Acts 16
We hear today the conversion account of a Greek woman named Lydia. What’s the big deal here? Didn’t St Paul and his companions lead thousands of converts into the Church?
The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 16 begins with the story of Timothy. He was a half Jewish and a half Greek from Asia Minor, the current day’s Turkey. He became a helper to Paul’s mission. Paul, Timothy and their companions planned to bring the Good News to other parts of Asia Minor. But the Acts writes that the Holy Spirit prohibited them from speaking the word in Asia. They moved to a few places but the Holy Spirit forbade them to preach in those places, either. Then, Paul receives a vision that a man requests for help from Macedonia, an ancient Greek province. Paul takes this as a divine signal to preach the Gospel there.
This is how Paul and his companions started evangelization in Europe. The first city they preached was Philippi in Macedonia, where they met Lydia. Thus, she was one of the first European converts and the first European convert whose name is known. As we see at the end of the account, she hosted the apostles in her house, which probably became the root of the church of Philippi. This Christian community became very important in Paul’s missions. We even have his letter to this community in the New Testament.
Apparently, Lydia was more independent and autonomous than the average woman in her time. She was a business owner and the head of her household as we hear in the same passage. We can safely assume that she became one of the leaders or at least a very influential member of the Christian community in Philippi.
Lydia reminds of those faithful women who supported Jesus and the disciples during the public ministry with their own resources. From the very beginning, our Church was voluntarily supported by those who received the Good News. Lydia gladly accepted the Good News when the Lord opened her heart. And she became the host of the Christian community and provided for the apostles.
This short story demonstrates how God prepares and gathers people for the Gospel. And it also shows how Christian communities develop. It was the apostles who scattered the seed. But it was lay people who germinated the seed and provided for its growth. I wish that this sense of ownership may be renewed once again during this difficult time of the pandemic.
