(Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.)
Lydia was a dealer in the purple dye industry. Purple dye was made from the bladder of the murex shellfish. It took about 60,000 murexes to make one pound of the dye. The labor and time it took to produce the made the cost of one pound of the dye cost over eight million dollars. It was a dye for the royalty and the super-rich. Lydia seems to have had some financial resources. She also seems to have a large enough house for Paull’s entourage of a least three others to stay in her house.
She apparently was not Jewish, but a woman who worshipped the God of Abraham. She listened to the preaching of Paul, came to believe. She opened her heart to the lord and opened her house to the Church. She apparently had some wealth, but she apparently did not broadcast her wealth.
We have listened and we have received baptism. How do we put this into practice as Lydia did? Our hearing does no good if we are not lead to believe. Our believing does no good if we are not lead to action. We celebrate the word of God, but we will celebrate better and with more fruit if we preach the word by the way we live.
The story of Lydia is an example for us. The word of God continues to spread. It entered Europe in this passage from Acts. It continued through Europe through others like Lydia. Through us, likewise the word of God has to continue to spread throughout the world. Each generation comes into the world, thirsty for the word of God. When we welcome it, we have to pledge ourselves to spread the word. We do this more by action than by speech. Lydia gave her home as a base of operations for the Church; we must give our resources likewise to the spread of the Gospel.