On his second missionary journey, when Paul left Troas for Macedonia at the behest of the Holy Spirit, his first stop was at Philippi, a Roman colony ten miles inland. This therefore was where the Gospel was first preached in Europe. The church founded there eventually became Paul's favourite (It was here that the Gospel was first preached in Europe), yet the mission started off very poorly. Today's first reading tells us how badly Paul and his companions were treated by the Philippians. However, Philippi's church also had the distinction of starting off with the most unusual converts: the Gentile business-woman Lydia, the soothsayer and finally, in very dramatic circumstances, the gaoler and his family.

The rejection of Paul and his gospel message by the other townspeople is the sort of "refusal to believe in me" as found in Jn. 16:9. However, Jesus promised the Apostles that the tension between their faith and the monstrous unbelief of the world would be relieved by the witness of the Holy Spirit who would reveal the true meaning of His death. The weightiness of the sin of rejection of Him would be judged so, and the Spirit would confirm Jesus as the Son of God. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, even churches which began as unpromisingly small as the one at Philippi would flourish.