The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge us to live in the Way of building relationships of love, mercy, care, forgiveness, and compassion that reflect our relationship with God.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the experience of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe.
* [14:8–18] In an effort to convince his hearers that the divine power works through his word, Paul cures the cripple. However, the pagan tradition of the occasional appearance of gods among human beings leads the people astray in interpreting the miracle. The incident reveals the cultural difficulties with which the church had to cope. Note the similarity of the miracle worked here by Paul to the one performed by Peter in Acts 3:2–10. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)
Psalm 115 praises the impotence of idols and the Greatness of God.
* [Psalm 115] A response to the enemy taunt, “Where is your God?” This hymn to the glory of Israel’s God (Ps 115:1–3) ridicules the lifeless idols of the nations (Ps 115:4–8), expresses in a litany the trust of the various classes of the people in God (Ps 115:9–11), invokes God’s blessing on them as they invoke the divine name (Ps 115:12–15), and concludes as it began with praise of God. Ps 135:15–18 similarly mocks the Gentile gods and has a similar litany and hymn (Ps 135:19–21). (Psalms, PSALM 115, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus promises to send the Advocate, who will teach us everything.
* [14:16] Another Advocate: Jesus is the first advocate (paraclete); see 1 Jn 2:1, where Jesus is an advocate in the sense of intercessor in heaven. The Greek term derives from legal terminology for an advocate or defense attorney, and can mean spokesman, mediator, intercessor, comforter, consoler, although no one of these terms encompasses the meaning in John. The Paraclete in John is a teacher, a witness to Jesus, and a prosecutor of the world, who represents the continued presence on earth of the Jesus who has returned to the Father. (John, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)
Beth Samson comments that Jesus offers us incredible reassurance and call forth in this Gospel. God loves us and will always be with us. Imagine, for Jesus’ closest companions, the consolation knowing that God’s love would be with them always in the Holy Spirit, even when Jesus could not be with them forever.
Jesus, in knowing that God’s love would always be available, reminds us what this means to us – that we are called to love, in the way Jesus love us. So, as we continue this Easter Season, here is the invitation for prayer and reflection – how am I being an agent of Jesus’ love in the world today? How have I received this love? How have I given generously of this love to others? Let us pray. Triune God, we come to you in gratitude for the love you have for each of us. Love that is always with us. Love that calls us forth to respond with love – in all that we do. We ask for your guidance as we continue to be agents of God’s love in our world today. Amen. (Samson, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “God is pleased to dwell in us,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God is not too grand to come, he is not too fussy or shy, he is not too proud - on the contrary he is pleased to come if you do not displease him. Listen to the promise he makes. Listen to him indeed promising with pleasure, not threatening in displeasure, "We shall come to him," he says, "I and the Father." To the one he had earlier called his friend, the one who obeys his precepts, the keeper of his commandment, the lover of God, the lover of his neighbor, he says, "We shall come to him and make our abode with him." (excerpt from Sermon 23,6) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 14:21-26 comments that Jesus is revealing himself “to the world” through relationships—our relationships with the people around us. Every time we reach out to someone, he is reaching out through us. Every time we offer someone words of encouragement or understanding, he is speaking through us. It’s in our simple, everyday acts of love that Jesus can shine through the brightest.
Of course, we know that we aren’t perfect. We know that we don’t always act as Jesus would have us act. But Jesus has taken care of even this wrinkle in his plan. He has chosen to reveal himself in an especially powerful way every time we forgive each other and make amends. So yes, Jesus is revealing himself to the world—through you! “Jesus, reveal yourself more fully to me so that other people can come to see you more clearly.” (Meditation on John 14:21-26, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the difficulty of ears attuned to idols to hear the message of God. The theme of “Love God and do what you will” in the Gospel of John is bolstered by Jesus' attention to keeping the Commandments. Friar Jude reminds us of the role of the Advocate and Paraclete to teach us the response to Jesus Love.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes we must be humble in our language when we speak of God and truth. The best things can’t be talked about—they can only be experienced. And then if we try to talk about them, we know that we see “through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Our best attempts will still be merely stammering, grasping for good enough words. But one of the great difficulties of theology and spirituality is that its subject matter is precisely those “best things” that cannot be talked about. If religion does not have humility about knowing, it ends up being smug, silly, and superstitious.
The second-best things which, according to Zimmer (German scholar Heinrich Zimmer (1890–1943)), “are misunderstood,” are those things that merely point to the first-best things. These belong to philosophy, theology, psychology, art, and poetry, all of which—like sacred Scripture—are so easily misunderstood. Yet what I have tried to do in my work is to use those second-best things that point to and clarify the first-best things. What else can we do? All our words, beliefs, and rituals are merely “fingers pointing to the moon.” [2] I believe Jesus follows the same risky path, which has allowed him to be interpreted in so many different ways. Apparently, he was willing to take that risk, or he would have written down his teachings himself. Why do we think we have a right to certainty or complete clarity? This is the necessary and good poverty of all spiritual language. After all, Jesus never said, “You must be right!” or even that it was important to be right. That’s the genius of the biblical tradition. Jesus offers himself instead as “way, truth, and life” (John 14:6), and suddenly it all becomes about the sharing of our person instead of any fighting over ideas. Some people will meet that statement with resistance and criticism because we feel so much more in control when we are right than when we are in right relationship. (Speaking of What Truly Matters — Center for Action and Contemplation, 2022)
Our journey as disciples of Christ involves revealing the ‘first best things” in our relationships with the people in our lives.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/14?5
John, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/14?21
Meditation on John 14:21-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/05/16/382797/
Psalms, PSALM 115. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/115?1
Samson, B. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051622.html
Schwager, D. (n.d.). If You Love Me, Keep My Word. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=may16
Speaking of What Truly Matters — Center for Action and Contemplation. (2022, May 16). Richard Rohr. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/speaking-of-what-truly-matters-2022-05-16/
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