On October 29, 1941, U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Harrow School to speak to the students. When he was invited to give a speech, Churchill stood before the students and said, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” Words that could move even the hardest of hearts as we consider the charismatic Churchill.
Our reading from the Acts of the Apostles today, Acts 16: 22-34, is inspirational – a scene in which Paul, “never gives in.” Paul and Silas carry on their preaching in Philippi despite the hostility of an angry crowd. But the context of the crowd’s anger is almost comical.
It seems Paul and Silas have found a somewhat unwelcome follower who has caused more than her share of annoyance. Earlier in this event we hear of a slave-girl who was a professional soothsayer foretelling the future. She was not on her own. She had sponsors who were cashing in on her prophecies. She began to follow Paul around and would shout out before him, “. . . they have come to tell you how to be saved.” Evidently, this caused Paul great irritation. Salvation was not a product for sale. So, he cast out a spirit from her and the spirit “left her then and there.” Evidently her sponsors were upset about this because their cash flow ceased. So, they instilled a riot against Paul and Silas and that’s where today’s reading begins.
Paul and Silas are “stripped and . . . beaten with rods.” Paul was a Roman citizen and the punishment given to him was a direct violation of Roman law. Its citizens could not be beaten. Nonetheless, they are imprisoned. All is not lost. They never give in. They pray and sing hymns to God. An earthquake happens, the guard fears for his life and comes to Paul as he pleads, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Soon he is baptized along with his entire household. Is that what it takes to have a change of heart – an earthquake?
There are times we don’t get it. We find a pattern in our life. We get up at the same time each morning. Go through the usual ritual of making that first cup of coffee, picking up the morning paper, maybe run to the computer to check whatever, take the shower, get dressed, and off we go. Our evenings and nights may be the same. We are creatures of habit and we find great comfort and security in our predictable patterns of behavior. When that pattern is disrupted, we are anxious. If life gets to be too hard, we may well be tempted to give in. But, as Winston Churchill and St. Paul himself remind us, “never, never, never.”
As we come close to the end of our Easter season, it may be a good time to see just how far I’ve come in the deep conviction of my faith. The example of Paul and Silas is timely. Despite the odds against them, they never cut and ran. They carried on with the mission before them. There have been times in my priesthood when I’ve had reason to give up or at least to seriously reconsider my approach to an issue. Those in the married vocation will admit that marriage is not always a bed of roses to say the least. How do you keep going when you simply don’t like the person you’re with? Life is a mix of success and failure and we all can recall times when we may have been sorely tempted to give up. Maybe we priests need to recite the same vows that married couples do on the day of their wedding. It would be in relation to the Church and the people we are called to serve. For, “better for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do we part.” Yet, when we do stay the course, we find great strength and “this too shall pass” as the saying goes.
Our faith calls for deep conviction and becomes for us an island of peace and comfort in times when we do feel like we're ready to cash it in. Paul and Silas and countless Christians before us and among us are stellar signs of confidence. Faithful to God, faithful to his Church, faithful to where God has called us.
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