Word to the Wise
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - 3rd Week of Easter - Wed
[Acts 8:1b-8 and John 6:35-40]There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.
I'm going to interrupt the challenges of the "bread of life" discourse in the Gospel of John to pay attention, today, to the parallel first scriptures in the post-Easter time - the Acts of the Apostles! As was said in the old cowboy movies: "Meanwhile, back at the ranch....." There were serious consequences connected with preaching about Jesus! The event of Pentecost [yet to be celebrated liturgically for us] has come and gone. The initial shock of Jesus' resurrection is past. The deacons have been chosen. One of them, Stephen, has just been martyred, with a young man named Saul looking on with approval while guarding the coats of the stoners! Another deacon, Philip, is working outside of Jerusalem. Slowly, but surely, the vision of the evangelist Luke is working out.
That vision began in the gospel with Jesus traveling to Jerusalem. From Jerusalem, the message begins to spread throughout the known world [cf the account of Pentecost]. One of the major ways in which this would happen is the conversion of Saul, whose missionary journeys would establish the church all around the Mediterranean basin. Today, we learn of the success of Philip the deacon in preaching in Samaria - all the more remarkable because he was Jewish and the Samaritans were not friendly to Jews.
Preaching can be dangerous work where there are competing religious faiths. Any Christian living in a predominantly Muslim country knows how delicate the task can be. So, what we hear in the Acts of the Apostles is not an ancient problem that we modern folks might think is past or quaint. We have a powerful truth to proclaim and some folks will take very serious objection to it! AMEN