Wednesday, May 7, 2025

 

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)

 Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, may have had a small place in history if Russia had not invaded his country.  But it seems now that he will be remembered as a courageous defender of freedom whether or not the Ukrainians defeat the Russians.  Zelenskyy has refused to back down to the mighty Russian forces.  He has successfully appealed to the world for solidarity in the cause of national sovereignty.  There is a parallel here with what takes place in today’s first reading.

The Greek-speaking Jewish Christians have been expelled from Jerusalem.  Stephen’s diatribe against the temple set off a persecution against them but apparently not against the Hebrew-speaking church.  The oppression turns out to be not so much a threat to Church existence as a catalyst to its growth.  Powerful preachers like Philip will win converts in different lands among non-Jews.  The Church can now be seen as beginning to fulfill its universal mission.

Both Zelenskyy and the Greek-speaking Christians should inspire us to not surrender to defeatism when facing opposition.  Rather we should pray to God for courage, strength, and prudence to fulfill our destiny.  Of course, prayer is often accompanied by action.  We should pursue the struggle for justice while protecting our loved ones.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

 Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)

 Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, may have had a small place in history if Russia had not invaded his country.  But it seems now that he will be remembered as a courageous defender of freedom whether or not the Ukrainians defeat the Russians.  Zelenskyy has refused to back down to the mighty Russian forces.  He has successfully appealed to the world for solidarity in the cause of national sovereignty.  There is a parallel here with what takes place in today’s first reading.

The Greek-speaking Jewish Christians have been expelled from Jerusalem.  Stephen’s diatribe against the temple set off a persecution against them but apparently not against the Hebrew-speaking church.  The oppression is not so much a threat to Church maintenance as it is a catalyst to its growth.  Powerful preachers like Philip will win converts, especially among non-Jews like the Samaritans.  The Church as a whole is beginning to fulfill its mission to the world.

Both Zelenskyy and the Greek-speaking Christians should inspire us to not surrender to defeatism when facing opposition.  Rather we should pray to God for courage, strength, and prudence to fulfill our destiny.  Of course, prayer is often accompanied by action.  We should pursue the struggle of justice and love while protecting our loved ones.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)

Although the Acts of the Apostles provides only a summary history of the early Church, several conclusions may be drawn from it.  Today’s passage, for example, gives three keys to understanding the initial missionary activity of the Church.  First, the fact that the missions resulted from the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem tells us that they were not planned in advance.  Rather, they were the work of the Holy Spirit prompting Christians to work for the good in any situation.  Second, the comment on how the Apostles and, presumably, other Hebrew Christians stayed behind in Jerusalem indicates that the initial missions were a venture of Greek-speaking Christians.  These non-Jerusalemites probably downplayed the importance of the Temple as Stephen did in his diatribe before being stoned.  Finally, as missionaries they did not feel restricted to preach their message to Jews but could address pagans as well.  The latter not only could speak their language but also had no interest whatsoever in Temple worship.

As recent popes constantly remind us, Catholics today must take up the mission of evangelization.  We can draw on the conclusions from Acts to respond to the summons.  The Spirit puts us in situations where our lives and words give testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  In the beginning, at least, our purpose will not be to bring people into church but to show them how the love that Jesus teaches leads to a more fulfilling life.  Still, we do not refrain from speaking of our personal relationship with Jesus.  The righteousness of our lives will be the surest sign to others of the validity of our message.  But unless we are clear that the Holy Spirit guides us, they will never know the full story.

Wednesday, May 11, 2020

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)

Although the Acts of the Apostles provides only a summary history of the early Church, several conclusions may be drawn from it. Today’s passage, for example, gives three keys to understanding the initial missionary activity of the Church. First, the fact that the missions resulted from the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem tells us that they were not planned in advance. Rather, they were the work of the Holy Spirit prompting Christians to work for the good in any situation. Second, the comment on how the Apostles and, presumably, other Hebrew Christians stayed behind in Jerusalem indicates that the missions were a venture of Greek-speaking Christians. These non-Jerusalemites probably downplayed the importance of the Temple as Stephen had done in his diatribe before being stoned. Finally, the missionaries did not feel restricted to preach their message to Jews but could address pagans as well since the latter not only spoke their language but also had no interest whatsoever in Temple worship.

As recent popes constantly remind us, Catholics today must take up the mission of evangelization. We can draw on the conclusions from Acts to respond to the summons. The Spirit puts us in situations where our lives and words give testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In the beginning, at least, our purpose will not be to bring people to Church with us but to show them how the universal love that Jesus taught leads to a more fulfilling life. Still we do not refrain from speaking of our personal relationship with Jesus to religious skeptics. The righteousness of our lives will be the surest sign to these people of the validity of our message. But unless we are clear about who guides us, they will never know the full story.