Homily: Fifth Wednesday of Easter 2024
Fifth Wednesday of Easter 2024 (Acts 14:19-28) “Moving with the Spirit”
We get our tongues twisted when we read the Acts of the Apostles these days. We hear about so many places in Asia Minor. Somehow it sounds like a car trip. If we were describing Paul’s travel today, we might say Paul traveled over to Iowa City. He then came back and went to Bettendorf. He went through Davenport. He also stopped in Blue Grass.
We might travel to all those places in an afternoon. We might drive up to Dubuque for good measure. It still would not take us a whole day. The way the scriptures read the travel sounds easy.
But it was far from easy. If you walked along the roads the trip through the Iowa cities that I mentioned would take weeks. A day of walking might take you twenty miles. You would deal with heat and cold. There were no motels along the way. One might have to camp out.
We might think that traveling by water would be easier, but there were no cruise boats. The ships were very small. Passengers slept on the decks. If there was a storm there was always a danger of being swept overboard. You would tie yourself in place and hope the ship would not sink. The boats would travel close to the shore just in case an unexpected squall came up.
Paul would travel with others. Why? Mostly it was because of safety concerns. If you were by yourself and got sick you might not survive. Also, you were less likely to be robbed if you had a friend with you. There were few police. You had to protect yourself.
When we consider all of this, we would have to say that Paul trusted in the Lord. He went out to convert the world, he knew the dangers, but he did not know what the lasting result would be.
Reflection:
1. Would I have gone out to do mission work if I had to travel like Paul? What would be my biggest fear?
2. Paul had a web of Christian friends throughout the ancient world. Why would this be important?
Dear Parishioners,
Thank you for praying for our confirmation students. We had a wonderful celebration Sunday. Bishop Lou was with us, and I think he enjoyed praying with our community. We had a full church with 46 candidates. There was great music and good preaching. It was uplifting for all concerned.
Hopefully, this will be a moment that those who were confirmed can look back on with great joy. It is so very important to provide a great sacramental experience. I think the students had that Sunday.
May Our Lady of Peace pray for us,
Fr. Mark