More

Commentary on John 17:11-19

Today Jesus continues his prayer for his disciples. He prays for their continued loyalty to the gospel message and for unity among them.  He has kept them true to his name. One was lost, although that was foreseen from all time.

They have accepted the message of Jesus and, because of that, they will be hated by the world as Jesus himself was hated.  Because, like Jesus, they do not identify with the values and priorities of the world.

At the same time, Jesus makes it very clear that he is not asking that they be removed from the world’s environment, only that they be protected from its evil influences. It is only by being in the world that they will be able to communicate the gospel message. Armed with truth and the integrity of Jesus himself, he is sending them into the midst of the world. That is where they are to do their work.  They were, as he said elsewhere, to be “the salt of the earth” and the “yeast in the dough”.

Jesus prays that they be consecrated in truth, the truth of God himself.  This truth does not consist of a set of dogmas.  Rather it consists in the living out lives of perfect integrity and wholeness, in perfect harmony with the will of the Father and the Way of Jesus, and dedicated to bringing that truthfulness and integrity to the world.  The disciples do this by living lives of love, a love expressed in service to the well-being of all. They have the full backing of Jesus, who says:

…I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Let us then pray today:

• for the unity among us which Jesus prayed for in his disciples;
• that we may be ready for the hostility and the indifference of the world;
• that we may realise, if we want to give witness to the gospel, we must be fully inserted into the world by which we are surrounded.  To be ‘holy’ is not to escape and distance ourselves physically from that world, which is what many are tempted to do or even think is the right thing to do*;
• that we may be people of complete integrity, filled with truth and sincerity, so that what people see in us is what we truly are and wish to be: disciples of Jesus.

__________________________
*Notwithstanding this, there are cloistered and contemplative communities who, while physically separated from the ‘world’, devote their time and energy to pray for that world.

More

Commentary on Acts 20:28-38

Just to remind ourselves, we are still with Paul on his Third Missionary Journey.  And today we have the second part of his farewell discourse to the elders of the church at Ephesus.  In the first part Paul had spoken mainly about himself.

In today’s reading, he begins by reminding them that they are to carry out the responsibility implied in their title.  As “elders” (Greek, presbyteroi) they are called to watch over the flock entrusted to them.  They have been appointed “overseers”.  The elders are called “overseers” (Greek, episkopoi, from which come words like ‘bishop’ and ‘episcopal’) and told to pastor (“shepherd”) the flock—demonstrating that the same men could be called “elders”, “overseers” or “pastors” depending on how their role in the church was seen. This community is the “church of God”, acquired with his own blood.  As God in himself does not spill blood, we can take it to mean that the work of the Father and of the Son are seen as one; what Jesus does, including the shedding of his blood, is an expression of everything his Father wills.

Paul envisages fierce attacks on the community after he has gone:

…savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Even from among themselves, people will arise who in “distorting the truth” will try to cause divisions among some of the Christians.  So he begs them to take to heart all the teachings he gave them over a period of three years.

Paul next reminds them that he is not in debt to them.  He never asked for money or clothing from anyone.  His needs and those of his companions were served by his own hands. This is something he has mentioned more than once with some pride and satisfaction.  On the contrary, his concerns have always been for those who are weak and in need. And he quotes the words of Jesus:

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Incidentally, this saying is not quoted in any of the Gospels, but of course, there must be many of Jesus’ sayings which did not get recorded in writing.

The passage concludes with the highly emotional departure scene with prayers and tears and much kissing and embracing.  They believed they were never more to see the father of their church. In fact, they were to meet briefly once more.

There certainly is a good deal here for our own reflection.  We have to be ready for our Christian communities today to come under attack, even when—or specifically because—we are living out the gospel values. We have to admit, too, that there are often divisions among us and that we can twist the words of the gospel to suit ourselves and our own interests.

We need to ask to what extent we really do take care of the weaker ones among us.  We cannot separate the needs of the body from that of the spirit.

More

Commentary on John 16:29-33

The disciples now claim to understand exactly what Jesus is talking about, although it is doubtful that they really do.  It will not be until later on that the full meaning of Jesus’ words will be grasped by them.

They are impressed that Jesus can answer their questions even before they are formulated:

Now we know that you know all things and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.

