In our first reading this morning, Saint Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, tells us about a very important, defining moment for the early Church. In these days, the Apostles were really trying to figure out how the Church was supposed to work, because there wasn’t a rule book or a roadmap on how to make a Church happen. But Jesus did tell them to make disciples of all the nations, and that’s what’s at stake in today’s reading. The Gentile nations didn’t observe all the laws that the Jews did, that wasn’t their culture or custom. And so admitting non-Jews to the Church meant deciding whether they had to be circumcised, and whether they had to observe all the other laws of the Old Testament, as they had.
So they held this little meeting that we hear about in our first reading today. During that meeting, the Apostles were swayed by the great stories of Paul and Barnabas, hearing all the wondrous deeds that God was doing among them. So they realized that the Holy Spirit could call anyone God wanted to be disciples, and they decided that they shouldn’t get in the way. So they decide to impose very little upon the non-Jews, just requiring them to avoid idol worship and unlawful marriage.
And then what we sang in the responsorial psalm, “Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations” was a prophecy that came to pass. Think about it: because the disciples agreed to allow the Gentiles to come to Christianity in their own way, the spread of the Gospel was put into warp speed. If it weren’t for this little meeting, we very well might not be Christians today. Praise God for the movement of the Spirit!
And now, friends, the command comes to us: we have to be the ones to proclaim God’s deeds to everyone, and not to marginalize other people. God’s will is not fulfilled until every heart has the opportunity to respond to his love. So we who have been learning about Jesus, now need to help others to know Jesus. When we learn about Jesus, when we learn about our faith, it’s not just so that we know some good facts and can recite them. We have to go beyond what we know in our head and bring it to our heart, so that we can love other people the way he has loved us. Remember, the only Jesus people see today might be Jesus in you or Jesus in me. We have to encourage others to be disciples just by the way we live when we are disciples. If we are loving, if we are joyful, then others can see that in us and want to be like that too. That’s the easiest way to preach the Gospel, and in many ways, the most effective way to preach the Gospel. It’s something all of us can do. When others experience God’s love in us, they will be attracted to come to know about God too.
That’s how it happened in the early Church. That’s why Paul and the others were so successful. That’s why the Gentiles couldn’t get enough of the faith. We can reignite that fire in our world today if we bring what we have learned in our school classrooms, and take it from our head to our heart.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
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