In today’s readings we are once again edified by everything Paul and Silas and their companions honourably and joyously suffered on account of their love for Jesus. In today’s reading we see how their sacrifice was in turn honoured by God, when he dramatically freed them from prison through a massive earthquake while loosening their chains.
It would be well though to have a better context as to how they ended up in prison in the first place because in the developments we find pertinent and valuable lessons for us to keep in mind and heart.
First of all, it’s always in prayer and in our seeking to be with the Lord that amazing things happen. One day, on their way to the river for prayer, as we also saw a few days ago in the case of Lidia and how through that providential encounter with the apostle and his companions who were seeking a place to pray, she and her entire household ended up getting baptized, in this case, Paul again is heading down to the river to pray only this time he is led by the Spirit to encounter a slave girl, who through an evil spirit which possessed her, was doing fortune telling readings and would be pretty accurate with it (see Acts 16:16-22). The text literally specifies that which possessed her to be an evil “Python spirit” which would give her psychic powers, the exploitation of which would in turn fill her master’s wallets.
This girl got on Paul’s case as she began shouting after them:
“These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” Acts 16:17.
Now, even if it sounded like praise, Paul discerned a diabolical presence in her pestering them and in her yelling, and he exorcised the evil spirit from her. Her powers left her, and so too the dishonest wealth that came through her readings. The enraged owners of the slave girl therefore dragged Paul and Silas off to court before the magistrates. They accused them of being Jews who were disturbing the peace and breaking Roman laws through proselytizing the citizens of Philippi.
It is at this point that today’s reading begins to recall what then happened. Listening to the crowds instigated by the owners, the magistrates sentenced Paul and Silas to a flogging with rods, and had them thrown into an inner cell and their feet put in stocks. Here they could be monitored and any attempt to escape or be liberated by their friends would be thwarted.
For doing a good thing therefore and setting the slave girl free Paul and Silas were punished and tortured. How would we normally respond under the same circumstances? Would we be angry at God? Would we despair thinking he has abandoned us or that therefore he doesn’t exist? Would we start taking out our anger on others and let our lower nature reign over us?
Not Paul and Silas who, “were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened” for they rejoiced to suffer for the name of Christ! Rejoiced! Do I rejoice to suffer for the Lord? Am I aware of how powerful my suffering is when it is united to the sufferings of Christ?
A severe earthquake strikes just as they’re singing praises to the God who gave them the grace to suffer on account of his name. The prison building collapsed, the chains fell from the walls and the gates were thrown open. The jailer, who was responsible with his own life for the security of his prisoners, presumed they must all have run away and was prepared to kill himself. To take his own life would remove the shame and distress and was preferable to public execution. It was then he heard Paul calling from inside:
“Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
Then: “The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.”
The jailer most likely had heard the message of Paul and Silas, but it’s only after this earthquake and how they could have fled the prison but didn’t, that he knew they were from God.
In deep gratitude, the jailer asked what he should do to be saved and wanted to hear more of what it was they were preaching. Paul spoke to him of Christ, and the eternal nature of what’s at stake, reassuringly encouraging him, saying,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
After hearing more about the Lord, even though it was late at night, the jailer,
“…took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into [his] house and set food before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.”
So this man goes from zero, to having it all. He is now a believer in God, not only with a Christian context, but we can also assume that Paul would have enlightened them regarding the Body and Blood of our Lord, and that the meal they shared would have taken on a Eucharistic character, but we do not have that detailed for us. Either way, this was a new man, and so was his household and who knows the ripple effect that caused throughout Philippi. Again, it is not without reason that the letter he writes to this church in the future, is one of the most beautiful.
In today’s gospel, we once again take up the account of the Last Supper where Jesus is informing his apostles of his departure, but that it is better for all of them, as he will then be able to send them the Holy Spirit in a wonderful and powerful way. Yet they are sad. Our Lord is almost amazed that they are sad about this. We must remember, that sadness was not a very common emotion among those three years of amazing and wonderful things happening. Our Lord was sad on occasions you could probably count on your fingers, but the over arching emotion of the day was happiness and rejoicing in all the good things the Lord brought with him, especially the miracles of healing which just changed countless of people’s lives. We would need to take the miraculous story of the jailer and his conversion and multiply that by a few hundred thousand to be able to capture the joy we’re talking about. So when they were sad, it stood out. We too, my dear brothers and sisters, are meant to be full of joy. Not just happy, but full of joy, yet it is a joy that can only come to us through the Holy Spirit within us, a happiness beyond this world.
We can experience this happiness today, in prayer and by doing God’s will. Jesus made a promise regarding this: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” John 14:23.
The same God who was moving in the early Church to change hearts and enter into deeper communion with Him, is the same God who today desires to share his very life with us. Let us allow him to come into our homes, our families, our hearts, and make him the King therein. For where we allow God to reign, there will be peace, joy, and purpose and meaning in life. There we will find life, and life in its fullness.
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