Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 301

So when they came together here, I made no delay; the next day I took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in.
His accusers stood around him, but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected.
Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died
but who Paul claimed was alive.

Saint Luke's Acts of the Apostles describes the successes and setbacks of the first disciples as they took the Good News to cities, towns, and hamlets throughout Asia and Europe. The middle chapters depict Saint Paul's continual movement through an endless series of towns with innumerable disciples. Many names appear only once and without any more description of them or their accomplishments. Perhaps these were names known throughout the Church as there were so many missionaries moving so rapidly from town to town. The Evangelists apparently wants us to understand how seriously the disciples took Jesus' commission to announce the Gospel to the ends of the earth. 

We have to notice also the similaries of Saint Paul's ordeal and the passion of Jesus. The indefatigable traveller was arrested and jailed for two years apparently because Festus simply didn't want to deal with the problem. 

More importantly, as the above passage indicates, the civil authories who condemned Jesus to death and sent Paul to Rome were forced by the political situation to punish both men without any legal justification. The people of Jerusalem were rioting when Pilate washed his hands of the whole affair and sent Jesus to be crucified. He knew the Galilean had done no harm. Festus first, and then King Agrippa sent Paul to Rome only because Paul had demanded it. They were happy to pass the problem up the line. 

Like most stories in the Bible, there is no clear intervention from God, neither a catastrophe like the parting of the Red Sea nor a subtle angelic message. The human actors must decide; those who know God rely on divinely inspired dreams and intuitions; those who do not are guided by political expedience. The darkness of human life is illuminated by faith; those without faith muddle in darkness while God directs their course of events. 

Fifty days after that awful Passover, Jerusalemites were reminded of what they had done. Clearly, they had been impelled by irrational, inexplicable fears and desires. And then, at Pentecost, they wondered how they might atone for it. 

God is still in charge. We have to believe that as we see the federal government's sending ICE agents to cause madness and mayhem in states that voted for Kamala Harris; and exorbitant amounts of money dumped into another war while ordinary government services at home suffer neglect. I don't pretend to understand why God abandons a nation to its own godless ways while many devout and needy persons suffer. But I believe that He has not abandoned his faithful.

He provides us with his Holy Spirit, which remains courageous, generous, confident, and joyous. We've seen the Spirit's hand in demonstrations and protests around the country. 

We will soon receive some guidance from our Holy Father Pope Leo in the form of an encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity") addressing the advent of artificial intelligence. Its publication must remind us that we are facing a "revolution" more demanding, and perhaps more life-altering than the Industrial Revolution addressed by Pope Leo XIII. I am reasonably sure the Pope's message will include, "Do not be afraid." 

Fear is stupid and cruel. We have seen that vicious idiocy demonstrated repeatedly in recent years, as we faced epidemics and political, economic, and social upheavals. Do not be afraid; trust in the Lord; pray for guidance and direction. Turn off the 24/7 news cycle and turn to the Lord in prayer. 

All will be well; all will be well; and all manner of things will be well.