Acts 13:44-52

Acts 13:44-52

On the following sabbath

almost the whole city

gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy

and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.

Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,

“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.”

The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this

and glorified the word of the Lord.

All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,

and the word of the Lord continued to spread

through the whole region.

The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers

and the leading men of the city,

stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,

and expelled them from their territory.

So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them

and went to Iconium.

The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, my deepest desire is eternal communion with you. I long to see your face and enjoy your blessedness. Guide me on my journey to you and empower me to accomplish the greater works your Son has revealed. Glorify your name!

Encountering the Word of God

1. Salvation in Jesus Christ: For the past two days, we have been reading a sample of Paul’s preaching in the city of Pisidian Antioch. In the synagogue on the Sabbath, Paul showed how the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled the covenantal promises made to Abraham and David. Jesus’ death and resurrection made the forgiveness of sins possible and offered salvation (Acts 13:38). What the observance of the law of Moses could not accomplish for us – justification and forgiveness – Jesus Christ has accomplished. As believers, we are justified in Christ (Acts 13:39). The following week, Paul and Barnabas were invited to preach again in the local synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:42). Paul reminds his listeners that they have received the offer of salvation in Christ and that they are to remain faithful to this grace of God (Acts 13:43).

2. Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles: The success of Paul’s first sermon is evident in today’s First Reading. Almost the entire city goes out to hear the word of the Lord preached by Paul. The Jews became envious of this success and began to argue with Paul and tried to contradict his message. This rejection of the Gospel by some of the Jewish people led Paul and Barnabas to turn to the Gentiles. In this way, they bring to fulfillment the prophecy of Isaiah: “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). The prophecy originally referred to Israel and her mission to spread knowledge and worship of the one true God among the nations. The prophecy was applied by Simeon to Jesus at the presentation in the temple (Luke 2:30-32). Now, Paul and Barnabas discern that God is commanding them to continue Jesus’ mission. “The Gospel itself did not show how Simeon’s prophecy was fulfilled or how Jesus’ mission actually affected Gentiles beyond Israel. It is in Acts that Jesus’ mission to the Gentiles is accomplished in what he does and teaches through his Spirit-filled disciples” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, p. 219).

3. Destined for Eternal Life: The Gentiles enthusiastically welcomed the Word of God. They believed and received the gift of eternal life. Luke says that those who believed “were destined for eternal life.” This does not mean that God arbitrarily chose to predestine some people to eternal salvation and others to eternal condemnation. All men and women are ordered and directed to eternal life (1 Timothy 2:4). We are destined to be God’s children through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3-6). Predestination, then, is the eternal knowledge that God has of the ordering and directing of human beings and angels to salvation and eternal life. Predestination is part of God’s providential knowledge of the order of all creation to himself as the end of all things. When God governs his creation, he executes his eternal and providential plan in them; when he calls and justifies the human being, he brings to fulfillment his eternal plan of predestination (Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I, q. 23, a. 2). Paul teaches in the Letter to the Romans that God foreknew us and predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son. Those he predestined in Christ he called, and those he called he justified, and those he justified he glorified (Romans 8:28-30). God’s eternal predestination does not take away our freedom: “When God establishes his eternal plan of predestination he includes in it each person’s free response to his grace” (CCC, 600). 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have forgiven my sins and established me in a right relationship with God the Father. I have been healed and justified by your grace and granted divine sonship. Help me to live as a true child of God and heed the words of my Father in heaven.

Living the Word of God: A person can choose to reject God’s call and grace. They can reject God’s love and mercy. When we reject God’s merciful love, we abuse the gift of our freedom and bring condemnation upon ourselves. When we accept and collaborate with the grace of God’s merciful love, we use the gift of our freedom properly and are brought to share in eternal life. Will I accept or reject God’s grace and mercy today?