Homily: Tuesday - 4th Week of Easter 2016 - Breakthroughs

The readings from the Book of Acts throughout the Easter season continue to give us a glimpse into the activity of the early Church. 

Well, for the last four weeks, we’ve heard how the Gospel was spread in Jerusalem and Judea—the Gospel was preached by the apostles primarily to the Jews.  But today, we hear of one of the great breakthroughs of human history. 

Heavy persecution hit Judea. And so the Christians there scattered, like seeds to the wind, to the surrounding regions, “to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.” Some of the displaced Christians were Greek-speakers, and they began to share the good news of the Lord Jesus with some of the Gentiles in Antioch.  This may seem very natural and inevitable to us now, but this really was a breakthrough: the disciples were leaving their comfort zones, preaching to people of different nationalities and languages. And the Gospel was being received through their efforts.

The Easter season for all of us means new ways of living the Gospel, new ways of sharing the Gospel. Where do the breakthroughs need to occur in your own life?  When’s the last time you shared your faith with a stranger?  Could you see yourself talking to a stranger at a coffee shop or the rec center about Jesus and about the Catholic Church?  There are people out there who want to know more about Jesus, they want to know about Catholicism, but they have no one to talk to.  Just like the early Christians, the Holy Spirit is urging us into new missionary territory.

Could you see yourself praying the rosary peacefully outside an abortion clinic with other fellow Catholics?  Could you see yourself leading your family in prayer the next time they came to visit?

Notice how, in the reading, this new missionary activity takes place after the suffering and death of the first martyr, Stephen. The blood of the martyrs are the seeds of the Church.  What we suffer prepares us for new missionary activity and the new work of the Spirit. We may feel ill-equipped or scared to share the Gospel with strangers. But trust in the Lord: he has prepared us through many trials of faith for the spreading of that faith. Jesus says in the Gospel today, “my sheep hear my voice”.  He wants to use to gather his scattered flock.  May we each respond generously to the Lord’s call to spread the saving faith for the glory of God and salvation of souls.