(Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.)
In this passage we meet two people who are migrants. Priscilla and Aquila have come from Rome to Corinth. Apparently, they were Jewish people who believed in Jesus. They left Rome when Emperor Claudius expelled the Jewish people from Rome. Claudius did this in the year 49. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote about a certain disturbance caused by Chrestus (the name is probably a variant of Christ). We also know that Gallio was pro-consul of Achaia in Corinth in 51-52. This enables us date Paul’s sojourn in Corinth from the spring of 50 to the fall of 52. There is a lot happening in these few verses. This is one the very few places where secular history and the biblical story meet each other.
Pricilla and Aquila were tentmakers. They worked their trade in Corinth and later went to Ephesus. They were also evangelists. They worked with Paul, both in tentmaking and in preaching. They could easily move around as tentmakers, needing to take only a few hand-held tools for their trade.
Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles to show the continuity between the things Jesus did in his mortal life and the things the Apostles did in their lives. The continuity goes from Jerusalem, where both the Gospel of Luke and Acts begin, to Rome, where Acts end. The continuity exists also between Peter and Paul. The continuity is emphasized by Luke’s frequent summaries of how the Church continues to grow.
Acts emphasizes the growth of the Church as the word of God continues to spread. Paul’s letters give us another understanding of life in the early Church. Acts tells us that Paul spent eighteen months in Corinth and the word of God was welcomed by the Corinthians. Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians give another look at the believers in Jesus. Yes, the word of God did spread, and spread rapidly, but the Corinthians still had to live in a highly paganized society, and they did not always live up to the teachings Paul gave them. The history of Acts gives us the dramatic and resplendent growth of the Church and the letters give us the daily struggles of people trying to live as Christ had taught them through Paul.
We need both views, because we live in two realities. We live in the Church, especially as we celebrate the great mysteries of Christ in church. We also live in our culture and society as we plod through our daily lives at home, at work, and at play. The Scripture today can challenge us to be migrant and missionary, living and moving with the gospel of Christ, listening and explaining the good news of Christ, without condemning others. Like Priscilla, Aquila and Paul, we are bringing the gospel to others; like the Corinthians, we have to grow in our faith.