Day 120, Acts
Good Day Everyone! Today is the Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Notice “THE MOST” in the title! WOW HOW TRUE!!!!
This day moves each year to always be on the second Friday in June — so as a result the Feast day for St. Barnabas gets trumped today -
- but how awesome that we are in the Acts of Apostles and reading about Barnabas and here we are on his day celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus -
- I am sure up in heaven St. Barnabas is more than happy to have Jesus be lifted up on their day!!!
Some great jewels today in the reading of this chapter are first of all the fact that they heard the Holy Spirit speak and comission Barnabas and Saul — He sets them apart –
and how they hear this??? It was while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting – they hear…
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Now key here to remember is that Saul was born in 8 AD — and he didn’t preach for 14 years while learning about Jesus — from Jesus himself — he was making tents –
I think we don’t realize all the time that goes by in Acts and the Early Church!
It moves fast — and then it moves slow — years go by — then we see action — doesn’t mean nothing was happening — but remember just to get from place to place –took a long time!
And just an aside — remember I said the “CLOAK” had importance — we saw the Angel in Acts 12 tell Peter to put on his cloak -
- and then they threw their cloaks when stoning Stephen at the feet of Saul — well in the Mass readings tomorrow – Immaculate Conception – the reading is Elijiah the prophet and how he called Elisha to join him was to throw his “CLOAK” at him —
But then there must be training — Jesus trained the Apostles for three years — and that was just the beginning — and so we as Catholics must be constantly in training — we are never done!!!
This is why there cannot be one simple prayer and now I am “saved” forever no matter what I do — my brothers and sisters this is what some of our brethren who call themselves Christians believe and there is no where in the BIBLE that it says pray the Sinner’s Prayer and you are saved!!!
It looks like in the early Church there was constant prayer and fasting — looks and sounds like work to me –
GOOD WORK!!!!
OK so –when they complete their prayer and fasting they send them off!
First Mission –
Now in the first mission — Mark is their assistant — (but we see him called John here)
OK so first they come across a Magician — a man opposing the faith — his name was Bar- Jesus — and he was a Jewish false prophet –
so first line of business was to go head to head with a false prophet — wow way to get in the game!
AND what do we see here — FINALLY — We see Saul so filled with the Holy Spirit that we get a NAME CHANGE —
we see Saul is called Paul — very significant — so he will do some apologetics — defending the faith —
and Paul very eloquently says… with love…
“YOU SON OF THE DEVIL, YOU ENEMY OF ALL THAT IS RIGHT, FULL OF EVERY SORT OF DECEIT and FRAUD. Will you not stop TWISTING the straight paths of the LORD?
Even NOW the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind, and unable to see the sun for a time.”
Wow and immediately he could not see and needed people to help guide him!
Way to go PAUL!!
The Proconsul whom the Magician was leading astray came to believe because of what he saw –
Praise God!
WOW the word must have gotten out — now they leave and travel and end up in Antioch –
there they are asked if they have a word of exhortation on the sabbath – in the temple –
Paul is given the microphone — (oh they didn’t have them then)… to speak –
I guess when they reached a certain place in the Jewish faith they could speak — and they were visiting as well –
And so remember too that in the beginning of the church all the preaching was to the Jewish people and they would have this time after the law and prophets for speaking -
- and so they would teach in the temple and that is how they would then get thrown out — if they did not like that the name of Jesus was being proclaimed –
Think about how many years had passed by now — in a study Fr. Bill Halbing did — he said that Paul had to be 30 when he was of age to preach and then 33 — significant age — and that he was 41 when he set out to teach –
PS I didn’t realize that the year of St. Paul was set in 2008 because that celebrated 2000 years of St. Paul!!!
And today we end the year of the Priest!!! Does anyone know what the year will be this year???
OK back to the chapter at hand — I digress –
The Point is that Paul stands up and gives an awesome speech — beginning with Salvation History — leading them all in the direction of JESUS — using the Patriarchs of the Faith– using prophetic words and then BAM — hits them with JESUS!!!
It was so well done — wasn’t it?
Many there listening were converts to Judaism — remember people were being converted to Judaism — the Jews were not to be mixing with gentiles unless they converted — so evangelization was there — JOIN THE CHOSEN RACE —must have been their advertising — but now what?
But now the teaching was that they did not have to convert first to Judaism — they could come as they are!!!????
So Paul gets rave reviews!!! More than two thumbs up –Many thumbs up — AND — they were invited back — again many converts to Judaism followed them!!!
All was well — they were invited back to the synagogue the following week and things were peachy — until the next sabbath comes and …
ALMOST THE WHOLE CITY COMES TO HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YIKES!!! Now we’ve got problems — good old fashion jealousy problems!!! OK so now the Jews with violent abuse contradict what Paul says…
OH how the tables turn!!!
So what do Paul and Barnabas do… go home crying that their feelings are hurt? NO!
They speak out boldly and say…
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Of course the Gentiles were overjoyed –
and we read “All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord spread…”
OK so this is another important teaching “Predestination” some denominations outside of Catholic Church teach that only a few are destined for heaven and the rest are not — we see even one faith that I know of who believes it is only a few hundred thousand that are getting in …
We believe that the Lord already knows who will receive the grace to say yes and go to Heaven –
so we as Catholics believe in Predestination but we also believe that it is man’s free choice to either cooperate with grace or not in order to chose his destination — heaven or hell!
God doesn’t want people to go to HELL!!!
But some are heading there quickly — and by denouncing the word of the Lord here we see this group of Jewish leaders making their destination clear — and Paul is confirming for them — letting them know the severity!
As the Word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region –
the Jews INCITED the WOMEN OF PROMINENCE — who were worshippers — and the leading men of the city –
now I LOVE this point here — do you see the women of prominence first — and who were worshippers — it seems that even back then — these women who worship — HAVE POWER!!!
so they incite them — stir them up —fire them up — the wrong way!!! g
Get them to use up their energy discussing and working them up — probably judgement – gossip
oh and the men of the city too —
and they were able to stir up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas — and expelled them from their territory –
WOW the people were so easily persuaded — because they allowed themselves to get STIRRED UP!
We’ve got to watch that — so important –
So no problem — PAUL and Barnabas remembered what Jesus said — and I love it –
“So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium… the apostles were filled with joy and the HOLY SPIRIT“
What a great feeling to know that God is working through you and you stood up and spoke out for Jesus Christ –
why don’t we feel so good sometimes — well because we are afraid – doubtful – prideful – don’t want to look stupid — why?
Simple — because we aren’t totally filled with the HOLY SPIRIT -
– I am sure that many of you know the difference when you speak up or out and you know the POWER of what you are saying because you are convicted — and when you are not sure about what you are saying —
These guys were living for NOTHING ELSE but JESUS!!!
That is our challenge today and always to do everything for in through and with JESUS — and let Him make us strong in HIM -
- through the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT and with OUR LADY as our protector and good Mother!
May God bless you today on the Sacred Heart of Jesus Solemnity — and if you are reading this tomorrow on the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary –
The next blog will be on Chapter 14 — I am working on course to teach – this is taking much of my time…
- so I will be posting as much as possible — we will keep going through Acts — every chapter –
and I like to do the whole chapter better unless it is really long I’ll break it down — but will let you know –
Next one will be sometime tomorrow -through– Monday — keep attentive and stay in Acts!!!!
God bless you!! Please share your comments in the POST below!
