This short first reading gives us two surprises.

Saturday, 4/30/16

Today’s first reading is from verses one to ten in Chapter Sixteen of the Acts of the Apostles, and it contains two surprises.

The first surprise came in verse three. Paul had previously insisted that there was no value in the Rite of Circumcision, but here, he bent to the views of orthodox Jews who thought otherwise. He was telling us that sometimes that rather than sticking to one’s principles, the kind thing is to bend to the views of others.

The second surprise came in verse ten that reads, “When he had seen the vision we sought passage to Macedonia.” That verse began with mention of Paul’s vision, the subject then switched to let Luke join in Paul’s party.

That “we” passage is all that Luke told us about his joining Paul’s party. Luke, an exceedingly humble man, resisted the natural impulse to include short bio of himself, telling us how and why he joined that illustrious party.