We see in today’s first reading that Paul by now has proven himself to the disciples. Whereas before they had their doubts as to his genuine and authentic conversion, his being stoned to such an extent where they thought he was dead, would extinguish all skepticism and hesitancy in his regard.
Now they coupled his boldness in proclaiming the good news with what he had been suffering for it, and the miracles that accompanied him, and immediately they knew God had chosen this man as a leader unlike any other. They would have by now esteemed him not only a convert and follower but an authority, recognizing the divine nature of his calling. For what more convincing a man could exist, than one who formerly was the most vehemently opposed to Christ? Such is the wisdom of God and his love for us. God is trying to convince us of the truth, not for his sake, for God needs nothing, but out of love for us. In Paul’s amazing story, we see God’s tender appeal to the world.
Paul and Barnabas have now come to the conclusion of their first missionary journey, and they’ve barely gotten out alive, but God has more work for them still. They were just praised as gods not too long prior to them being stoned, and the nature of the stoning inside the city rather than the usual place for a formal execution outside the city, suggests to us that this was a spontaneous outburst of anger that the message they were preaching provoked. Luke goes on to tell us that immediately after the stoning, being surrounded by the disciples, Paul got right back up to his feet, perhaps even miraculously. This having taken place in Lystra it would be easy to imagine that Timothy may have been at this event, and the same way Saul would have been moved by Stephen’s stoning, so too Timothy was probably moved by Paul’s faith in enduring such things for the kingdom of God.
Nothing we suffer for the sake of righteousness ever goes to waste. God always takes it and brings some kind of fruit from it. We should never think that our suffering is for nothing.
The very next day after his stoning, Paul and Barnabas go back into the town and headed towards Derbe. One would think the town would be the last place they’d want to be seen, but remember, these are ambassadors of the Risen Lord. They knew they had God’s favour on them, even if they endured that horrific stoning the day before. Now, they were invincible, even if it hurt. They understood how persecution was part and parcel of any authentic Christian journey and that greatness consisted in suffering on account of Christ.
As Amy Carmichael puts it in her wonderful poem:
Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar?
Hast thou no wound?
Yet, I was wounded by the archers, spent.
Leaned me against the tree to die, and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed me, I swooned:
Hast thou no wound?
No wound? No scar?
Yet as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole. Can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?
With great joy they began their return journey to Jerusalem, and now they made it a point to go through all the towns they had been to originally preaching the gospel (in Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch) and in which they endured much suffering. Yet these were also now places filled with Christian converts among both Jews and Gentiles. We are told that here Paul,
“…strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God” Acts 14:22.
He preached how being part of the Kingdom of God meant we would need to undergo suffering in imitation of the Lord himself.
In each of these places he appointed ‘presbyters’ (Greek, presbyteroi) or elders. They would pray and fast and then with a laying on of hands, ordain them. In this case, too, the elders were chosen by the apostles and not by the community. So to, candidates to religious life and priesthood will need to be prayed for, scrutinized, and then left to the judgement of the proper authorities as to whether or not to be admitted to further ministry. This is a reflection of the care that the Church takes to assign proper ministers, and yes, some seep through the cracks that were not supposed to be ordained. We can debate ad nauseum how this happens, but suffice it to say, the early Church was extremely careful for the good of the faithful entrusted to its care.
On their return to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas report to the others about how the truth had now been made available by God to the gentiles and that functioning communities were already on their way to cultivating a solid local church moving forward. We can imagine the beauty of the liturgy in those early days, where the Eucharist would have been central given Paul himself tells us what he handed on to them, i.e., what he himself received; the structure and consecratory character of the bread and wine in the breaking of the bread. Amazing.
Rewinding a bit back in time, in today’s gospel, Jesus is preparing the disciples for what will shock and shake their faith. He is about to return to the Father. When he tells them this, they’re saddened as their love for him by now has grown and they never imagined he would leave
indefinitely. He extended to them his peace as there’s a lot here they’re not yet understanding. This leaving, will be corporally but never will he be absent in spirit. What’s more, the same Eucharist that we just alluded to, shared by Saint Paul with others as it was shared with him, will now be the tangible and supernatural presence of the Lord among us. Yes, he will rise, and will appear in risen form alive and well, but he is telling them that soon, within several weeks of him speaking those words, he would ascend to the Father’s right hand. He sees they’re downcast and says to them:
“If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father…”
These are the words of faith, a man with vision, and of course our Lord is urging them to think in heavenly terms and realities. And this is amazing. What must there be in heaven, for Jesus to tell the apostles to not worry about his impending suffering and focus on the goodness he will be returning to with the Father? How can they rejoice when the one they love is being taken away from them? It’s because they cannot see. They cannot possibly comprehend what awaits us on the other side. Jesus not only has seen it, but it is from this world beyond that he descended into our world beneath. He is the only one, in fact, who came down from heaven and will now be heading back after accomplishing his mission. Why were the saints so happy when death approached, and not terrified into a depressive, debilitating state as we know has happened to many an atheist? Because they had not only this vision, but they loved the one who makes heaven, heaven. Heaven is what it is because the One we love… the one whom we’ve always loved, is there, waiting for us. Let us love Jesus with the intensity the saints loved him and not offend him ever again. Let us try our best, and if we should fail and sin in some way, then we run to his mercy and come out to begin life anew.
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