Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! We've been reading the Bible clear through this year. We've reached the New Testament, so read along with me. But first, let us pray:
Father,
When the fullness of time had come, you sent your Word in the One who said, “Whoever sees me, sees the Father.” No revelation can surpass this, until Jesus comes again in glory.
Open my mind today to the gift of life and truth your Word offers me through the Church. By your Holy Spirit, grant me wisdom and strength to put this Word into practice and to become, myself, a presence of Jesus for people who are looking for you.
Jesus, eternal Word and Son of the Father, live in me with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Today's chapters are Acts 23-25.
Luke is practically writing a screenplay for us at this point. Paul, "a prisoner for the Lord" (Ephesians 4:1) on trial before the very judges and in the very place where the Lord himself was on trial, acts as his own attorney (and throws the assembly into chaos when he identifies himself as a disciple of the most distinguished Pharisee in history). Not only must he be rescued by the Romans, he is sent under armed guard in dark of night to the procurator in Caesarea. At this point, Luke's account and the meticulous historical records of the Romans coincide. Felix was in Judea from 52-60, and was married to a high-born Jewish woman named Drusilla. History regards Felix as a particularly vile administrator (Luke hints that Felix kept Paul in custody because he hoped for a bribe from the money that had been collected for the poor of the Jerusalem Church).
Another place where the historical record matches that of Acts is in the mention of King Agrippa and his sister Bernice, invited by Felix's successor for evening entertainment, courtesy of the prisoner Paul. I once read a book on Paul that spoke of Agrippa and Bernice as "the scandal of the ancient world" on account of their less-than-fraternal relationship.
It is in Chapter 25 that Paul makes full use of his right as a Roman citizen and appeals to Caesar, the Supreme Court of his day. He will make his case in the capitol city of the world, and while there, he will take advantage of every opportunity to witness to Christ.
But what will it take to actually get to Rome?
Start reading here.
Now that we're being introduced to Saul of Tarsus, it's time for me to introduce you to my single favorite volume on St Paul. This is the book I would recommend to someone who wanted to read one (only one) book that combined the life and letters of St Paul. Written by the noted Scripture scholar N. T. Wright, this is a flowing narrative that is Scripturally enlightening and historically sound. Paul: A Biography gives the reader a way of following Paul through the Acts of the Apostles and as he writes his letters and makes Paul the person that much more approachable.
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