Not what we expect

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for today offers passages from the Scripture which underline the difficulties that our expectations can present in our quest to be more intimately related to the Divine. The Acts of the Apostles today , according to Friar Jude Winkler shows the method used by Paul in preaching the good news to the communities he visited. The first place he visited was the synagogue where the ancient call to the Israelites to be light to the world through their relationship in Covenant with God is extended to Jesus mission. This is not what the Jewish audience expects. When Paul then brings his message to the market place the invitation of Jesus to know the Father through relationship with Him draws large crowds. Friar Jude comments that the demographics of those attracted are the lower classes and slaves. These people, who have nothing to loose, seem less likely to be affected by the need for God to meet their expectations. The Gospel of John relates the dialogue of Philip and Jesus and the difficulty of Philip to trust that the Father and the works of Jesus are calling on Philip to move forward with faith, which is the ancient trust that God's love is leading you on the most loving path. It is often not the path we expect to greater intimacy with Him