Theme: The inclusiveness of discipleship

Exegetical note
This passage depicts the ascension of Jesus and the time immediately afterward, before the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), which would signal the real birth of the Church. Noteworthy here, on the basis of vv. 12-14, is the fact that they are already a community, staying together and praying together; and that community, moreover, is inclusive. Not only are the male disciples named, but the women are specifically mentioned, which, for an age that greatly undervalued women, signals an extraord…