Yet, perhaps they are speaking too quickly.

Jesus questions the depth of their belief.  Very soon, in spite of their protestations now, they will be scattered in all directions and leave Jesus alone and abandoned.  Of course, Jesus will not be alone; the Father is always with him even at the lowest depths of his humiliation.  Even when he himself will cry out:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46)

He tells them all this, not to discourage them, but so that they can find peace.  There will be many troubles facing them in the coming days and indeed in the years ahead.  They are not to worry—Jesus has conquered the world, not in any political or economic sense, but in overcoming the evil of the world that is death.  His disciples can share in that victory as long as they stay close to him and walk his Way.

These words obviously have meaning for us especially if we are experiencing difficulties of any kind in our lives.  The peace we seek is available if we put ourselves into Jesus’ hands.  He knows—he has been through more than anything we are ever likely to have to experience.

More

Commentary on Acts 19:1-8

We are still following the Third Missionary Journey of Paul. Apollos (to whom we were introduced last Saturday) has now left Ephesus for Corinth at the invitation of the Christians there. Later, he will return to Ephesus while Paul is still in the city. Meanwhile, Paul himself now reaches Ephesus. We are told that he “passed through the interior regions”. This means that he did not follow the lower and more direct route down the Lycus and Meander valleys, but followed the upper route through Phrygia (where he had evangelised before), thus approaching Ephesus from the north.

Today Ephesus is only a heap of ruins, but in its day it was one of the great cities of the region. The ruins of its great temple dedicated to the goddess Diana are still standing. The city was regarded, with Alexandria, as one of the finest cities in the empire, a religious, political and commercial centre of mixed population.

One of the finest letters in the Pauline canon is addressed to the Christians here. Although it certainly reflects his thinking, its personal authorship by Paul is in some doubt, and it is also thought to have been a kind of encyclical letter sent to a number of church centres, of which Ephesus was one. It is also thought that, during his stay in the city, Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians), the Galatians, and probably, the letter to the Philippians as well.

On arriving in Ephesus, Paul came across a number of disciples. As they are called ‘disciples’, they seem to have been followers of Jesus, but only indirectly through John the Baptist or some of his followers. Or perhaps they had received their teaching from Apollos himself in his earlier state of partial understanding and so, like Apollos, had only a limited understanding of the gospel.

When Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit, they replied that they had never even heard of a Holy Spirit and that they had been baptised with the baptism of John the Baptist. They were unaware, not that the Spirit existed (which would be evident from the Old Testament to even the most casual reader), but that the messianic promises had already been fulfilled and the Spirit was being poured out in abundance (see Acts 2:17-18,33).

Paul pointed out to them that John’s baptism was only a ritual of sorrow for sin. It was preparatory and provisional, stressing man’s sinfulness and thus creating a sense of need for the gospel. John’s baptism looked forward to Jesus, who by his death would make possible the full forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. Baptism in the Holy Spirit involved faith in and total commitment to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

After they were baptised in the name of Jesus and Paul had laid hands on them, they immediately began to speak in tongues and to prophesy—a sure sign that the Spirit had come down on them. This was exactly the same experience the disciples had at Pentecost (Acts 2:4,11), and Cornelius and his household had in Caesarea (Acts 10:45-46).

We now pick up again the narrative of Paul’s mission, which had been interrupted by the words about Apollos and the disciples who had only had the baptism of John. For three months, Paul preached the gospel in the local synagogue. We are told that he:

…spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God.

The establishment of the Kingdom on earth is the focal point of the gospel message. As well, it was the beginning of the establishment of a vigorous Christian community church in Ephesus. Paul was again following his usual approach—addressing the Jews first and then gentile Greeks.

In our own times, some Christians speak of being “born again”. They had gone through the ritual of baptism, perhaps as infants, and may have grown up with very little faith in their lives. Then they ‘discover’ Christ through personal contact or participation in an active Christian group, and they feel as though they have been ‘reborn’. Their baptism, which had lain dormant for such a long time, begins to exercise its effects. It is an indication how the sacraments can never be separated from close contact with, and involvement in, a living community.

