5th Sunday of Easter
03rd May 2026
Lectionary Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12
Theme: The People of God in Transition: Faith, Authority, Inclusion
The readings for this Sunday provide three different perspectives on the life and faith of the earliest Christian communities, as they took shape within and beyond the Jewish contexts of the first centuries A.D. Treasured, at the heart of their faith, was the memory of Jesus’ confession in response to Thomas: “I am the way and the truth and the life … No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). Pheme Perkins observes that here, truth and life qualify the “way” with two basic soteriological images of the Gospel: Jesus is not just a guide to salvation; he is the source of life and truth (cf. TNJBC p. 974). As Adele Reinhartz comments: “Such statements strongly affirm the Gospel’s belief in Jesus’ central and essential role in God’s plan of salvation; no other way to salvation exists for this Gospel” (cf. TJANT p. 207). We hear Jesus’ repeated requests, “believe … believe in God, believe also in me” (cf. vss. 2, 10, 11, 12). These are more than an invitation; they are the heart-rending plea of Jesus facing his passion; they express what will be the essence of the Christian creed.
The passage from Acts introduces another, and very practical, aspect of the image of the early Church. It presents a specific and significant instance of the exercise of authority in the “community of the disciples.” The twelve Apostles assemble the disciples for the purpose of resolving a dilemma that has emerged, that is, the urgency of developing services to care for certain concrete needs of the people, while respecting and ensuring the apostles’ commitment to prayer and service of the word. The selection of “seven men of good standing, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” takes place. Then, in a liturgical gesture, involving the prayer of the apostles and their laying hands on each of the seven, what will be called the order of deacons comes into existence.
1Peter 2 reflects on the sensitive relationship between the Jewish community and the emerging Christian community. The letter applies, to the Christian community, terms and scriptural citations that Jews used to express their exclusive covenant with God. As Libengood states (Religions, 106): “In a way virtually unique among canonical writings, 1 Peter has appropriated the language of Israel for the Church … the new people of God.” The letter transfers to the Church the theological concept of Israel as “God’s chosen people” (2:9), and in 2:6-8 reflects on “the stone laid in Zion … that the builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone,” treating these as allusions to the Christian community. The passage from 1 Peter then ends with the acclamation: “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” which is obviously based on Ex. 19:6, referring to the Jewish people. One can sense here the danger of supercessionism. However, Libengood resists replacing Israel with the Church. He upholds what he calls “the creative identity formation strategies” found in 1 Peter, contending that the letter extends to Gentile followers of Jesus, the privileges and promises originally given to Israel, affirming their full inclusion and belonging within the people of God as Gentiles.
For Reflection and Discussion:
1. In your current context, how would you describe the relations of the Church and the Jewish people?
2. What contributes to growth in those relations and what impedes them?
Bibliography: Brown, R.E., Fitzmyer, J.A., Murphy, R.E., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1990); Levine, A-J. and Bretler, M.Z., editors, The Jewish Annotated New Testament (Oxford University Press, 2011); Libengood K.D., “The Problem(s) of Reading 1 Peter after Supercessionism,” (Religions 14: 206).
This week’s Sunday Liturgy Commentary was prepared by
Diane Willey, Canada, Bat Kol Alumna 2005, 2006
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