“Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.” Acts

 On the morning that my father died, all six of his children went to work.  We remembered that he had always told us: “No matter what happens, you have to feed the cows.” So in Dad’s honor, we each did our duty that day.

I think of that day as I meditate on the seemingly matter-of-fact way that the early Christians responded to death and persecution. No matter what happened, God’s work had to be done. So they did it.

I picture these heroic early Christians as normal people who never sought martyrdom. They had families, homes and jobs. They were carpenters, farmers, homemakers and fishermen. But their lives were never the same after the Word touched them and Saul entered their houses to turn them over to the authorities for imprisonment. Afterwards, they picked up the pieces and went back to preaching.

How many of us can imagine being that brave and persistent on behalf of our faith?

Have I ever disrupted my life in the slightest to spread the Word? Would I have the courage to proclaim my beliefs in the face of hostility or would I quietly slink away and wait for the furor to pass? I squirm as I ask myself these questions because I’m not proud of the answers.

This passage from Acts reminds us that Easter is a season not only of rejoicing but also of challenge. Has it transformed us as it did the first Christians? Can we do just one little thing today to show that living the Word is a routine part of our daily duties like our personal version of “feeding the cows?”