Houses of Brick

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that he acquired with his own Blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. 

And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:28-38)

Two things come to mind through this first reading from Acts.  First, “savage wolves will come upon us, and they will not spare the flock.”  There are times when we all feel savage wolves are at our doors, and they are knocking.  They seem to say: “Little pig, little pig, let us come in.” But we are to respond: “Not by the hair of our chinny chin chins!  We will not let you in!” Of course, the wolves respond: “Then we will huff and we will puff and we will blow your houses down!”

Is our faith and resolve like houses built of bricks?   The wolves won’t succeed.  Or, is our faith and resolve like houses of straw or sticks?  We must choose and not let the wolves in.  They are always knocking.  The wolves are of many types such as racism, bigotry, intolerance, and hatred.  We need bricks.

Secondly, is it more blessed to give than to receive?  We all must make that decision especially as giving pertains to the Matthew 25 Fund.  Many of us are blessed as a consequence of our having made the right choice helping to keep the wolves of despair away from our neighbors’ doors. 

Deacon David Pierce