A Church Set Ablaze

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, May 11th, 2025:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

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Acts
13:14, 43-52

Paul and Barnabas went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jewish officials saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.

Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers.

Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the officials incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

This year, I attended the Easter Vigil in person for the first time in many years. To my very pleasant surprise, the church was packed. The last time I’d come, which was back in 2015, about half the church was full. It was a quiet, solemn affair for the faithful few keeping watch. While there was definitely an appropriate amount of solemnity during this year’s Easter Vigil, there was also a powerful sense of expectation in the Church. We all had our hearts aligned in expectation for that joyful moment—that glorious praise to God when we would celebrate the empty tomb and the resurrection. When the lights came on, the entire Church erupted in joyful praise. Bells rang. People cheered. We sang at the top of our voices. 

It was an incredible feeling: to be in a packed church, waiting with so many others huddled together in the darkness, listening to salvation history read and sung over us. To then burst into earth-shaking praise together felt all the more poignant and powerful.

And all around me were people of all ages and from such diverse backgrounds and experiences. Even among those who received the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, there were several generations and cultural backgrounds. At least one of the young people baptised had come from a Buddhist background. As each of them were doused (or perhaps drenched!) in the waters of baptism, saw their faces radiating joy as they overflowed with sacramental grace. And the Church couldn’t contain her joy! We cheered loudly throughout the Baptisms—- overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s mercy and the power of the Holy Spirit working among us.

Reflecting on today’s reading, it is hard not to connect it to the words of Jesus, echoed by Paul and Barnabas, to our reality on Holy Saturday. “I have set you to be a light to the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” So many generations later, God is still bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. The power of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection resonates through the ages. Jesus’ salvation is still being offered to us.

This year, I couldn’t help but sense that we are living in an age of evangelization—an age where we are experiencing tremendous renewal in our Church and in our own lives. I used to despair that I lived in an age of the Church where decline felt inevitable and that it was better to be a strong remnant than nothing. Yet I can’t help but see how the Holy Spirit is moving in our midst. I can’t help but see how many people have truly encountered Christ in this season. And it makes my heart leap for joy to know that this light that we kept burning in a fallow season has turned into a blaze to light our way forward and guide people into the heart of Christ.




Stéphanie Potter

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