Fourth Sunday of Easter
Our first reading this Sunday gives an interesting account of the evangelical arm of the early Church, spearheaded by Paul and Barnabas. They were obviously very popular, as on their arrival to this city, everyone rushes out to hear them preach. The leaders of the city grew jealous of this and persecuted Paul and Barnabas until they left the city. After they are expelled from the city, the reading concludes with a notable verse, “The disciples were filled with Joy and the Holy Spirit”.
This account can serve as a model for us in our own ministry of evangelization. And, just to be clear, if you are a baptized Catholic, or Christian of any kind, then you have a ministry of evangelization. So, while this ministry of evangelization might look different depending on who you are, it is still one of our highest duties as faithful Christians to preach the gospel and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Initially, Paul and Barnabas are doing very well. The whole city comes out to hear them. They actually start doing a little too well, which leads to their persecution and expulsion from the city. The key to the whole story is in the last verse: “The disciples were filled with Joy and the Holy Spirit.” This should serve as an example to us. We are called to preach the Gospel in truth and love, regardless of whether it is received well or not (while also remembering that beating someone over the head with a Bible rarely yields good results). There are times when we’re doing everything right and still things don’t go well for us—even then we should be filled with Joy through the power of the Holy Spirit! We may even rejoice that we have “been found worthy to suffer for the sake of the Name”, as we heard in last week’s reading.
So, continue to preach the Gospel in your own ministry of evangelization, whatever that is. And don’t forget to be filled with the Joy of the Holy Spirit. After all, it’s that very Joy that may end up being the deciding factor in a person’s openness to the message of Jesus.