Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - 4th Week of Easter - Tues
[Acts 11:19-26 and John 10:22-30]Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews. There were some Cypriots and CyThose who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. [Acts]
This rather matter of fact sentence from the Acts of the Apostles in the first scripture for today might escape our attention, but it marks a turning point in the spread of Christianity from being a Jewish sect to a new movement. Persecution in Jerusalem meant that believers went elsewhere and made converts, who then became preachers in other places outside Jerusalem. Their success resulted in the leadership in Jerusalem to send Barnabus to Antioch where he realized the importance of that success. He knew just the guy to build on that success and he went and found Paul who had moved back to his hometown. The rest is history. Wherever we may be now, we owe our church to the courage and confidence of those early preachers. St. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, notes that it was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Decisive moments are worth noting because they can remind us of the debt of gratitude we owe to those who first preached the faith and enabled it to spread. The ball is now in our court. What are we doing to spread the faith further? AMEN
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