All of us, at whatever stage of commitment we find ourselves, can deepen our unity with Jesus and the way of life he invites us to follow. We can renew the pledges that we made (or that were made for us) when we were baptised. We might even make those pledges consciously for the first time!

More

Commentary on Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?

The Ascension is not to be understood literally as if Jesus floated up into space on his way to “heaven”. Where is “heaven”? Is it above Jerusalem? Is it in the whole sky encircling the earth? Heaven should be conceived not as a place, but as a relationship with God and God is everywhere in the whole universe. Jesus did not have to ‘go’ anywhere to be with his Father.

Paschal mystery
The Ascension is part of what we call the Paschal Mystery. There are four interrelated parts: suffering and death; resurrection; ascension; and the sending of the Spirit. They are closely interlocked as one reality. If the Resurrection says that the crucified Jesus is alive, the Ascension says that the living Jesus has entered into glory, sharing on an equal level the glory of his Father. This is expressed in many different ways in different writings of our Christian (New) Testament. We have three of these viewpoints or understandings in each of today’s readings.

On God’s right hand
In the Letter to the Ephesians (Second Reading) the fact is stated with great solemnity, but without saying how it took place. The author speaks of putting God’s:

…power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

This is basically the meaning of the Ascension, namely, that Jesus, our triumphant Messiah-King, reigns in glory over all creation. There is no mention of ‘where’ he is or how he got there.

Familiar account
If we go to the Acts of the Apostles (First Reading), we come to a description which, for many Christians, is the definitive account of the Ascension. Jesus rose on Easter Sunday and then spent 40 days instructing his disciples about the Reign or Kingship of God. During this time they wondered when Jesus was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel. They were still in a state of great misunderstanding about the nature of Jesus’ mission—and their own.

As they will eventually come to understand, it is they themselves who will become the agents, not of restoring the Kingdom of Israel, but much more importantly, helping to establish the Kingship of God all over the world.

Then, one day on the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, as they looked on:

…he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

The ‘lifting up’ is to be understood more in a spiritual sense, as it is in John’s Gospel where he speaks a number of times about Jesus being “lifted up”:

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. (John 12:32)

In particular, it refers to the Risen Jesus being raised to the glory of God the Father. This is further emphasised by the cloud that took him from their sight. The same cloud that, in the Hebrew Testament, shrouded Mount Sinai as the sign of God’s presence, or the cloud that enveloped Jesus at his Transfiguration.

Lower your eyes
And that is why the disciples need to be told not to stay standing there gawking up at the sky. That is not where the Risen and Ascended Jesus is to be found. If they want to meet him again, they have to go back to Jerusalem, where, in a few days’ time, they themselves will be filled with the Spirit of God and of the Risen and Ascended Jesus. They will become the Body of the Risen and Exalted Jesus, his effective presence to “the ends of the earth”. As Jesus had told them just before his Ascension (in Acts):

…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

As we saw on previous Sundays, in order to continue being with his disciples, Jesus had to leave them. His ‘old’ presence in one human body, in one small corner of the world, reaching a small number of people, in one tiny period of history now gives way to a new presence that will reach the whole world in every age. From now on, wherever there is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23), the Spirit of Jesus is there.

Same message, different location
Today’s Gospel (from Matthew) has a similar message. While the scene in Acts takes place in Jerusalem (for Luke, it is the focal point of all that Jesus means for the world), Matthew has the disciples back on their home ground in Galilee. For, it is in the familiarity of home, not up in the skies, that Jesus is to be found. They are at the mountain “to which Jesus had directed them.” This is the mountain where Jesus once revealed himself to three disciples at the Transfiguration (chap 17) and where he touched them after this, saying:

Get up and do not be afraid.

This is not really an ascension scene. It is understood that the Risen Jesus is already in the glory of the Father. We have here rather an appearance of the Risen Jesus, an appearance that relies on faith.

So, on the one hand they worship and, on the other, they have doubts—an experience all of us can have from time to time. The emphasis here is not on the appearance of Jesus, but on what he has to say to his disciples. It is in three parts—past, present and future.

Jesus, source of all authority
First, Jesus tells them that:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [him by the Creator God].

To commit oneself totally to Jesus is to commit oneself to God.

