Homily: Third Wednesday of Easter

Third Wednesday of Easter (Acts: 8:1-8)

We all have photo albums where we have pictures of events in our lives. The photographs offer a snapshot of where we were at a particular moment in our lives. What we see is frozen in time. We probably marvel at how much younger we look; perhaps how happy we were.

There were no cameras in the ancient world. The art was also a lot less sophisticated than it is today. Because of all this we do not have drawings or paintings of Jesus or his followers that were done in the moment. We don’t even have a physical description of Jesus. We don’t know if he was tall or short, stocky or thin.

It seems like the people who were trying to relay the story of Jesus to us did not feel like what Jesus looked like was all that important. What was important was what he did. It did not matter what the early apostles and disciples looked like. What mattered was the sacrifices they took to spread the Gospel message.

The Acts of the Apostles, then, is our photo album of the Christian community. We have verbal descriptions of the Christian Community that have been passed on to us. The information is frozen in time. The Christian community evolved from the descriptions we read about.

We hear in todays reading about the first persecutions of the followers of Jesus. Stephen has been stoned to death. Disciples are being thrown in prison. But when one leader falls another seems to pick up the baton and continue the work.

We will read about Philip and his activities in the next few days. His zeal is undeterred by the death of Stephen. He continues the ministry. Is he the typical Christian, probably not. We can bet there were many who turned away because they were afraid of controversy. That is the way human dynamics work.

But there were Christians who risked everything to keep the Gospel message alive. And those are our ancestors who are frozen in time. Their stories can inspire us to make greater sacrifices for the Lord.

Reflection Questions:

1.    What do I think the early Christians were like? Why do I think this?

2.   Am I willing to share my faith? How and when do I do this?

Dear Parishioners,

This weekend the Growing Disciples strategic planning initiative will have a meeting with all parish representatives from the Rock Island and Kewanee Vicariates. The parish representatives will be viewing statistics about our region.

          What statistics are relevant to the planning we might ask? The sacramental activity is one relevant piece of data. How many people are attending Mass, how many Baptisms does a parish have, etc. The numbers dipped during the pandemic. We have seen some uptick in the last few months. For that reason, we will be counting people at Mass a second time this calendar year this weekend.

          Another piece of data that will be considered is parish finances. Is a parish able to pay their bills, do they have savings, etc.

          A third discussion would revolve around what parishes should be grouped together to discuss the future of a particular area. Grouping parishes together to work towards a common goal seems to be the main thrust of what we are doing now.

          There is a lot to be done as we try to make our church more vibrant. Please pray for our representatives: Connie Morris, Jim Watson, Suzie Budde, Marsha Templeman and Dane DeDecker.

          May Our Lady Pray for us,

Fr. Mark