The Church and her children, the Christians, have had very humble beginnings. The first Christians outside of Jerusalem were evangelized by refugees, who fled the persecution that began with the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Today's first reading speaks of the evangelizing activity of those refugees. The great evangelists of whom the Acts boast built on the works of those anonymous refugees. In this lies the greatness of the Church: Jesus Christ Himself was born in an insignificant manger and, as a child, was taken by Joseph as a refugee to Egypt. So his Church grew by the evangelizing activity of many refugees.

In the Gospel we read how the sheep know their shepherd. They do not need proof to follow their shepherd. Those who need proof perhaps will not believe, no matter what proof is provided to them. Hence St. Augustine's dictum, "Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand in order to believe but believe in order to understand."