(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
A severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem broke out. People dragged people out of their homes. This seems more like a riot or an action of a mob than a systematic action by the police.
Luke makes a point of telling us that the apostles remained in Jerusalem while the more vocal Greek-speaking Jewish followers of Jesus left. This is in keeping with one of Luke’s concerns. He wants to show continuity with the Jesus of Jerusalem and the Church in Jerusalem.
This continuity is very important. The validity of the Church in Jerusalem depends on the validity of the death and resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem. When the gospel is preached beyond Jerusalem, the Church in Jerusalem gives it validity. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Romans the emphasis will shift to Rome.
Luke started his account of the life of Jesus in the temple with Zechariah. Forty days after Jesus’ birth Luke narrated the story of the presentation of the Child in the temple. Luke also told the story of Jesus being found in the temple in conversation with the rabbis. Luke al[so devoted ten chapters of the Gospel to his journey to Jerusalem, Jerusalem was the focus of Luke’s gospel.
The Acts of the Apostles continued this emphasis on Jerusalem; thence it moved towards Rome. With the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, Roma became the new mark of continuity. For the Church to remain faithful to Christ, it must be in continuity with the faith of the apostles who are on continuity with the Lord Jesus who died and rose from the dead in Jerusalem.