Acts 23:6-10. Having been brought by the Roman tribune before the Jewish council, Paul is testifying on his own behalf. The mob that had wanted to kill him prior to this was enraged when he said Jesus spoke to him in the temple saying he would be sent to preach to the Gentiles. Paul now perceives that the council is made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees, so he cries out "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead I am on trial." This causes immediate division in the council, because the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection, or spirits, or angels; but the Pharisees believe in them all. The council becomes chaotic, and some of the Pharisees defend Paul saying "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?" The dissension in the council becomes violent, so the tribune, afraid for Paul's life, orders Paul to be taken back to the barracks.

There is so much here!! Taking the last thing first, this poor tribune can't seem to get an answer anywhere! He's got a man he now knows to be a Jew and a Roman citizen on his hands. The man is causing violent dissension among his fellow Jews everywhere he goes for no reason the tribune can see. Paul is reasonable, calm, and obedient to authority, what is the problem with him? The tribune is encountering the same dilemma that Pilate did - he has to keep the peace, but he has an innocent man on his hands that the crowd wants to kill. The tribune does not understand why Paul is angering the Jews so much, because he is not a Jew himself. But what is happening is so much more than just another confusing disruption in Jerusalem. If the tribune pays attention, talks to Paul and listens, there is a chance that this turmoil may bring him to a conversion, like the prison guard before him. How wonderful would that be? God is in everything that happens, so if we find ourselves, like this tribune, unable to make sense out of a situation, we should quiet our own concerns, fears, and worries, and look for and listen for God. He is there, always, and it may be that this is a turning point of our lives!

Secondly I am wondering if Paul brought up the fact that he is a Pharisee and is on trial for believing in the resurrection simply to try to convince the Pharisees to listen to him, or in order to cause the chaos that resulted. He assuredly knows the resurrection is a weak spot in the relationship between the Sadducees and the Pharisees, so I kind of think he may have been poking that weakness purposely. We are not told, however, we just have his statement and the reaction of the council. This leads me to think about how I wonder sometimes if I'm being judgmental when I think about things like this - I can't possibly know Paul's motivation, so why do I try to think about what it may be? The result is the result, and it clearly was part of God's plan no matter what Paul was intending with his words. When I am in a situation where someone says something that causes me great distress, I often find my best option is to remove myself from that situation and person so as to not allow things to become divisive and chaotic. I don't need to know the motivation of the person, although honestly I usually try to think of a positive one despite my emotional reaction. This is where I wonder if I am being judgmental - do my emotions mean that I am having judgmental thoughts? But there is error and sin in the world, am I not right to have a bad reaction to those? I think my worry is mostly unfounded. I think it comes from me reacting to the fact of the error or sin, but then the devil trying to tell me that I am assuming sin and thus being judgmental. I am not, usually (and any times that I am, I am being judgmental and need to repent!). Usually, I assume that the person is simply misinformed (there is a lot of that these days since the world is lying to us so much!). I think I am responding properly to my feelings, such as in Ignatian discernment, and training myself to react as reasonably as possible (and with a well-trained tongue)! There are times when talking to the person will be the right answer, but sometimes it only causes greater upset, so discernment and calm are key here!

Lastly, whatever Paul's intent, his words inspire some of the Pharisees to come to his defense. His words, then, have caused a chain reaction - the Pharisees who defend him are seeing a glimmer of the truth. Perhaps they will eventually see more! Paul is doing nothing but living in and speaking the truth. In a world that is not yet ready to hear truth, this is very dangerous, but it always is more rewarding than acquiescing in lies or keeping silent. And we never know who we might affect when we live in the truth! The truth is like an indestructible vine spreading through the world (as Jesus told us  - He is the vine and we are the branches). It can't be stopped, although some will pull up its shoots and try to destroy its branches. These will eventually grow back, and keep growing back until the time when everyone sees their beauty and no one wants to destroy them. Paul, right now, is a branch, in danger of being destroyed, but everything he does is creating new branches and shoots that will grow into strong branches long after he is gone. The same is true for all who are clinging to the truth right now, no matter the cost. Shoots and branches are springing up all over, even if we don't see them all yet.