Second, Jesus gives the command to “make disciples” of people everywhere. He is thus passing on much of his own authority to his disciples. Pentecost will be the confirmation of this. They are to do what he did. They will have the power to reconcile the sinful with God and with the community, and to decide who are not yet ready for reconciliation and full participation in the community’s life. The community has standards to keep in order to be a living and credible witness of Jesus and his gospel. It has a corporate right to maintain those standards. They are to teach, to heal, to break down the divisions that separate people. Baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit will be the symbol of incorporation as members of Christ’s Body, as disciples of Jesus.

Always with us
Third, the Risen and Ascended Jesus is not far away:

…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

It is a reminder of the promise made at the very beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, before the birth of Jesus:

Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” (Matt 1:23)

And again later on,

…where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. (Matt 18:20)

The gift of the Spirit is not mentioned, but is clearly implied by the promise of the ongoing presence of Jesus.

Today’s feast, then, is a celebration of Jesus’ glory after his suffering and death—a glory in which we also hope to share. At the same time, we celebrate the ongoing presence of the Risen Jesus among us through the Holy Spirit, a presence which calls on every one of us to be living witnesses to that presence here in our own community and to the ends of the earth.

More

Commentary on John 16:23-28

We are coming now to the end of John chapter 16 and Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper. Today Jesus makes a solemn promise that whatever his disciples ask the Father in Jesus’ name will be given to them. Up to this, of course, they have not been praying to God through Jesus. That will only happen after the resurrection and ascension. But then it will become the normal way for the Church to pray to the Father, as we do in all the prayers in the liturgy of the sacraments.

Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

As we have pointed out before, this is not a carte blanche for us to make any request that comes into our heads. It is understood that we will be praying, first of all, for what we genuinely need and not just for what we want.

And what we need most of all is to be close to our God, and to be equipped with all those things and do all those things which will bring us closer to his will—things which will enable us to work with him for the building of the Kingdom. Those prayers will be answered, although not always exactly in the way we might envisage. It may not be until much later that we will realise just how our prayers have been answered—often in very unexpected ways.

Jesus says a strange thing at this point, when his disciples ask for something in his name:

I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf…

And the reason he gives is:

…for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Our Father already knows all our needs and he wants to satisfy them for us in his love. He will not need the intercession of his Son.

And, when we are already closely related in love and faith with the Father and Jesus, mediation is hardly necessary: our relationship is the mediating factor. Our prayer through Jesus is not to tell God something he does not know already. Rather it is to help make us aware of what our real needs are and to go to where those needs will be answered.

More

Commentary on John 16:20-23

Today’s Gospel repeats much of yesterday’s about the sorrow the disciples will experience when Jesus goes away (in his suffering and death) and the joy they will experience when he soon returns (in his resurrection). Jesus compares their experience to a woman about to give birth to a child:

When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.

The joy of seeing her newborn child face to face is worth any pain. The disciples will have to go through a similar experience as the new Jesus, the Risen Christ, enters his new life and the new People of God, his post-resurrection Body, comes to birth.

Today’s passage adds the promise that, when Jesus sees them again:

…your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

And they will no longer have need to ask the questions they are asking now. It does not mean that there will not be more sufferings in the future. There will be, and some of the disciples will give their lives for their commitment to Jesus and the Kingdom. But for those who are close to Jesus, pain and joy are not incompatible.

Let us pray that we, too, who have the enduring presence of the Risen Jesus with us at all times, wherever we happen to be, experience—in spite of inevitable trials and disappointments—the same kind of joy. In fact, we have reason to be concerned if there is not an underlying joy in our lives. It should make us wonder just how close we really are to Jesus.

More

Commentary on Acts 18:9-18

We pick up on yesterday’s reading and Paul is still in Corinth. His missionary work is going well. He now receives encouragement in a vision in which the Lord tells him to keep speaking out. The Lord is with him; he has many friends in the city; and no harm will come to him. This is just one of three visions of the Lord which Paul is said to have had. So Paul stays in the city for a year and a half preaching the Good News. It is possible that, during this time, he may have extended his evangelising work to other parts of the province of Achaia, where Corinth was situated.

However, as often was the case, during this same time some Jews in the city who were opposed to him brought him to the civil court, accusing him of telling people to worship in ways which were against the law. They brought their case to Gallio, the pro-consul of Achaia. Achaia was the Roman province in southern Greece in which Corinth was situated.

