Saturday of Fifth Week in Easter, May 12, 2007

Scripture: Acts 16:1-10. Psalm 100:1-5. John 15:18-21:

After the Council in Jerusalem, Paul returns to his apostolic mission to
the Gentiles; he visits the communities he has evangelized and invites
Silas and Timothy to accompany him. He branches out into new mission
fields among the Gentile nations, but carefully listens to the Holy Spirit
in deciding where to go and not to go. He has the gift of discernment
which is helped by a vision or a beckoning which he follows under the
guidance of the Spirit. The words and example of Jesus, of course, are
also part of his life now and these too guide him in whatever he does.
This will continue till his martyrdom in Rome; he even evangelizes from
prison there. Yet, he and the others are not always successful as we have
seen in the unfolding of the Acts of the Apostles. This enables him to
relive continually the Paschal Mysteries of Jesus which become the central
message of his own writings. This apostolic call of Paul and the apostles
is hearkened to with an unselfish love and gift of self to the new converts
and to those whom he preaches and teaches. Then the Gospel shows us that
we too will be disowned as Jesus' disciples by the "world", that is,
secular powers, cultural differences, and ungodly behaviors. We like Paul
and the apostles are called to resist what is bad in our culture and to
realize that leadership is not for power but for service. This is a tough
call for us in countries where being first in every thing is what is
valued. We servants of the Lord will be clashing with worldly values and
need to be vigilant not to buy into them for our own comfort. The message
of Jesus is always to have unselfish love. The Communion Antiphon gives
us a good message for what Jesus is desiring for us: to be one with the
Father as he is. To believe in Jesus over against the world which does not
believe in him. God sent Jesus to the world because of love. Now God
sends us in the name of Jesus into the world to offer it the belief that we
have received through the grace and mercy of God. "Yes, God so loved the
world that he sent his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son not to condemn
the world but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17).
Amen.