The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
During the great 50 days in which we celebrate the transforming power of the Easter mystery in the Church, the first lesson at the Sunday Eucharist is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. This is the only time within the yearly lectionary cycle of readings that the first reading invariably from the Hebrew Scriptures is replaced by a New Testament lesson.
Scholars tell us that the Evangelist Luke is also the inspired writer of the Acts of the Apostles. Even a cursory reading of Acts reveals that, unlike his Gospel, it narrates the challenging ‘history’ of the early Church following the Ascension of the Lord. I place the word, ‘history,’ in parenthesis, since this is an idealized history seen through the eyes not of an exacting historical chronicler but rather one whose primary aim was to bring about conversion to the Christ and His Way by all who would read and listen to this saving message.
I must admit, I always am more than a bit amused when I hear the verse quoted above with its phrase: The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace… In the nearly 2000 year history of our Church, this must have been the singular time when the church was at peace! My friends, as a human institution that holds a divine dimension, our history down through the centuries has, sadly, been all too fragile with infighting and contention. As the French would say, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
No wonder, then, that year after year during the Easter Season, we hear the simple yet incredibly challenging message from the 1st Letter of John: Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.
Sisters and Brothers, if we truly believe that at the heart of the reality that we call ‘Church,’ is nothing less than relationships – the Lord with us and ours with him and one another – then love must stand as the ultimate litmus test of the quality and sincerity of those relationships.
The invariable sign down through the centuries that we fail this test is the dissension, inner turmoil and infighting that can destroy the communion that the Lord wants for his beloved Church. However, when we humbly rise above are incessant need to narcissistically be right and let compassion and mercy be the hallmark of our lives, dissension, inner turmoil and infighting can indeed give way to a holy communion.
Such a reality, however, comes as an amazing grace from the one who is the giver of all good things, God’s spirit of love. Let us be open to that gift, this day and every day of our lives.