We know a certain amount about this Gallio, who was a brother of Seneca, the famous Roman philosopher and tutor of the emperor Nero. The New International Version Bible notes:

“Gallio was admired as a man of exceptional fairness and calmness. From an inscription found at Delphi, it is known that Gallio was proconsul of Achaia in AD 51-52. This information enables us to date Paul’s visit to Corinth on his second journey as well as his writing of the Thessalonian letters.”

The Jews accused Paul of breaking the law, but did not specify whether it was Jewish or Roman law. But the Jews were claiming that Paul was advocating a religion not recognised by Roman law, as Judaism was. However, if he had been given the opportunity to speak, Paul could have argued that the message he was preaching arose from the faith of his fellow-Jews and thus was actually within the terms of Roman law.

After listening to their arguments, Gallio decided they were fighting over the interpretation of purely religious matters in which he personally had no competence or interest. If it had been a case of a crime or malicious fraud, he said he would have taken it more seriously. Instead, he summarily dismissed the charge.

The disappointed plaintiffs then set on a man called Sosthenes, a leader in the synagogue, and beat him up in the presence of the court. It is not clear whether it was the crowd in general who picked on Sosthenes as an excuse to attack the Jews or whether it was his own people beating their synagogue ruler for losing the case. Whatever the reason, Gallio showed no interest whatever in what was going on.

In the opening of the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers to “our brother Sosthenes” (1 Cor 1:1). If it is the same person, then he was the second ruler of a synagogue to become a Christian in Corinth as a result of Paul’s preaching.

When he felt the time was right, Paul, in the company of his friends and fellow-workers, Priscilla and Aquila, set off home for Antioch in Syria, the headquarters of the missionary church where they would report their experiences. Priscilla’s name is put first, which may indicate either her more prominent role in the church or her higher social standing.

Finally, before embarking at the port of Cenchreae, Paul shaved his head because of a vow he had taken. The original Greek is not clear and it seems that it was Paul, not Aquila, who took the vow. To take a vow was to be nazir for the period it covered, usually 30 days, and among other obligations it meant leaving the hair uncut during that time. (Samson was a Nazirite and we know what happened when Delilah gave him a haircut!) Different vows were frequently taken to express thanks for deliverance from grave dangers, and indeed Paul’s time in Corinth had been relatively free from trouble. It is not known whether the vow was taken by Paul at Cenchreae or whether it expired there. Later on in Acts, Paul will again perform the rite with four other Jews in fulfilment of a vow.

Perhaps contrary to Paul’s expectations, those 18 months had been extremely fruitful and many people had found their way to Christ. We now have two wonderful letters, which are perhaps the condensation of four letters altogether, sent by Paul to his converts in the city—letters which still have a great deal to say to us about following Christ. In due course, we will be reading them during our Sunday and weekday Masses.

More

Note: This Mass, also known as ‘Thursday Before Ascension Sunday’, is celebrated in those countries where the feast of our Lord’s Ascension is moved to the Sunday of Week 7 of Easter. For the Ascension Day reflection, see this coming Sunday’s Scripture commentary.

Commentary on John 16:16-20

As Jesus continues to speak to his disciples at the Last Supper and briefs them on what is coming, they are puzzled when he says:

A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.

They start mumbling among themselves asking what on earth Jesus is talking about. Seeing and not seeing and seeing again and “a little while”. To us it is clear enough that Jesus is referring to his coming suffering and death and his resurrection.

Jesus still does not spell it out clearly, but he does warn them that they:

…will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.

Jesus’ passion, which will cause them to flee in fear of their lives, will be a traumatic experience. All their beliefs in Jesus as Messiah and Saviour turn to ashes. But there will be others (“the world”) who will be overjoyed over Jesus’ arrest and execution.

The disciples, though, are not to worry because their “pain will turn into joy” with the dawn of the Resurrection and all that implies. In their own way, the disciples will share the passion of Jesus, as all their hopes and expectations are emptied and turned to dust—only to be revived with the realisation that their Master still lives as Lord and King.

All our sufferings can similarly be turned to joy when we totally unite ourselves with Jesus our Lord and suffer with him and for him, for his Kingdom and for the sake of all our brothers and sisters.

