When one door closes

A Reflection for Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Find today’s readings here.

A Macedonian reached out to Paul in a dream and he immediately went to teach them the Gospel. In the Acts of the Apostles, which we’ve been reading for the past few weeks as the daily first reading, we have followed Paul along his travels throughout the Mediterranean. Today, he goes from modern-day Turkey to Greece in order to spread the Gospel and the teachings from the councils. 

Luke confirms that Paul’s work bears fruit; the churches grow stronger in faith and increase in number. But the Macedonian man is not the only one who speaks to Paul in this reading—the Holy Spirit tells him not to preach in the “province of Asia,” presumably because the message will not be well-received by the people there. 

This nonreception is more common in the Gospels, like when Jesus is rejected in his homeland, for example. He tells the apostles to kick the dust from their sandals and move on to somewhere new if they are not welcome. Paul, though he was not there during Jesus’ earthly ministry, does just that, seeking passage to Macedonia. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns the disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.” Paul provides a post-Resurrection example of following Jesus’ warning. Paul doesn’t become upset that his words are not being heard and instead goes somewhere more open to Jesus’ teachings. Jesus does not, after all, say to despair when the world hates you, but rather asks us to share that feeling with him, because he of all people knows it so well. 
It would be easy for Paul to turn away from the world and refuse to teach anyone because some have shown that they do not accept Jesus. But instead, he simply turned his attention to others who were more receptive when one door closed. He continues to spread the Gospel, facing persecution and hate, because not spreading the Gospel is, to him, worse than being persecuted for it.