An Age for Apostles

A Reflection on the First Reading for May 15th, 2022:
Fifth Sunday of Easter

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Acts
14.21b-27

Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.” And after they had appointed elders for them in each Church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.

When they arrived, they called the Church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.
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I find most people are unconcerned about my private faith. They are happy that I’m happy or moved by my endurance in times of trial, so long as my personal faith remains just that, personal and private. The uncomfortable questions aren’t about my faith but about the religion that informs them. I am a proponent of one of those religions deemed “damaging to society,” according to a recent Angus Reid poll. With even the most surface level of soul searching, it’s not difficult to see exactly where that thought comes from. We need look no further than our involvement in Residentials Schools and clergy abuse to justify societal distrust in us. We have made a home for wolves among the sheep. So, I am in no way shocked that the average Canadian can look at my faith and be happy for me, but still be deeply suspicious of my religion.


I believe we have been called to bring about a season of renewal – an age of apostles. Before we can begin setting the world ablaze for Christ, though, we must acknowledge the truth and engage wholeheartedly in the process of reconciliation. That means enduring the results of inquiries and the associated public scorn. We can endure this small taste of the horrific trauma done within the Church as a communal penance. Our love for the Church must mean binding the wounds of her children and ensuring no more children are wounded in Her name.


Alongside that penance, we need to be like Paul and Barnabas, spreading the Good News and encouraging the faithful. Our personal encounters with Christ need to be our public story. If we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can make this age an age of apostles. 


One way to do that is to not allow our religion and our faith to be different things. That means two things to me. First, it means that Christianity on paper and Christianity in practice should be the same thing. I should live by the words of Christ with abandon, until it hurts. And second, I should expect the same thing of the Church. When we are not living according to Christ’s words, then we need to stop, apologize and allow the Holy Spirit to come and change us. 


The Church and Christians need to get to the margins, be for the poor, the disabled, the hurting, the broken, and bring them God’s love. We need to do that with integrity and without a desire for acknowledgment or congratulations. 


I believe that in penance, prayer and good works – the pillars of Lent – we can invite more people into the chorus rejoicing at the name of Jesus.


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Stephanie Potter
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