The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our share in the Spirit that moves leaders to act with Christ against hatred.
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The reading from the Acts of the Apostles relates how Timothy joins Paul and Silas to bring the Good News to Macedonia.
* [16:3] Paul had him circumcised: he did this in order that Timothy might be able to associate with the Jews and so perform a ministry among them. Paul did not object to the Jewish Christians’ adherence to the law. But he insisted that the law could not be imposed on the Gentiles. Paul himself lived in accordance with the law, or as exempt from the law, according to particular circumstances (see 1 Cor 9:19–23).1
Psalm 100 declares all lands are summoned to praise God.
* [Psalm 100] A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them. * [100:3] Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God.2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus explains the world’s hatred.
* [15:21] On account of my name: the idea of persecution for Jesus’ name is frequent in the New Testament (Mt 10:22; 24:9; Acts 9:14). For John, association with Jesus’ name implies union with Jesus.3
Eileen Burke-Sullivan observes we are not just a human association that helps us along, but confirmed together by God’s Spirit we together are the Body of Christ called to touch and challenge, comfort and heal the world the way that Jesus served his own community and time. We have been given the power of Jesus to accomplish this.
Today’s Gospel invites us to realize that aspects of culture will also reject the goodness of mercy of God and will hate the messengers of God’s love. The believers in the Church must be constantly on guard and being renewed in the Spirit to discern what is of God in every culture, and what opposes God’s desire for humanity and the world. This discernment is no easy task. The Spirit of God filling the Church and binding it in love makes it possible to discern, but it takes time and slow conversion of heart to truly know and follow what God wants within each pattern of human life. The heart of the Christian faith is this desire to dwell in God and in God’s desire, but the world will try to seduce us into believing in our own desire and especially our desire to be independent of the authority of faith. If any of us desires the consolation of God’s mercy, we are challenged to listen to Jesus’ voice in the Church, even if the human sin of leaders makes it difficult to hear.4
Don Schwager quotes “Those who suffer with Christ reign with Christ,” by Cyril of Alexandria, 375-444 A.D.
"It is just as if Jesus said, 'I, the creator of the universe, who have everything under my hand, both in heaven and on earth, did not bridle their rage or restrain ... their inclinations. Rather, I let each one choose their own course and permitted all to do what they wanted. Therefore, when I was persecuted, I endured it even though I had the power of preventing it. When you too follow in my wake and pursue the same course I did, you also will be persecuted. You're going to have to momentarily endure the aversion of those who hate you without being overly troubled by the ingratitude of those whom you benefit. This is how you attain my glory, for those who suffer with me shall also reign with me.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 10.2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:18-21 comments Jesus’ words here apply not only to the hate that’s out there “in the world” but also to whatever darkness is lurking in our hearts. Sometimes we are the ones doing the “hating.” Think about those times when we fail to love as we should or when we succumb to temptations to envy, pride, anger, or ingratitude. It may not be hatred, but any lack of love gives room for its opposite to grow.
It may be helpful here to consider St. Paul’s classic definition of love. He tells us that love is patient and kind. It isn’t jealous, pompous, or rude. It doesn’t seek its own interests. It bears all things, hopes at all times, and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This is a high bar indeed, but as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, we don’t belong to this world (John 15:19). That means that he has given us the grace to love in a way that goes beyond the world’s idea of love. Through Christ, we can learn to love everyone, even the ones who don’t return that love and, yes, even the ones who hate us.6
Friar Jude Winkler discusses an apparent reversal in the circumcision of Timothy. Paul preached where the Gospel had not yet been preached. Friar Jude sets our concern about sharing persecution in the context of the very dualistic Gospel of John.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Resmaa Menakem, a therapist who focuses on healing racial trauma. In his book My Grandmother’s Hands, he reminds readers of all races that the way to begin and to continue on the journey of healing trauma is to return to our bodies. This practice is rooted in Menakem’s memories of his grandmother. He recalls hearing her hum.
This humming practice is intended to soothe the nervous system and bring about calm, presence, and greater awareness in our bodies, as it did for Menakem and his grandmother. He instructs: Find a quiet, private, comfortable place. Sit down. Put one hand on your knee or in your lap. Place the other on your belly. Now hum. Not from your throat or chest, but from the bottom of your belly. Hum strong and steady. Push the air out of your belly firmly, not gently. Stop to breathe in, but return to the hum with each new breath. Experience the hum in your belly. Then sense it in the rest of your body. Continue humming for two minutes. When you’re done, reach your arms upward. Then, slowly and gently, feel your body with your hands, starting from the top of your head. Move slowly down your neck and along your chest, then below your waist, then past your knees, until your arms are fully extended downward. What do you notice?7
Our missionary journey brings us in contact with others for whom we bring the Good News.
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