Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Our Parish Mission last week has been fantastic with over one hundred and fifty people coming each night. God is stirring things up here and we will continue the mission on Mondays at 7:30 PM in the church. Join us if you are local. It will be an hour containing personal experiences, singing, preaching and prayer!
Easter has been a great grace for me, and I hope and pray for you also. It is possible to touch the resurrection even though it happened 2,000 years ago, and this experience can change your life. Let us look again at the life of Paul. We heard on Sunday of the spread of the Good News to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. It started with a miracle of a man who never walked in his life. And Paul said to him in a loud voice, ‘Get to your feet—stand up,’ and the cripple began to walk and jump around (Acts of the Apostles 14: 8-18). Sounds like what happened to Peter just a few chapters ago.
When the crowds saw what Paul did they went nuts, and started to treat them as gods, really as gods, calling them Zeus, Hermes. Paul and Barnabas were horrified by this, and tore their garments. But then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the people against them. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples stood around him and as they did Paul stood up and went back to town, and the next day they left for another city, Derbe. And this is where we pick up the reading today.
After nearly being stoned to death, and thought to be dead, they go back to the same cities ‘to put fresh heart into the disciples,’ encouraging them to persevere in the faith, saying, ‘We must all experience many hardships before we enter the Kingdom of God.’ There are two very fundamental ideas in this simple sentence. First is you ‘must’ suffer; it is not optional nor is it maybe this will happen; it has to happen. Another translation says, ‘it is necessary,’ or fundamental. And the second word that jumped off the page is ‘many’ hardships. To enter the Kingdom of Christ to have an adult faith requires many hardships. It does not come easy, like anything in life.
Without difficulties and tribulations your faith will never mean anything. Some difficulties you can self impose like fasting, and others come from outside. God sends them to help you, to sharpen your character, and to gain the Kingdom of Heaven. You would have chosen different ones, but God is God and he knows best what is good for you. If you are not undergoing any sacrifice, you are not living the gospel. It is fundamental for all of us to re-interpret the hardships, the failures, the setbacks with faith, and God will show us that they are necessary. You and I do not change unless trials come our way.
Let us pray: Oh, Lord, help me to suffer difficulties as a Christian, to move forward and not get stuck, to experience your kingdom here on earth, and to be able to take action in the face of my fears!