26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
This Sunday’s first reading continues the history of the early Church. It receives a prominent place during the Easter season since it’s a major consequence of the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Until now, the focus in Acts has been on Peter, but this Sunday a new figure enters the scene, the Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus. He first appears in chapter seven of Acts as a vicious enemy of the new Christian movement, playing a role in the stoning of Stephen. In chapter eight we learn of the persecution he launched: “Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” In spite of all his efforts, though, the Church continued to grow and spread. This leads him, in chapter nine, to get letters from the high priests in order to go to Damascus and stamp out the movement there. Of course, on the road to Damascus, he got a huge surprise and became a Christian himself.
And so Saul became Paul, one of the major founders of the Church. However, his brutal history of persecution meant that other Christians suspected him of trying to trap them. As a result, wherever he went at first, he found himself shunned except for one or two people who had the courage to trust him – in this case Barnabas who introduces him to the apostles. They believe him and let him accompany them around Jerusalem, where he preaches “boldly” and with great effect. Of course, his new beliefs make him enemies among his old allies, the Jewish authorities, who feel betrayed. And so they seek to kill him, as he had earlier tried to kill Christians himself.
Saul’s experience of the risen Lord so far has earned him suspicion from the Christians and open hostility from the Jews. None of this, however, deters him, although the apostles, to protect him, send him back to Tarsus to continue his preaching. The result of the rabble rouser’s departure is immediate: “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened.” Clearly, Paul’s mission was not to the Jews or to take place in Jesus’ home territory He was to be the apostle to the Gentiles and bring the good news to all the world. The Book of Acts begins in Jerusalem, heart of Christianity, but it ends with Paul’s arrival in Rome, where he is welcomed by the Christian community there. It’s the story of a religious movement with a crazy message (that a poor crucified carpenter’s son had been raised from the dead and revealed as God himself) whose message reverberated across the world.
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