Spirit leads

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the important role that guidance by the Holy Spirit plays in the daily decisions of believers. The passage from the Book of Acts which tells of the meeting of Paul and Timothy and the decisions of Paul that Timothy should be circumcised to honour his Jewish heritage which is a result of his mother being Jewish is to confirm the Jewish tradition why being very much devoted to bringing the Good News to Gentiles without requiring them to be Jewish. The decisions made by attention to the Spirit may appear to be haphazard when viewed individually but are linked to the greater plan of the God when we step back and observe. Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the “world” in the Gospel passage from John is those people who have rejected Christ. In this text, Jesus advises us that we should expect that we should experience rejection like Jesus when we are living and making decisions according to our life with Him. Friar Jude notes how we may be able to understand some rejection as evidence that we are on the right path. The sorting out of the Christ-like decisions from our other decisions becomes clearer and more in tune with the in dwelling Spirit, the more we practice moving in His direction.