Readings: Acts 16:22-34; Ps 138; John 16:5-11
_________________________Coincidentally, or perhaps not since I really don’t believe in
coincidences, in our parish Bible Study we’re currently discussing this particular
chapter, chapter 16, of the Acts of the Apostles. This section of Acts tells us
of Paul’s second missionary journey, a journey that truly made history because,
for the first time, Christianity made its way into Europe. For the early Church,
Europe was mission territory, and I suppose, in some respects it still is.
Now Paul, on this journey accompanied by Silas, wasn’t looking for
trouble. They just wanted to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to both Jew
and Gentile and lead both to salvation. Their first stop after crossing the Aegean,
was Philippi, a city of Macedonia and a Roman colony. Philippi was populated by
large numbers of retired Roman soldiers, and unexpectedly they ran into some serious
trouble.
Paul had exorcised a demon who had possessed a slave girl. This
angered the owner of the girl because the demon was pretty good at fortune
telling, and people paid for this. As a result, Paul and Silas were arrested
and attacked by a mob. The local magistrate conducted a kangaroo court, had the
two missionaries stripped and beaten, then imprisoned and chained them. Not a
good day.
But that night, as Paul and Silas prayed and sang psalms, an earthquake
hit, opened the doors to the jail, and broke their chains. The jailer, thinking
everyone had escaped, was about to kill himself when Paul stops him, “We’re
all here.” Paul hadn’t escaped and had apparently convinced the other
prisoners to remain as well.
It all turns into one of those wonderful events, when the Holy
Spirit moves someone to faith, for the jailer asks, “What must I do to be
saved?” [Acts 16:30] Paul doesn’t waste a lot of words here, and gives perhaps the
shortest of homilies:
“Believe
in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved” [Acts 16:31].
The jailer takes them to his home, treats their wounds, listens to
God’s Word, and he and his entire household are baptized.
Thinking about this remarkable event, I realized that even when we’re
trying to do what we believe God wants of us, without calling attention to
ourselves, sometimes it just doesn’t go well, and were rejected, even
mistreated.
Paul, trying to quiet that slave girl by exorcising the demon that
was creating such a disturbance, ends up getting him and Silas beaten and
imprisoned. I doubt Paul regretted what he had done. After all, even if secular
authority persecutes us, we must still “obey God rather than men” [Acts 5:29].
In the same way today, the entire Church, and that includes all of
us, must stand tall for religious freedom, defending the Church’s right to preach
the truth in the face of pressures to conform to secular values. Like Paul and
Silas, we must all be willing to proclaim the Gospel, practice our faith, and teach
the truth as it relates to both morality and justice. We need only trust in God,
in his goodness, knowing He will turn all to good for those who love him. As
Paul and Silas learned that night in the prison, in all things, our God is in
charge, not us.
And as Jesus promised His disciples, He sends His advocate, His
Holy Spirit, to us. It is the Spirit who will lead us, guide us, and speak and
act through us…if only we will let Him. Recall what Jesus revealed of the
Spirit:
“…the
Spirit of truth…will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but
he will speak what he hears…He will glorify me…and declare it to you” [Jn 16:13-14].
This,
brothers and sisters, is why we should always be open to the Spirit, letting
Him guide us in all things. Through the Holy Spirit, we proclaim our ancient
faith in the saving death and resurrection of Christ until he comes again.
It
is also why we should never despair when it seems those we love don’t respond
to God’s Word. The Spirit works in His own time and His own way.
We
need only trust and be faithful.
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