In today’s readings we see how the rejection of Christ can lead to a spirit of rage as opposed to how accepting him leads to the spirit of joy and the Holy Spirit and how it is that during our own lives we wish to work towards a more authentic and virtuous discipleship conducive to the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit which will begin to manifest more frequently and consistently.
What led to the vehement abuse of the Jews in the first reading hurled towards Paul and what he was saying to them? In a word, a lack of humility in acknowledging their guilt. We are still with Paul and Barnabas in Asia Minor. They are still proclaiming the message about Jesus as Lord in Pisidian Antioch. Many crowds are converting but there are Jews who become jealous of this and are enraged at what they are hearing and seeing. Saint Paul was saying, in not so many words, “you made a mistake when you got rid of Jesus. You made a terrible mistake in having him crucified. But God raised him up, as was spoken of through the prophets.”
To be sure, there were those who were truly contrite at having sinned against the Lord, and began their healing journey towards the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. But there were others, who perhaps out of fear of what such repentance would imply, or shame, or pride, or a mixture of all of the above, remained obstinate in their rejection of Jesus and continued to allow as we are told in the reading, a spirit of dark jealousy and destructive rage to envelope their hearts, on account of the crowds that were accepting the message and committing their lives anew to Jesus.
How we ought to rejoice when seeing people moved to get closer to Christ! How we ought to rejoice when we see someone grow in holiness? If we become jealous, we need to ask where that jealousy comes from, address it, and take it to the confessional to have it cleansed from our system. Then we need to turn to prayer and allow whatever good we see in others be a motivation for us to seek to do better ourselves.
What joy fills the hearts of those who truly follow Christ, and suffer for it! When Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people abuse you and speak all kinds of evil against you for my sake,” (Matthew 5:11) that word that he uses, “Blessed” can be interchanged for “happy” … or “joyful shall you be, when people persecute you on account of my name.” And so we are told that notwithstanding their harsh treatment, “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” Acts 13:52.
Yet, all of this is a journey we all need to make, in holy perseverance and patience. And it is all possible because of the loving and patient accompaniment of Jesus who is with us and continually illuminating our hearts and minds. Jesus had just finished telling his apostles and followers about his close proximity and union with the Father, that he does what he sees the Father doing, and that he is sent by the Father and that he and the Father are one. In fact, he says, they have already seen him. But, after all this talk about the Father, Philip, the naive one, is puzzled.
“Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” John 14:8
Philip was like a lot of other jews, waiting for some incredible manifestation of the Father, perhaps the same kind that Peter, James and John told the group about concerning the transfiguration and how they heard the voice of the Father through the clouds that suddenly descended on them.
Jesus replies patiently as he always does:
“Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves” John 14:9.
Philip was still struggling to make the connection between the Father and the Son who work in unison to accomplish the work of salvation. Now, we don’t fault Philip, in that we still see God very dimly for the time being as Saint Paul reminds us, however, even in that ambiguity we can somehow intuit that Jesus is a perfect reflection of the Father whom we cannot yet see. When Jesus forgave, the Father forgave. When Jesus calmed the sea, it was the Father who calmed the sea. When Jesus was on the cross, the Father was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Jesus knew it was difficult for them to believe and so he directed them to the signs, the miracles, “the works” that the Father was accomplishing through him. These were proof that the Father was in him and he in the Father.
We too ought to try to see God where otherwise, through carnal eyes, he would remain hidden. He is to be found in each and every one of us, so that one reason for loving ourselves, is that God is here, within me. And a big reason of why it is we love others, is because, he’s there, in them as well.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” Matthew 25:35-40.
Let’s ask Saint Philip to pray for us, so that we too can see more clearly, this presence of God in others. Amen.
Add comment
Comments