Note: Thursday of the Sixth Week of Paschaltide is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. However, in the USCCB jurisdiction, this feast has been transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Paschaltide. Below is my exegetical reflection for the Scripture Reading for Thursday of the Sixth Week of Paschaltide (Acts 18:1-8; John 16:16-20).
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On the night before his death, during Last Super,
Jesus had been giving the farewell discourse (John 14:1-16:33). Jesus had
implicated that he would be departing this world to return to the Father in
heaven in order to prepare the disciples to be sent out on apostolic missions.
This way, his work would continue, as they would carry out, making disciples
all nations and building one holy catholic apostolic Church (John 14:1-16:15).
Now, there is a shift in this farewell discourse, as
he begins speaking of something more imminent than his departure to the Father
(John 16:16-24) before concluding the discourse (John 16:25-33).
As he continued on with his farewell discourse, upon
addressing how the Holy Spirit, anther Parakletos
(Advocate) would affect (John 16:5-15), Jesus said to his disciples:
A
little while and you will no longer see (θεωρεῖτέme/theoreite), and again a
little while after and you will see (ὄψεσθέ/opsesthe) me
(John 16:16).
Jesus had already said that he is going away but
come back (John 14:2-4), referring to his ascension and parousia. Then, he revealed the coming of the Holy Spirit as
another Parakletos (Advocate), who is
the Spirit of truth, through which Jesus comes so that the disciples would not
be left on earth like orphans (John 14:16-18).
So, what does Jesus mean now to say that the disciples would no longer
see him but would see him again after a while?
This is how the disciples wondered and some of them
discussed about this with each other, what this “little while” meant and if the
statement of Jesus referred to what he said about going to the Father (John
16:17). So they asked him what he meant (John 16:18).
Knowing that the disciples would have wanted to ask
him (John 16:19), Jesus responded:
Amen,
amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will
grieve, but your grief will become joy (John 16:20).
A key to understand what Jesus meant by saying “will not see me but will see me” in John 16:16 is ὄψεσθέμε (opsesthe). This Greek verb indicates “seeing with bodily eyes” as it is involved with light, as this is associated with ὀπτάνομαι (optanomai), which can be translated as “be seen”, as well as, ὁράω (horao), which means “to see” . So, Jesus is referring to not seeing and seeing his body. On the other hand, θεωρέω (theoreo), indicates “seeing in a metaphorical perspective”. Though these two Greek words, θεωρέω (theoreo) and ὄψεσθέμε (opsesthe), can be translated in English as “to see”, in Greek, these verbs are contrasted, as the former implies seeing beyond bodily eyes while latter indicates seeing with bodily eyes. Given this, now we understand that Jesus was speaking of his death on the Cross and burial to use θεωρέω (theoreo) in saying “will not see me” and speaking of his bodily resurrection as his risen body can be clearly seen by bodily eyes, with ὄψεσθέμε (opsesthe).
Therefore, in John 16:16, Jesus spoke his impending
death and resurrection. Then in John
16:20, Jesus foretold that the disciples would grieve over his death but those
who wanted Jesus to be dead would celebrate his death. Then, after a little
while, upon his resurrection, the disciples would rejoice. But, those who
rejoiced his death would be troubled, as risen Jesus would be the stumbling
block and foolishness to them (1 Corinthians 1:23), for they would not be able
to believe that Jesus is the Messiah to die and to rise, as prophesized in Isaiah
52:13-53:12.
Up to this point (John 16:16), Jesus had been mainly
speaking of his departure by ascension, returning to the Father in heaven, who
had sent him. He had already explained that he was returning to the Father in
order to prepare a place for us in the Father’s house so that he can take us
there when he return at the end of time (John 14:2-3). He also indicated that
he is departing the world and returning to the Father so that the Holy Spirit,
anther Parakletos (John 14:16), the
Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 16:13), can be sent down to us (John 16:7).
However, here Jesus began speaking of his imminent disappearance, which is his
impending death on the Cross, and his reappearance, after a while, namely, his
resurrection (John 16:16-20).
Remember, Jesus being lifted-up (John 3:14; 12:32)
is threefold: on the Cross to die and save, from his tomb at his resurrection,
and from the earth ascending to the Father in heaven. And Jesus had already
spoken about his ascension and his coming in the Holy Spirit, as another Parakletos, and returning at the end of
time (John 14:1-16:15).
Before he would depart from the earth to return to
the Father, he had to die and be raised from the dead. Now all three in Jesus’
threefold glorification by being lifted up are put together: being lifted up on
the Cross to die so that he would be no longer seen as his body is buried,
being lifted up (raised) from his tomb on the day of resurrection, and being
lifted up to depart from the world to the Father in heaven on the day of
ascension. This way, the Holy Spirit, another Parakletos (Advocate) would be sent down to the disciples to be
sent out on their apostolic missions so that the Church will be born and grow.
And, we have been reaching about the growing Church
through the First Readings during Paschaltide, drawn from the Acts of the
Apostles. In today’s First Reading (Acts
18:1-8), we see Paul moving from Athens to Corinth. While Athens was a city of
culture and learning, Corinth was a city prospering with booming commerce and
trace. It was also known for having morally compromised people.
In Corinth, Paul met a fellow Jew, Aquila of Pontus,
and his wife, Pricilla. They migrated to Corinth from Rome, because Emperor
Claudius expelled Jews from Rome, starting 41 A.D. They helped Paul making tent to finance his
mission trip. Though there is no particular description about their faith, it
seemed that both Aquila and Priscilla were faithful convert to Christianity.
While in Corinth, Paul went to the synagogue on
every sabbath to speak of Jesus there to both Jews and some Jews, who were more
interested in Judaism than their ethnic pagan deities. He focused on preaching
on Jesus during his stay in Corinth, and it was during this time that Silas and
Timothy rejoined him form Macedonia.
As it had been the case in the places that he had
preached in the past, Jews opposed and reviled Paul. So, in protest, Paul said:
Your
blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to
the Gentiles (Acts 18:6).
This is a very powerful protest to those who reject
Jesus, by rejecting Paul, who brought the Good News of Jesus. Basically, in
this statement, Paul was indicating that these Jews, who refused to believe,
would not be saved. And, he made it clear that he will bring the Good News of
Jesus the Christ to the Gentiles.
After Paul was expelled from the synagogue, Titus
Justus, a Gentile, accommodated him in his house, which located next to the
synagogue. Later Paul affectionately called Titus his true child as he joined
him (Titus 1:4). Then, Crispus, the synagogue
official, who is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:14, came to believe in Jesus
and was baptized together with his household. And many Corinthians who heard
Paul speaking of Jesus became believers.
Yes, Paul’s mission continued to be fruitful, as he
planted seeds of faith as he preached on Jesus and his words. It is because of
the Holy Spirit, another Parakletos,
the Spirit of truth, sharing the same θεῖος
ουσία/theios ousia (divine
substance) with Jesus the Parakletos. And he was with Paul, because Jesus the Parakletos was lifted up on the Cross,
died, and was buried, and was lifted up from the tomb, and lifted up to the
Father in heaven.
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