle. I also read from time to time about those who tried to live for a year in obedience to the 613 rules and regulations of the law of Moses. Since you cannot travel on the Sabbath, you would have to plan all your trips in such a way that they would end on Friday before sunset and/or begin on Saturday after sunset. Only in this way could you be saved.
We would also be obliged to make yearly pilgrimages to Jerusalem. According to the Old Testament, the Jewish people should appear in Jerusalem three times a year on the most important feasts of their faith. The first and most important was the Passover, which celebrated their liberation from slavery in Egypt. Then fifty days later was the feast of Pentecost, which celebrated the gift of Torah. Finally, in Autumn, there was the feast of the Tabernacles, during which they recall the journey of their ancestors through the desert towards the promised land. What if we could not afford such a pilgrimage or could not make it due to reasons beyond our control?
Many of us are aware that the debate on the manner of salvation resurfaced in the Western Church in the 16th century when Martin Luther sent his Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, on 31 October 1517. The debate has torn apart Western Christendom and brought about the Protestant Reformation. It took us nearly 500 years to agree on the understanding of the manner of salvation. In 1999, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation issued the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" in which both sides came to the conclusion that we actually uphold the same manner of salvation. But it is difficult to sew what has been torn apart.
In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us the parable of the Vine, the Farmer, and the Branches. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. The connection to the vine is essential for the branches' existence and productivity (15:4-7). We can only bring fruit by remaining in Jesus. Without him, we can do nothing. This truth is presented in the last chapter of John’s Gospel. Seven of Jesus' disciples went out fishing and caught nothing. The Church depends on the Spirit of the risen Lord for its fruitfulness. For this fruitfulness to last, the Farmer needs to prune the fruitful branches and remove those branches that do not bear fruit.
We will hear tomorrow how the debate on the manner of salvation was solved by the nascent Church. Today, let us ask Saint Joseph, Guardian of our Redeemer and Model of workers, to pray for us that we shall remain in Jesus Christ and bear fruits that will last.