In the past weeks, Acts has shown us the followers of Jesus beginning to take that which they have received and giving it to the entire world. First, we see Bachos, the Ethiopian eunuch, not welcomed at the Temple in Jerusalem, returning to his home where he spreads the Good News to Africa. Following the death of Stephen, persecutions by the Jewish authorities forced the dispersion of Jesus’ followers, much as the Jewish people had been dispersed by the Assyrians and the Babylonians centuries before. At first, Jesus’ followers did what was culturally familiar to them. They dispersed to the already-established Jewish communities throughout the Mediterranean world, spreading the Good News everywhere they went.
By the middle of the first century, there were more Jews living outside of their homeland than actually lived in Judah proper. The Greek word “diaspora” means a scattering. And indeed, there was a diaspora of Jews living throughout the known Greek and Roman world from the third century B.C. and on down. There is a famous utterance by Strabo, a Greek geographer of the late first century B.C., who said that you could not go anywhere in the civilized world without encountering a Jew. There were large Jewish communities in Egypt, especially in Alexandria. There were large Jewish communities in Syria, particularly in the city of Antioch. And there were Jewish communities throughout Asia Minor, Turkey, Greece, Rome, the Iberian Peninsula, and Marseilles. It was to these Jewish communities that Jesus’s followers first went, and it was in the community in Antioch that the disciples were first called, “Christians.”
Today’s reading from Acts (Acts 11:19-26) specifically mentions the founding of churches in Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Phoenicia was a country about 15 miles wide and 120 miles long stretching along the north-eastern Mediterranean coast (roughly corresponding to modern-day Lebanon). Its important cities were Tyre and Sidon, which are mentioned in the gospels. Most of us remember the Phoenicians as legendary seafarers. Cyprus is an island in the northeastern Mediterranean and was the home of Barnabas the Apostle. Antioch, on the river Orontes, was the capital of the Roman province of Syria and was the third city of the empire after Rome and Alexandria. It was 25 km (15 miles) inland from the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. The first mainly Gentile local church was located here. In many ways, it would become the headquarters for the mission to the Gentiles and it was from here that Paul would launch his three missionary journeys. More about them later.
At first the refugees evangelized only their fellow-Jews. But then Jewish Christians from places like Cyprus and Cyrene, on the north coast of Africa, who were used to more pluralistic societies, began to approach “Greeks”, people who were not circumcised, people who were not Jews. These “Greeks” responded very well, and many became disciples of the Lord Jesus.
They used the term “Lord Jesus” rather than “Christ”, which was a title more suited to Jewish audiences with messianic expectations. Jesus is “Lord” because, elevated to God’s right hand, he now rules over the Kingdom which he inaugurated. And the Lord’s hand was with the evangelizers, indicating God’s approval and blessing on their work, sometimes indicated by signs and wonders. It was the beginning of the “Church at Antioch”, one of many “churches” to be set up in the following years.
When all this came to the ears of the people in Jerusalem, who were still thinking primarily in terms of Christians as only Jews, they sent Barnabas to investigate. Jerusalem, where the apostles were centered, had a right of supervision over other churches. And so the sending of Barnabas was in keeping with Jerusalem’s policy of sending leaders to check on new ministries coming to their attention. As a Hellenistic Jew from Cyprus, Barnabas was the obvious choice for this mission. Luke comments, “He was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith”, words also used to describe Stephen.
Barnabas was very happy with what he found. “He saw the grace of God… and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord.” He saw clearly that the Gentile converts were very genuine, and he encouraged the local church to continue what it was doing.
Then, Barnabas went off to Tarsus, a city in the province of Cilicia, in what is now the south-eastern corner of Turkey, and brought Saul/Paul back to Antioch. Paul had been forced to leave Judah after his conversion because the Christians there would not believe the genuineness of his conversion. They thought he was simply trying to infiltrate the Christian communities with the intention of destroying them.
All of this resulted in great numbers joining the Church community under the leadership and formation of Paul and Barnabas, who stayed on for a whole year in Antioch.
In the history presented in Acts, we see innovation and new ground coming from the fringe rather than from the center, and how, after discernment, the center comes to adopt it as valid development. In our Church today, it is still the fringe that pioneers, while the role of Rome is to consolidate. It is an example of the phrase: “The world writes the agenda for the Church.” It was the influence of a local situation that led to new insights seen as a valid development of the Christian vision.
It was here, too, we are told that the “disciples”, that is, the followers of Jesus’ Way, were first given the nickname “Christians” (it indicates that those who coined it took “Christ” to be a personal name, rather than a title). It is not certain whether the followers adopted the name themselves or whether it was used by enemies as a term of contempt. In either case, it is a fitting title for those who attach themselves to Jesus and his Way. We too should be proud of this nickname.
Christians living today also suffer the conditions that the early followers of Jesus did. We hear plenty of Christian bashing in our politics and media, particularly now that our prayers of the last 50 years have been realized with the reversal of Roe vs Wade and its legalization of abortion in the United States. We know there are many places around the world where Christians continue to lose their lives because of their faith, including areas where the Order works. Nigeria and other African countries have been the scene of Muslim vs. Catholic violence in recent years.
We who are believers today are so because of those who heard Christ’s voice 2000 plus years ago. We, like them, are scattered and continue to spread the Word, primarily through our actions but occasionally with our words. It was said of Stephen that he spoke with such wisdom. It is wisdom that I, too, seek, as life just keeps getting more complicated. So, I find myself being called back to more time in prayer as the world is drawing so much of my attention.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus said the sheep who hear his voice will never perish. Do we really believe the Psalmist, who said, “my home is within you”? May we take today’s small lessons to heart so that we too may keep spreading the Gospel in everything we do and say.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!