THE DOORS ARE OPEN TO ALL

IV EASTER SUNDAY - Acts 13:14,43-52

In this passage of the Acts of the Apostles, we find the pattern of Paul’s preaching, which he would always follow. Sent by the community of Antioch in a mission to proclaim the Gospel, wherever they arrived, Paul and Barnabas would go first of all to the synagogue. Since there was an established network of Jewish communities spread throughout the Roman empire, they could go to the synagogue and easily find people that would welcome them. In the synagogue, the centre of all Jewish communities, they made the first announcement of the Gospel of Jesus, proclaiming that he is the Messiah. A few would welcome their preaching, but a good number would consider them as troublemakers, rejecting their message and expelling them from the synagogue. Faced with this rejection, Paul and Barnabas would turn toward the Gentiles: “… since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans.” It is as if they were pushed out of Jewish communities and forced into a new unchartered road. Paul’s ability to carry out his mission was facilitated by the fact that he was able to look after himself and to get enough money to provide for himself and for some of his companions. As the number of gentiles who accepted the gospel grew, he could use the pattern of the Jewish community organisation, thus establishing little by little new communities based on the faith in Jesus Christ and not on the Law of Moses. Certainly Paul and all the other disciples made good used of the experience they had of the Jewish communities, and so they started organising themselves, putting up the basic structures: choosing elders to preside the community, supervisors to make sure that the communities maintained their communion and celebrating the Eucharist (the breaking of the bread) during the weekly community gathering. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist on the day of the Lord (Sunday) was preceded by the reading of the Scriptures, which formed the framework for the understanding of the role of Jesus as the Messiah.

This Sunday is the Good Shepherd Sunday, dedicated to the vocations. We may look to Paul and learn with him, so that we may be faithful to our vocation, never getting tired of giving witness to Jesus Christ.