“God Has a Bigger Plan” by Colleen O’Sullivan

"God Has a Bigger Plan” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

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…  Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment…  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 8:1, 3, 5-8)

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

Lord, help us to remember that in your eyes there is no “us” or “them,” that we are all equally your beloved sons and daughters.

Study

Martyrdom of St. Stephen, Anonymous, c. 1517,
Wing altar of Church of St. Michael ob Rauchenödt, Upper Austria,
Creative Commons Lic., Wikimedia Commons 

The scene depicted on this wing of an altar from the 16^th century is the stoning of St. Stephen, whose martyrdom immediately precedes the events described in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  After gazing at it for a few minutes, though, it seems to take on a more timeless quality.

Persecution always starts with an “us” and a “them.”  It’s a rather despicable side of our human character that so easily lures us into the trap of demonizing other groups of people.  Once you’re on the other, “them” side of things, all bets are off.

In our first reading, it is the Jews in Jerusalem deciding that the Christians in their midst are fair game.  They need to be eradicated, gotten rid of.  The stoning of St. Stephen is followed by the persecution of any reputed Christian.  Saul goes to incredible lengths to rid the city of these followers of the Way.  Home invasions evidently are his specialty, his means of terrorizing and imprisoning believers in Jesus Christ.

But this altar could just as easily depict the reality of 1930’s Germany, where the “us” and the “them” are flipped, and it’s Christians after Jews.  Or the 1994 Rwandan genocide, where Hutu extremists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of members of the Tutsi tribe.  Or the present day persecution of the mostly Muslim Rohingya people in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.  It could even be right here at home, where we currently seem to be in anti-immigrant-from-anywhere mode.

The Scripture reading goes on from there, however, to remind us that God has the ability to take the despicable things we do to one another and use them for good.  Had anyone told Saul that he himself would soon become a great evangelist for the Jesus he is persecuting, he would have laughed (or had that person seized and thrown in prison).  All the chaos and terror presided over by Saul sends the Christians running to the countryside, away from the city.  Luke tell us that Philip goes to Samaria, preaches the Gospel and heals many of whatever ails them.  The Good News begins to spread.  In spite of all the persecution, the Church begins to grow by leaps and bounds.  The Bread of Life feeds and sustains people far beyond the Jerusalem city limits!   The grief and terror evidenced in Jerusalem give way to joy in the Lord!

 

Action

Here in Northern Virginia, there isn’t much active persecution of believers going on as far as I can see.  The tendrils of a more insidious enemy, apathy, wrap themselves tightly around us instead.  Yet we know people still hunger for healing and forgiveness of a multitude of ills and sins.  What one thing can you do today to let someone know that the Bread of Life can feed and sustain him or her and that in Jesus, they can find a Healer beyond any other?  Just sow that one seed today for the Lord.