Today is the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. No small feast as well as no small feat. But while this event is obviously a huge event in the 
history of the church, I would like to instead focus my reflection on today’s daily reading from the 18th chapter of Acts. This portion focuses on Paul’s preaching in the synagogues in Corinth. I have often wondered just why Paul chose the places he went to in order to preach. What was it about the Corinthians that brought him to Corinth. I am guessing it was not because he wanted to see where “Rich Corinthian Leather” came from (this reference is for those of you who are old enough to remember an American car commercial where the actor Ricardo Montalban espoused the virtues of this “luxury” car feature that was actually made in Newark, New Jersey in the USA).
No, Corinth was actually a hub of immorality in Paul’s Day. Corinth is on a narrow isthmus between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese area of Greece and separated two great gulfs. Ships would actually be carried across the narrow strip of land to avoid an extra 200 miles of sea journey. This made Corinth a sailor’s paradise. With money in their pockets and time on their hands while waiting for the ship crossing they found plenty to do thus giving the city and its inhabitants a reputation that proved to be a challenge for Paul. And, I am guessing, what drew him here. Could it be that Paul enjoyed the challenge and the conflict?
If so, he certainly got the opportunity as we are told that he regularly got into apparently heated discussion in the synagogues every Sabbath to the point where he had to leave where he was staying to go live with another follower, Titus Justus. I am not sure about the rest of you, but I generally shy away from conflict (unless I am talking politics as my friends and family will gladly remind me of). Paul seems to relish it seeking every opportunity to mix it up with the locals while spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. How does he hold up during the strain?
I think part of the answer can be found in the beginning of the portion where it states that he met up with a married couple named Priscilla and Aquilla. The text tells us that they, like Paul, were tent makers by trade and this seemed to give Paul some comfort as he initially lived with them in their home. I am writing this reflection in Virginia Beach where I am attending a veterinary conference. Veterinarians, generally, are a pretty tight group. We often feel an attachment when in unfamiliar areas and meet fellow veterinarians. It helps sort of normalize things a bit when in foreign surroundings. And so I think this was the case with Paul. He gravitated to what he knew to give him a solid base from which to go out into a very hostile world that was Corinth to spread a message that the vast majority of people just did not want to hear.
Isn’t that one reason we belong to a parish community. We associate with like minded people for strength, knowledge and encouragement so that we can go out into a world that generally does not want to hear what we have to say. It does not mean that we should isolate ourselves form the world by treating the church walls as insulation from the world. But, rather, our parish and the worldwide Church should serve to nourish and prepare us to work in our own Corinths and to not become discouraged when we fail to reach the minds, hearts and souls of those we meet.
After all, Paul failed most of the time. He had to “shake the dust” from his feet often, as we see in today’s reading. But at the end of today’s reading we are told that Paul reaches out to a synagogue official named Crispus and converts him and his entire household to the truth that is in Christ. I think we have to remember that Jesus did not ask us to reach a quota of converts to Him. He did not bring the majority of those he preached to back to the Father either. I think He is asking us to plant seeds and leave the rest to Him. Doesn’t that realization take the pressure off us a bit?
When I arrived in Virginia Beach I took an Uber from the airport to my hotel. As I often like to do, I struck up a casual conversation with the driver. The talk soon turned to faith. It turned out that the driver was a minister of the Church of the Nazarene. However, because of chronic illness issues with his wife, he had to drive the red eye shift for Uber to raise funds to pay for her care instead of having a congregation of his own. But as I talked to him further about driving for Uber he told me of a story of a young man he was driving who was despondent and suicidal over the death of his brother. The Uber driver relayed how he stayed with this gentleman for 30 minutes finally convincing him to change his mind regarding his intentions. He now gives the driver regular updates on his life and how things are looking up.
While the preacher did not have his own “church” he did have a sort of mobile church which allowed him to witness to people where they lived emotionally. I told him he should call himself the “Minister of Uber”. Paul heard the call to be a tent maker then to be a persecutor of Christians then to the person who spread the word to Gentiles. We never know where God will lead us. Our lives may seem ordinary at times but God continues to use us in ways that only he can see and as long as we focus on this reality we can never feel that our lives are worth less than another or less than we think they should or could be. Bond with your church, bond with your friends and family, listen to the Spirit that surely is guiding you and get out there and be “Fishers of Men”…Ooops…sorry ladies…”Fishers of People” 🙂
God Bless.
Today’s Reading
