May 11, 2011
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
By Colleen O’Sullivan
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.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:1b-8)
Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)
Piety
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”
(Psalm 66:1-3a)
StudyWhich word doesn’t belong with the others? Persecution – Lament – Destruction – Imprisonment - Joy. When I was in elementary school, we often had language arts tests like that. “Joy” would seem like the incongruous word. Yet “joy” is right there among all these other, less pleasant words in our reading from the Book of Acts. How can that be?
It must have been horribly frightening to be a Christian in those first weeks and months after Jesus’ resurrection. Peter and the other Apostles have been called before the Sanhedrin more than once, thrown into jail, flogged for preaching the word of the Risen Lord. For his testimony, Stephen has been stoned to death. Many believers have been so persecuted or threatened they’ve left the city and fled into the surrounding countryside. Woe to those left behind; Saul is systematically rooting them out of their very homes and having them thrown into prison. Is it all falling apart?
Most of us can identify moments in our lives when we’ve asked ourselves that very same question – is it all falling apart? Maybe it was when your husband or wife told you they wanted a divorce and you felt your whole world collapsing around you. Maybe it was when a loved one or a cherished friend died and you thought you would never emerge from that dark pit of grief to go on living. Perhaps it was the day you lost your job and couldn’t imagine how you were ever going to feed your family and keep your home. Maybe you risked your life and spent everything you had to come here and make a better life, but now you have no documentation, no job and you wonder how you’re going to survive.
In these darkest moments of life, it’s difficult to see any hope or light. Had I been in Jerusalem during the chaotic, violent days described by Luke in today’s first reading, I think I would have despaired and run off myself. It would have seemed like the end.
But, it was a beginning, too! Luke goes on to tell us that Philip leaves Jerusalem and goes to Samaria. He preaches the Word, he offers the people the Bread of Life, he heals the sick and possessed in Jesus’ name. And what was the result? Overwhelming faith and joy! This marks the beginning of the spread of the Gospel beyond the confines of Jerusalem out into the rest of the world. Many of those who fled the terror in the holy city were ultimately bearers of the Good News to men and women who had never heard of Jesus. God can take the ruins of our lives and transform them; in this case, he took frightened, fleeing new believers and made them into evangelists for the Kingdom.
Action
God is always at work for good. Take a few moments sometime today to reflect on the darker times in your life and how Jesus’ Spirit was able to bring something good out of them.
