Acts

The early days of the new Church are recorded in the book of Acts. After Jesus’ ascension to heaven, his followers received the gift of the Holy Spirit, who descended upon them at Pentecost. They then all begin to preach and share the gospel with the people. However, they face violent persecution from the Jewish leaders, even to the point of Stephen dying as a martyr. Saul of Tarsus becomes one of the most zealous persecutors of the Church until he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus. After that, he transforms into Paul, one of the greatest missionaries and teachers of the Church. Going to the Gentiles, he brings the saving message of Jesus’s gift to man from Antioch to Rome.

One of the most interesting stories from Paul’s journey, for me, was the story of Eutychus raised from the dead. Upon returning to fellow disciples in Asia, Paul proceeds to give a sermon. However, he talks all day until midnight. A young man named Eutychus falls asleep while sitting at the window and falls three stories to his death. “But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, ‘Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.’ Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed,” (20:10-11). Even though a young man had died, Paul was able to raise him back to life by the power of Christ. Just as Christ said, his followers are doing miracles and wonders.

However, what struck me most was the fact that Paul didn’t seem in the least bit bothered over it. Here he was, preaching and teaching the disciples when some sleepy kid gets himself killed. To me, this would be a big deal that someone died while I was speaking. Yet Paul, after raising him back to life, goes right back upstairs to finish his message until dawn. It seems that this miracle wasn’t that big of deal to Paul, almost like he realized that continuing to enlighten and exhort his fellow disciples was the greater good. Even the words he uses are almost dismissive in nature. What would our church be like if we were to have that same attitude, if we were to see the teaching of each other as more important that the performance of miracles? It would certainly be different.