Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Lectionary: 281

The word of God continued to spread and grow. 

With that observation, Saint Luke closes his story about Peter's unexpected escape from prison, his going underground, and the ghastly death of Herod Antipas, nephew of King Herod the Great. He now takes up the story of Saints Barnabas and Paul and their missionary journeys. 

The word of God is spreading like wildfire wherever they go. Jews and gentiles alike are eager to hear the Good News despite the misgivings of religious and civil authorities. 

The story of Jesus is not easy to swallow. We should worship a man who was condemned and executed? We should believe on your word that he was raised from the dead and revealed as the Only Begotten Son of God? 

But many were ready for such a word; it made sense to them. The Roman Empire was  founded on raw power. It succeeded as all empires have, by promoting trade with highways free of crime and sea lanes  free of piracy. There were taxes, of course, but not unbearable; and the Romans were indifferent to which religion you practiced so long as your religion made no difference. The system, like ours, worked so well that the wealthy got wealthier and the poor stagnated in their poverty. An efficient army suppressed discontent by crucifying malcontents, except when they preferred more barbaric methods. We can suppose they expected to maintain their empire forever. 

The Gospel announced a new emperor who disdained wealth, luxury, and success even as he provided peace of mind and heart. Wherever the disciples preached the Holy Spirit verified their message with healed bodies and  hearts burning within them. It sounded right. 

The Lord God of Heaven and Earth had been born of a virgin; had grown up in obscurity and poverty. He had healed the sick and sometimes raised the dead. He had been run to ground by the authorities but raised up again. Jesus of Nazareth had all the authority of God and all the meek helplessness of a Roman subject. He is one of us and yet the Only Begotten Son of God. 

Saint Luke is acutely aware of the Holy Spirit's working with the missionaries. They cannot possibly succeed unless they listen for and immediately obey the Spirit's directives. Where the apostles had once hung on every word of Jesus, they now waited with eager willingness the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Nor could they doubt for a moment the Spirit's wisdom. 

If they were detained in prison; if some like Stephen and James were murdered; if others compromised the faith and turned away from the Lord: they remembered Jesus's predictions about those very troubles. They could not see beyond the horizon but they knew God could and they trusted God instinctively. 

Their intention to announce the Gospel to the whole world, ambitious though it was, did not seem impossible. Every setback was a success, every trial won more converts. 

We remember their story in our time, when it seems that few want to hear the Gospel. But today's titans of news, social media, entertainment, industry, commerce, the sciences, and government represent not many people. If they are the most visible they are not the majority. The Gospel still spreads and takes root among the displaced and dismissed, and those who count for nothing. The Spirit and the Church still flourish there.