6th Tuesday of Easter
12 May 2026
What must I do to be saved
In the first reading today, Paul and Silas have been beaten, stripped, imprisoned, and locked into the innermost part of the jail. Their feet are secured in stocks. From the outside, it looks like defeat. But then comes one of the most remarkable lines in Acts: “About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…” That detail matters. They are not panicking. They are worshiping. In suffering, in humiliation, in uncertainty, they continue to praise God.
And then the earthquake comes. The prison shakes. Doors fly open. Chains are loosened. But notice what happens next. Paul and Silas do not flee. The jailer wakes up, sees the doors open, and assumes the prisoners have escaped. Knowing the consequences he would face, he draws his sword to kill himself. And Paul shouts out: “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”
That moment leads to the central question of the passage. Trembling, the jailer falls before them and asks: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” That is one of the most important questions in all of Scripture. And notice when it is asked. It comes not after a sermon, but after witnessing Christians suffer differently.
The jailer sees something he cannot explain. Men who should be broken are praying. Men who could escape choose to stay. Men who were beaten respond not with vengeance, but with mercy. And it opens him to the deeper question: what is the source of this life?
Now the answer Paul gives is simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.” But we have to understand what “believe” means here. In Scripture, belief is never mere intellectual agreement. It is trust, surrender, allegiance, communion.
And the very next line proves it: “So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.” In other words, belief is not empty or undefined. The Gospel is proclaimed. Faith must be received.
And then look at what happens afterward. The jailer washes their wounds. He and his household are baptized immediately. He brings them into his home and sets a meal before them. Faith becomes sacramental, communal, and embodied. The answer to “What must I do to be saved?” is not reduced to a slogan. Salvation means entering into a new life in Christ.
That connects directly to the Gospel today. Jesus tells the apostles that His departure is necessary: “It is better for you that I go.” That must have sounded impossible to them. How could losing the visible presence of Jesus possibly be better? But Jesus explains: “If I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.” The Ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit are connected. Christ is preparing the Church to live by the Spirit.
And then He says something important about the work of the Spirit: “He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation.” In other words, the Holy Spirit reveals reality. He exposes what is false and opens hearts to what is true.
That is exactly what happens with the jailer. Something breaks open in him. He suddenly sees himself differently. He realizes he needs salvation. And once the heart is opened, the Gospel can enter.
Many people ask the same question today, even if they phrase it differently. What do I need? What am I missing? How do I find peace? How am I saved?
And the Christian answer is not merely “try harder” or “be religious.” It is Christ Himself. Believe in the Lord Jesus. Enter into communion with Him. Receive His life through faith, through baptism, through the Church, through the sacraments.
And maybe the deeper challenge in this reading is this: would anyone ask us that question? Would the way we suffer, the way we live, the way we respond to difficulty make someone stop and ask, “What is the source of your hope?”
Because for Paul and Silas, the witness came before the words. Their lives made the Gospel believable. And through that witness, an entire household entered into the life of Christ.