Column
As It Is
Written . . .
The Light in the Darkness
When, on the occasion of the arrest of Peter and John, the Church assembled to pray, a chief component in the prayer was the second psalm. That psalm was chosen, obviously, because it spoke of a collusion of God's enemies against his Messiah: "The kings of the earth rise up and the princes come together against the Lord and against his Anointed One." In the arrest of her two notable apostles, the Church recognized the very collusion described in the psalm: "For truly against your holy servant (pais) Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, have gathered together" (Acts 4:27–28). This meaning was—and is—
perfectly plain.
What is perhaps not so plain—a point, indeed, that begs for explanation—is the particular and striking way the Church invoked God at the beginning of the prayer: "Lord, you are he that made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them" (4:24). Why, in the context of this prayer, where the historical circumstance is very specific, do we find this direct and explicit attention to God as the universal Creator? What was there about the arrest of Peter and John that prompted the Church to introduce the doctrine of Creation?
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
33.1—January/February 2020
Speaking Truth About the Sexes Is Not Optional by Anthony Esolen
33.3—May/June 2020
Human & Divine Societies Require Careful Thought & Discourse by Anthony Esolen
22.8—November/December 2009
Looking for Beauty & Justice 150 Years After Darwin’s Classic by Charles Taliaferro
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