More

Note: This Mass, also known as ‘Thursday Before Ascension Sunday’, is celebrated in those countries where the feast of our Lord’s Ascension is moved to the Sunday of Week 7 of Easter. For the Ascension Day reflection, see this coming Sunday’s Scripture commentary.

Commentary on Acts 18:1-8

Paul now has moved to the city of Corinth in southern Greece. As we have already mentioned, compared to Athens, it did not at first sight seem a very promising missionary area, given its highly immoral reputation. But it did have a large Jewish community to which Paul—as was his custom—first directed his efforts. He always felt that, as God’s people, the religious Jews should be the first to hear the message of the gospel.

Soon after he arrived he met a Jew named Aquila. Aquila was originally from Pontus, a province lying along the Black Sea between Bithynia and Armenia. But he had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, also a Jew. Priscilla is a diminutive form of Prisca, a name by which she is known in some of the Pauline letters. Since no mention is made of a conversion, and since they immediately became partners with Paul in his missionary work, we can presume they were already Christians. Very likely, they had converted while in Rome. Both of them were to become valuable assistants in his work.

They had had to leave Rome because the emperor Claudius (AD 41-54, around whom Robert Graves’ book I, Claudius is centred) had ordered all Jews to leave Rome around the year 49 or 50. The contemporary historian Suetonius gives as the reason “their [the Jews] continual tumults instigated by Chrestus” (a common misspelling of ‘Christ’). He presumably is referring to conflicts over Christ’s Messiahship between Jews and those who had become Christians. The order was effective, but did not last. Once again, Providence was guiding people unknowingly in Paul’s direction.

Like Paul himself, Aquila was a tent-maker. Paul moved in with this couple and joined them in their tent-making work. Paul was always proud of his trade and boasted that he supported himself by his own hands. Even though Paul more than once insisted on the missionary’s right to be supported by those among whom he evangelised, he himself insisted on supporting himself. He said that he did not want to be a burden on anyone, and it proved his singleness of purpose—he was no sponger. Only from the Christians of Philippi did he accept help. He recommended that his followers should imitate his example, supplying their own needs and taking care of the needy.

In the beginning, Paul went every Sabbath day to the synagogue and entered into discussions about Jesus Christ and the message of the Gospel:

Every Sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

“Greeks” here presumably means Gentiles who were attracted to the Jewish faith and attended the synagogue.

It was at this point that Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia. When he was still in Athens, Paul had instructed them to join him there, but it is likely he had then sent them back to check on the churches—perhaps Silas to Philippi and Timothy to Thessalonica. It would have been about this time, too, that Paul wrote his two letters to the Christians in Thessalonica. They are his earliest letters to churches (and historically the first books of our New Testament to be written).

As soon as Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul devoted his time entirely to preaching the Word and he put aside his tent-making for a while. He was speaking mainly to Jews, proclaiming to them that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. This was usually the main theme of Paul’s preaching to Jews.

However, as had happened in other places, they rejected his message and abused him. He symbolically then broke off relations by shaking out his garments in front of them:

Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.

He said this to them, using language found in the Old Testament and meaning that the Jews must take full responsibility for the consequences of their choice. He now felt free of his former responsibility to preach to them, and would instead devote his energies to the Gentiles. Among these he would have great success. The Gentiles in this seedy port town proved far more responsive than the Jews in the intellectual centre that was Athens.

Paul now moved in with a man called Titus Justus, described as a “worshiper of God”, which would mean he was an uncircumcised Gentile who attended the synagogue. His house (ironically for Paul!) was next to the (now hostile) synagogue.

However, there was a surprise conversion when Crispus, who was no less than the president of the synagogue, together with all his household, became Christians. It was the beginning of many conversions among Corinthians.

As we read these lines we can see the hand of God working so clearly and so unexpectedly among many people. Corinth, the city of sin, proved a far more fertile soil for the Gospel than sophisticated Athens. And it was the persecution of Jews in faraway Rome that brought Paul to meet two of his most loyal assistants, Aquila and Priscilla. As we have said and seen so often in this story, God writes straight with very crooked lines. May we be able to see God’s hand as clearly in our own daily experiences.