(Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.)
It is close to the feast of Pentecost, which brings to a close the Easter Season. The privileged readings for the Easter Season is the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel according to John. Accordingly, we are nearing the end of the book of Acts.
Luke, who wrote the Gospel according to Luke, also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. In his two books, Luke could show the continuity between Christ before his glorification and Christ present in his Church. He began each book in Jerusalem and ended the Gospel, whereas he ended the Acts in Rome. The sufferings of Jesus were reflected in the suffering of the Church. The ministry of Jesus was continued by the Apostles. The ministry of Peter was continued by Paul.
Acts must end in Rome just as the Gospel had to end in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people was destroyed by the Romans. Rome, to which all roads lead and from which all roads go, was the means for the message to go out to all the ends of the earth.
We may ask how would Paul, the successful preacher to the Gentiles get to Rome: he was stuck in Jerusalem in protective custody by Roman authorities. Roman law had a safety valve that provided the way since every Roman citizen has the right to have the emperor himself hear his case in Rome. In this reading, we hear how Paul used this right of his to go to Rome.
The book of Acts, then, will end with Paul in Rome. There is, however, another volume of the Acts of the Apostles. It is in process now of being written, edited, and researched. It is the book about how the Word of God, which went from Jerusalem to Rome, was then brought to us so it could go by you and me, to all the places in the world, to all the ends of the earth and until the end of the earth.
As our reading and commentary on the book of Acts comes to a close, we are challenged to let that word of God continue going out through us to all others. We are tasked with making Christ present to others, to spreading his word, and to bringing to others the Good News.